Date:         Fri, 7 Mar 2003 00:22:04 -0800
Reply-To:     Mark Belanger <belanger@FLUID.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Mark Belanger <belanger@FLUID.COM>
Organization: Fluid, Inc.
Subject:      Hall Sender replacement on a Digifant/2.1L engine
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed

If you're reading this, you either have nothing better to do(Hi, Stan)
or have just searched the archives in a vain attempt to learn how to
replace your Hall Sender.  "It's just a simple little piece of plastic
held down by three screws," you say.  How hard can it be?  You may also
be trying to get a clue as to why the Bentley and Haynes manuals show a
distributor that doesn't quite look like yours.  No, my friend, you have
the correct distributor in your car, VW just decided to bend you over a
tree stump and pack your bearings, if you know what I'm saying.  More on
this later...

Since you're actually considering replacing your Hall Sender, I can also
assume you're either a) not a mechanic, b) a mechanic and a masochist,
c) really stubborn or d) just trying to learn(yes, keep telling yourself
that, Mark... the pain will go away).

Unless your time is worth exactly _nothing_, I'd recommend that you just
purchase a new distributor(note that I said new, not rebuilt) and be
done with it.  There are a lot of reasons for this, but they're
generally really boring, so just trust me.

What?  You don't trust me?

Let's do the math, shall we:

  Replacement distributor: $250
  Replacement Hall Sender: $135
  -----------------------------
  Total you'll save:       $115

So if everything goes perfectly, you'll save $115.  Woo!  Crack and
prostitutes on you tonight!  But what if the pin gets stuck?  What if
you don't have a press?  What if the bakelite washer mysteriously
vaporizes as soon as you look at it(it will)?  What if, what if, what
if?  That's a pretty small margin for this to remain in your financial
best interest.

Stubborn, eh?  I don't know what I'm talking about, eh?  You already
read "Mark vs. The Distributor Chapter 1"
[http://gerry.vanagon.com/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0303A&L=vanagon&P=R11433]
and think I'm a complete moron, eh?  Well, this last point is self
evident, but I'm ignoring that fact.

Righty-o, then.  Let's replace your Hall Sender...

HOW-TO REPLACE A HALL SENDER ON A DIGIFANT/2.1L ENGINE
------------------------------------------------------
So by this point, I assume you've read my earlier post listed above and
have gotten the pin out of the "driving dog" at the bottom of your
distributor.  From that point, it'll come apart really easily and you'll
have something that looks like this:

  Oh, where or where have my circlips gone?
  [http://www.geocities.com/mbelanger/dist/] then choose dist4.jpg

As you remove the main shaft, be oh, so, delicately careful with the
black washer on the end of the shaft.  It's supposedly a "bakelite"
washer and seem to be designed to crumble upon exposure to humans.  I
promise you it will fall apart unless you're able to keep it between
it's two enclosing thrust washers.  Even then it probably will.  Already
crumbled when you pulled it out of your engine?  "No problem," you
think, "it's just a dumb little black washer.  I'll just order a
replacement."  No, actually, you won't.  Because neither VW or Bosch
sell them directly, nor any of the other components to rebuild your
distributor.  I take that back, you will find it if you pull it off
another distributor, which is ultimately how I got mine.  (Yes, your
brain should detect a severe problem with this).

  The oh, so fragile bakelite washer
  [http://www.geocities.com/mbelanger/dist/] then choose dist5.jpg

OK, so you've successfully managed to track down one precious washer, so
you can replace that Hall Sender, finally.  Three screws and it's
swapped.  But, wait...  "What the hell," you say to yourself slightly
confused?  "This thing doesn't seem to quite fit."  Uh, huh.  That's
because Bosch apparently doesn't sell the exact Hall Sender for your
model year any more.  Don't worry, it still seems to work.  The screws
are still the same, just the plastic shield is smaller, so you'll only
risk allowing all the crap from the engine in your distributor or worse
possibly snapping off the connector trying to connect and remove the
Hall Sender wiring plug.  No worries!

Press on!  Now that you've replaced the Hall Sender, time to start
reassembly.  You're out of the woods now, because you've consulted your
Hayne's diagram(5B.4.20) and secured a "sturdy" bakelite washer.
Psyche!  There's a second one you forgot about:

  The oh, so fragile *second* bakelite washer!
  [http://www.geocities.com/mbelanger/dist/] then choose dist6.jpg

Fuck it.  At this point, you'll just pitch the bakelite and listen to
the Haynes manual and replace those washers with plastic(!).  "Engines
don't really get *that* hot," you think to yourself.  Oh, by the way,
good luck finding this washer.  At lot of parts stores are going to bend
over backwards to help you look for a 10 cent washer.

Since there can't be any slack in that distributor, you managed to stuff
something on that shaft, bakelite or otherwise, and you've reassembled
it, per the Haynes manual.  You've put the pin back in and the
ridiculous overkill retaining spring keeping the pin from slipping out.
  Did you notice that the "driving dog" key is eccentric and only works
one way, despite fitting correctly both ways?  "Doh!"

If not, here's a tip: hold the distributor like your going to install
it.  The bracket should be facing forward.  Right around 4 o'clock,
there's a notch in the distributor body.  Make sure the rotor notch in
the top of the shaft is parallel to that, with the open side closest to
the notch in the body.  (The notches aligned indicates the rotor is
pointing to plug #1).  At this point, attach the "driving dog" key on
the bottom of the distributor shaft, with the "heavy" side on the left.
  Make sure you get this right, because if you don't, that fun little
pin has to come out again.  This was one of the few things I got right
the first time.

The distributor is fixed.  Reinstall and double-check the timing.
Hooray!  It's Miller Time!

In case you haven't figured it out, this is probably not the best use of
your time, but if you're a glutton, I hope this helps.  At the very
worst, you'll meet a lot of nice people as you beg for help and learn
more than you ever possibly wanted to know about distributors for Digifants.

Oh, by the way, I'll be here to call you a numbnuts to swat you on the
back of the virtual head.  "Woo, woo, woo!  A wise guy, eh?"


Good luck,
MB