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Re: [T3] Distributor Interchangeability


On 1 Sep 2003 at 12:23, Chris J Valade wrote:

> are the AB and L distributors (311 905 205 AB and 311 905 205 L)
> interchangeable?  If yes, how would it affect my engine, its
> performance, etc.?  What is the difference between the two? 

There's not much difference. You can see all the difference in the advance 
curves in the Bentley manual. I believe the L gives a bit more advance and it 
is my favorite.

> I
> can't adjust the idle and see no change whatsoever even if I take that
> idle screw out, although the car will die when I turn it clockwise
> enough.  Plus, the idle is horrible, even though I got a good condition,
> AT AAR with the wire and all, this affected no change.  When the car
> starts up it has a lower and steady idle, but when it warms up, depending
> on where the timing is (I can't time it correctly since I can't get the
> idle either anywhere near 850 RPM or it oscillates so much that it would
> be pointless), it will either be a low steady idle (around 700 or 800)
> under load but oscillating (from what I can recall) between, about, 550
> and 750, and the lower it drops the higher it will go after that (so when
> it nearly dies, it will go to 800), or if the idle is great under load it
> will oscillate in neutral.  Plus, the worse the idle is under load, the
> more performance I get--more advanced=worse under load, retarded=worse in
> neutral.

It sounds like your AAR isn't working right. Check it to make sure that it is 
open when cold and closes as the engine warms up.

>         Also, more out of curiosity, could someone explain what the
> graphs in Bentleys (chapter 3, pg 54-55) mean?

The graphs show the distributor advance in distributor shaft degrees, so you 
have to multiply the Y-axis by 2 to get crankshaft degrees. The advance is 
shown as a function of (X-axis) dist shaft RPM for the mechanical advance (mult 
by 2 to get engine RPM) and as a function of vacuum (in millimeters of Mercury) 
for the vacuum advance.  

In general, for good performance you want a nice rapid mech advance as the RPMs 
go up, to a maximum of 30-34 crankshaft degrees under full load. On all of 
these distributors, the vacuum advance comes into play under light loads only, 
to give more than 30-34 deg of crankshaft advance, which the engine can 
tolerate just fine, and get better gas mileage, as long as the load is light.   

-- 
*******************************
Jim Adney, jadney@vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
*******************************

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