TheSamba.com :: View topic - How many miles do you run your distributor cap b4 changing it?

Mon Mar 27, 2017 9:41 am

I was talking to a VW repair shop owner from the 60s through the 80s recently. During the conversation we were discussing tune ups and frequency of changing the caps, rotors and the points/condenser. His view was back in pre-electronic ignition days, people threw away money by changing all those parts too frequently. He felt it was marketing BS by the parts sellers and manufactures that said you MUST replace these parts every so many miles.

Many long time VW owners state they've run the same German Bosch condensers for decades and only change the points when the wear blocks wear out. They file the points every so many thousands of miles.

This same gentleman said he'd run the same Bosch distributor cap for 100k miles before changing it. I bought a used distributor that I restored. It had used original looking Bosch points and condenser in it. The wear block on the points looked new. I filed the points and it ran perfect.

Curious to hear other veteran VW owners thoughts.

Mon Mar 27, 2017 10:12 am

Generally you can clean the carbon off the contacts in the cap, but eventually they copper does wear to the point you can get misfires. Also the carbon button in the center also wears.

You can easily get 20-30,000 miles from a cap. So unless you drive your car daily, you should get many years of use.

I have about 40,000 miles on my current engine and don't remember ever changing the cap, rotor or condenser. I do remember changing the points once.

Mon Mar 27, 2017 10:58 am

Not sure how long mine have been on the engines, when its oil change valve adjust time what has functioned for me is to dremel wire wheel the inside contacts of the cap also the rotor. Bright and shiny like new. yes eventually the carbon center will be to short. Key is to carry a spare distributor with clamp and have the timing preset.

Mon Mar 27, 2017 11:20 am

gt1953 wrote: Key is to carry a spare distributor with clamp and have the timing preset.
Key is to replace it before it fails on the road.

That's like carrying a spare fuel filter and only replacing it when it's fully clogged.

Tuneup parts are "wear" items and needs to be replaced time to time. Spending $50 on cap, rotor, points and condenser every few years is much cheaper than having it fail when you least need it to.

Mon Mar 27, 2017 11:22 am

Glenn wrote: Generally you can clean the carbon off the contacts in the cap, but eventually they copper does wear to the point you can get misfires. Also the carbon button in the center also wears.

You can easily get 20-30,000 miles from a cap. So unless you drive your car daily, you should get many years of use.

I have about 40,000 miles on my current engine and don't remember ever changing the cap, rotor or condenser. I do remember changing the points once.

I was interested specifically about the longevity of the distributor cap. I know in some cold weather markets, some distributor caps could crack from extreme cold temperatures to warming up quickly when the engine warmed.

Robbie from the bus forums stopped by a few weeks ago. He said he had 70k miles and counting on his current distributor cap. :shock:

I guess the other consideration for the frequent tune ups that changed all these parts was the cheap cost back in the day for the parts and labor. Today, you can drop $50 bucks in just parts for good Bosch cap, rotor, points and condenser. Yes, that's not a huge outlay in today's dollars. I don't know what the cost of labor would be.

Mon Mar 27, 2017 11:28 am

In the off-road racing world many people wrap their distributor caps in fabric tape like Hockey stick tape to keep it intact even if it does get hit with a rock or crack from heat/cold.

Mon Mar 27, 2017 11:36 am

wcfvw69 wrote: I know in some cold weather markets, some distributor caps could crack from extreme cold temperatures to warming up quickly when the engine warmed.
not of the caps i've seen are the old Bakelite caps and have no seen anything I could relate to hot/cold cycles.

Mon Mar 27, 2017 12:27 pm

{[Key is to replace it before it fails on the road.]}

I get that replace the points or rotor or cap, however a condenser may fail at any time and has on me. So for me it is easier when out on a trip to carry the complete distributor. Swap it out and continue my trip. Trouble shoot when I get to the destination.
I found a NOS cap at Bug O Rama last week for five bucks. That was a 400 plus mile round trip not just across town.

Mon Mar 27, 2017 12:48 pm

I've run distributor caps for over 100k miles. I see no reason to replace them until either the carbon button wears out or they crack. The plastic cap isn't seeing any wear, just the contacts.

Mon Mar 27, 2017 2:13 pm

I'm sure I'll jinx myself but I've never had a condenser, cap or rotor fail on me. I've put a lot of miles on those parts too before changing them due to mileage.

My question is curiosity driven more than not wanting to spend money on those inexpensive parts. I know there plenty of other folks like myself that have owned these VW's for decades.

Mon Mar 27, 2017 3:00 pm

I've had a condenser fail on me. took me forever to figure out what was wrong... in the dark. would of been nice if i had a complete dizzy to swap out in 5 mins and figure it out when i get home.

Mon Mar 27, 2017 3:35 pm

chubby53 wrote: ... would of been nice if i had a complete dizzy to swap out in 5 mins and figure it out when i get home.

X2. It's one of those "must have" things in the parts kit under the seat or wherever.

Mon Mar 27, 2017 4:48 pm

The carbon button in the center of the cap is replaceable, the Bosch part number was 1 904 321 010 (at least for 36hp). When they wear out I guess it's time for a change of cap but some times they tend to drop out and for the more expensive NOS Bosch brown caps I guess it would be a good idea to have some spare.

Mon Mar 27, 2017 5:48 pm

For an 010/019 and the 36 hp Beetle distributor caps you can easily pay $50 just for the dark brown German Bosch cap. I have a full drawer in my distributor parts cabinet with carbon brushes and springs, just keep polishing those contacts inside and outside of the cap. I have a tool that was originally marketed as made for cleaning the contacts on the cap. I've been using it too for more than 10 years and it is still functioning as designed. I'm saving all of my good quality used caps for just that day when...

Mon Mar 27, 2017 6:08 pm

I like the dark brown Bosch caps as well. I have a very small sanding disc for my dremel that gently removes any carbon on the distributor cap posts. I did this to the used brown bakelite Bosch cap on my bus. I've been running it for a year and it works perfect.

Mon Mar 27, 2017 6:16 pm

I have 2 boxes of old Bakelite caps. Most could me made usable but as long as good new caps are available, i might as we use them.

And where parts are no longer available... i'll go crankfire ;)

Mon Mar 27, 2017 6:46 pm

Glenn wrote: I have 2 boxes of old Bakelite caps. Most could me made usable but as long as good new caps are available, i might as we use them.

And where parts are no longer available... i'll go crankfire ;)

Who you kidding Glenn. When these parts are no longer available, we won't be around to worry about it. :lol:

Mon Mar 27, 2017 6:49 pm

wcfvw69 wrote: Glenn wrote: I have 2 boxes of old Bakelite caps. Most could me made usable but as long as good new caps are available, i might as we use them.

And where parts are no longer available... i'll go crankfire ;)

Who you kidding Glenn. When these parts are no longer available, we won't be around to worry about it. :lol:
Bosch doesn't make spark plug wires anymore. They've discontinued 03019 caps, 01001 and 01016 points and 02170 condensers. Others will soon follow.

Mon Mar 27, 2017 7:02 pm

Glenn wrote: wcfvw69 wrote: Glenn wrote: I have 2 boxes of old Bakelite caps. Most could me made usable but as long as good new caps are available, i might as we use them.

And where parts are no longer available... i'll go crankfire ;)

Who you kidding Glenn. When these parts are no longer available, we won't be around to worry about it. :lol:
Bosch doesn't make spark plug wires anymore. They've discontinued 03019 caps, 01001 and 01016 points and 02170 condensers. Others will soon follow.

From what I've seen, Bosch stops producing a part and others step in and fill the void. This just happened when Bosch stopped production of a sensor for type 4 fuel injection buses. Someone else stepped in and started making it. All those part numbers are still be sold by other manufactures and some argue the quality is better than Bosch. One example being Echlin points/condensers/caps/rotors sold at Napa and other places.

I'm not trying to be argumentative. :D I just continue to see more and more long NLA parts being reproduced for our VW's. YES, some are crappy copies but others are good too.

Mon Mar 27, 2017 8:25 pm

well I had a clear green cap on my 1874 when i put it togeather :shock: then I droped the cap about a week lator when i was recurving the dist addvance.so I stuck a cb cap on... that was probably over 150000 miles ago.I think it's ok.but I have no reason to eff with it as it runs smooth with zero misses.so I think it's ok. so it's about 2002 till.....when ever it gets changed. on another note I have a cb mangnaspork dist for almost a year now and....it's still in the box. I would sure like to put it in but...whats the hurry.too many other things in life to mess with stuff that works perfectly. :wink:

as for points, I dont use them. but....if you do and the rubing block wears out either use dist greesse and or polish the cam lobes so thay dont eat it. if the condensor is good dont change it....the replacement one wont be right. if you have to file the points the condensor isant right....or the person filing them isant right...or both.