Hello list. I have a baffling situation with the timing in my 87GL WBX.
 
While at a Vanagon meet last week here in Toronto, a fellow Vanagonaut pointed out to me that my timing gear was out 180 degrees. To his trained eye it stuck out like a sore thumb because the Hall sensor was pointing towards the rear of the vehicle.
Obliviously an error by previous rebuilder. The timing gear was also missing the 2 washers at the bottom which resulted in a little but negligible wear.
Also the timing seemed to be way out of wack as it showed to be nearly 30 degrees advanced - ran fine.
We then proceeded to turn the timing gear to correct position (with cylinder #1 at TDC, as per Bentley) and added the 2 washers.
Following the instructions from the Bentley manual we adjusted the timing.
Still , the engine seemed the happiest at nearly 30 degrees advance, which does not make sense.
Between 10-20 degrees advance the engine was bogging on heavy throttle but would eventually get up to RPM.
Adjusting the timing as per spec. the engine ran like a dog - no power or would not run at all.
 
The only difference now is that the engine will not cut out at idle - which before required some fancy foot work when coming to a stop light to keep engine running.
 
So, please List - shed some light on this!!!
 
Ken Madsen
Toronto, Ontario