When I disassembled the engine on the Bug, I forgot to label the wires connecting to the distributor cap and spark plugs. It's important that you get the wires on the right spark plugs so
the spark fires at the right time. Because of this, we had to discover where the thing under the distributor cap (rotor) was when the #1 cylinder was at top dead centre, and mark that spot as such. Our first course of action was to use the compression from the spark plug hole to find out when the #1 cylinder was at TDC. This did not work, as the intake valve for that cylinder was stuck open. I
will have to find out what is wrong with that and fix it. Anyway, we found where TDC was by putting a stick in the spark plug hole and watching the exhaust valve. We then marked it on the distributor cap.
When I disassembled the engine on the Bug, I forgot to label the wires connecting to the distributor cap and spark plugs. It's important that you get the wires on the right spark plugs so
the spark fires at the right time. Because of this, we had to discover where the thing under the distributor cap (rotor) was when the #1 cylinder was at top dead centre, and mark that spot as such. Our first course of action was to use the compression from the spark plug hole to find out when the #1 cylinder was at TDC. This did not work, as the intake valve for that cylinder was stuck open. I 
will have to find out what is wrong with that and fix it. Anyway, we found where TDC was by putting a stick in the spark plug hole and watching the exhaust valve. We then marked it on the distributor cap.
Aren't you lucky you only had 4 wires to place !
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I grew up on a farm in Ohio, and when I was about 11 years old, I was shocked to discover that my brother, then age 12, had completely dis-assembled the farm tractor in the garage. "Dad's going to be really mad," I said, not least because my father would have had no idea how to put Humpty Dumpty together again.
ReplyDeleteBut my brother did. He became a mechanical engineer.
Reading your blog is like listening to dinner conversation at my family table between my mechanically-gifted brothers. I know they - and you - are speaking English, but I have absolutely no idea what you are saying. When I told him about your blog, my brother did explain to me the difference between a torque and a torq-set screwdriver. But I still would have no idea what to do with either one under the bonnet of a car.
I'm enjoying your descriptions of challenges and achievements, and look forward to the day when you post a photo of the Bug on the Road. Terry Sissons, Cambridge England
Piston one is at 5 o'clock (not 11 o'clock as indicated in this picture). I don't know what went wrong with our calculations. Since then I have learned that there is a mark on the distributor (not the cap) that shows where number one is.
ReplyDeleteMessage to Terry Sissons: thanks for your comments. I'm so sorry I didn't remember you had posted earlier this year, as Buzz and I visited Cambridge in March, 2011.
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