Buggin' me

So, my Beetle failed emissions.  They (the emission folks) gave me this handout that said my hydrocarbon output at idle was 4x what it should be.  The pamphlet had a list of possible causes, including the ignition system.  So I turned to the John Muir Hippie Beetle book, found the section on ignition systems and timing, and gave it a go.

I found the distributor.  That was easy!  Going good so far.  As a side note, I just got a bunch of new shiny tools!  Feelin' manly! I opened up the distributor.  Hey, this is going really well!

Step 2: Pull the rotor off.  Something in here comes apart!?  It doesn't look like it does.  I pulled on this black thing in the distributor.  Nothing happened.  OK, time to go to the index.  Ah man! I got oil on my book!  I knew it would happen eventually, but I was still disappointed.  OK, page 9 has a picture.  Nope, distributor is closed in that one.  Page 234 has a picture.  Same picture.  Page 16 doesn't say it has a picture, but I'm running out of options.  Aha!  It does have a picture!  Oh, the rotor is that black thing I tried to take off earlier.  I tugged a little harder, and it came off.

Step 3:  Stick a tool (feeler gage) between the points.  It should be .016 inches.  Its off!  Eureka, I found the problem!  The gap is only .013 inches now!

Step 4: Spend at least an hour pushing and pulling on the point to get it to the right gap width.
OK, the gap is finally correct.  Turn the page.

Step 5: Confirm the point gap by making sure the dwell time was at 50 +/- 2.  Right, I knew I would need the dwell meter.  I ran upstairs, put the battery in it, started downstairs, and realized I didn't know how to use it.  Ran back upstairs and got the instructions for the meter.  This doesn't look too hard.  Plug in a couple of probes, hook up the alligator clips.  Good to go.  I checked the dwell and it was at 45.

Back to taking apart the distributor.  Double check the point gap.  Hmm, point gap is good.  Back to step 4 of pushing and pulling on the point, then recheck the dwell.  I tinkered with it until the dwell was at 49.3.  Ready for a scream and happy dance!

Just for future reference I rechecked the gap.  It was at .013.  I wish I had read the whole procedure before hand.  I'm guessing my dwell time was already correct.  Pity.  Oh well, it was an educational 2-3 hours.