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I have tried to punch the pin out but it wont budge. It seems like it should come out. I need to replace the thrust washer that keeps the cam stable.

Any help is appreciated.

It does come out. It's just a beehotch. Aircooled.net sells those thrust washer stacks, and John (the owner) can help you out. He's very helpful.

There is also a fiber washer that's supposed to be installed, but I believe it's on the inside at the base of the dizzy, underneath all of the advance mechanisms. He has those too.

I still don't have a good answer as to what the tolerance of the play in the cam-to-housing gap is supposed to be though. Maybe someone else will chime in.

Thanks George,
I saw those. The description says they do not fit the type4. I don't know if they can be used anyway. I have a spare on my other dist. but like I said, I can't get it off. Is it metal?, plastic?, fiber?

Should I try heat to get the pin out or is that a bad idea in this case?

Bob.

I had mine off some time ago. It is hardened steel, and I used a punch/decent sized hammer on it. I don't recall specifically but it may be somewhat directional. You might try smacking it from one side, if that doesn't work, tap from the other direction. Also remember to reinstall the same way it came off. I wouldn't try heat by the way.

Good luck,

Keith

Keith is right. It's some crazy kind of steel and I think it was peened in there originally as well. The retaining spring that goes outside of it is backup, so I don't know why it's in there so good. Heat probably isn't the best idea. Just use a good solid drift and a well placed, firm hammer hit.

Regarding the thrust plates - those are steel. John has the correct ones that should fit, even if they're not listed on his website. He's a big Type 4 guy, so he's got a lot there that is for sale that isn't necessarily advertised. Give him a call and good luck!

I used a drift and tapped a pin mark to make sure you get that orientation correct for reassembly, or use an awl and scratch a mark. I laid that distributor on its side, supported the main shaft and sharply smacked that pin with a proper punch. once it got started moving, I put those two little teeth in my bench vise (using aluminum jaws) and finished drifting it further out. then disassemble in sequence, laying the parts out sequentially. those washers are thin as paper.

Simple Hi-jack: What kind of distributer is in the 914 engine?

Aircooled.net got me wondering....:

"Centrifugal Only Distributor. This distributor changes ignition timing based on RPM ONLY, without any vacuum sensing.

SVSA = Single Vacuum, Single Advance Distributor. This is a Vacuum ONLY distributor, there is no centrifugal advance mechanism.

SVDA = Single Vacuum, Dual Advance Distributor. This distributor has centrifugal and vacuum advance operating independently.

DVDA = Dual Vacuum, Dual Advance Distributor. The same as the SVDA, but also has a Vacuum RETARD port. One vacuum port is for advance, the other is for an idle retard, which improved emissions a lot!

Stock Engines

“Old Faithful”, the VW Stock Distributor (Vacuum Advance)"

Stock == DVDA, but often the advance wasn't hooked up at all. But it's not the same type as what AC.net sells; especially the 1.7 and 2.0 with the FI trigger points down in the base.

--DD

I use a piece of steel bar with a vee and a slot cut into the end to support the drive piece, and a high quality tapered punch to drive the pin out. You need to be careful not to pound against the distributor body. ANY T1/T3/T4 shim and washer components will fit. They're all the same.

The Cap'n

I just went through this the other day.
By the way there is supposed to be a (3) coil spring that rests in the groove.
DO NOT USE HEAT.
It is a standard pin, diametrical with no head at either end.
Use a flat nose steel drift with a diameter equal to that of the pin. If you don't have one - get one, you will use it more than you expect.
Do not use a drift with a pointed nose on the pin. It will deform the material and you will have to replace it with a new, unmolested pin.
Use a piece of wood with a 3/4 diameter hole drilled through it to support the housing and the end piece with the pin free in the hole.
Hold the distributor housing and drift in one hand, strike perpendicular. Do not use a whimpy hammer or you will be playing that tune
all day. Use a moderate size BFH, you want mass to do the work.
Patience, it will shoot out.

here is a pic from a previous post of it disassembledClick to view attachment