Rotor won't come off

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Ears - 06 May 2007 23:21 GMT

I can't get the distributor rotor off of my 90 Golf 8v. What am I
doing wrong? I've pulled and yanked 'till it busted and I can't get
the thing off! Please help.

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Jim Behning - 08 May 2007 12:59 GMT

>I can't get the distributor rotor off of my 90 Golf 8v. What am I
>doing wrong? I've pulled and yanked 'till it busted and I can't get
>the thing off! Please help.

Some are glued on. That suggests you need glue to put the new one on
properly. What kind of glue I do not know as I skipped that generation
with glued on rotors.

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Ears - 09 May 2007 02:38 GMT

I don't think it was glue, but a simple case of electrolysis.

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pfjw@aol.com - 08 May 2007 16:24 GMT

> I can't get the distributor rotor off of my 90 Golf 8v. What am I
> doing wrong? I've pulled and yanked 'till it busted and I can't get
> the thing off! Please help.

I would tap it on top with a rubber mallet. This may break the glue-
bond such that it will come loose. Or, put a set of vice-grips on it
and tap them back-and-forth to break the bond. Short of these
suggestions you may have to use a nut-cracker to take it off... the
tool, not the kitchen device. If you can fit it in there.

Putting it back, ask at VW the sort of glue you might need. But in a
vacuum and without other resources, I would use a slighty viscous
cyano-acrylate (super-glue). It will crack when rapped when you need
to replace some time in the future.

Peter Wieck
Wyncote, PA

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Brian Running - 08 May 2007 19:43 GMT

> Or, put a set of vice-grips on it and tap them back-and-forth to break the bond.

"Vise grips." Sorry, but I once made the mistake of confusing vice with
vise, and, well, let's not get into that.

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One out of many daves - 08 May 2007 19:48 GMT

I think the correct/official method of distributor rotor removal is to crush
the base of the rotor with some vise-grip pliers and then remove the pieces.
Please try not to drop any pieces down into the distributor, so cover up
that area before you crush the rotor. ;-)
You are also NOT to apply any excessive pressure to the shaft. 8^o
Nutcracker sounds like a good idea!

I don't think that the glue is really necessary on the 8v engines but is a
good idea on the 16V engines.
Usually the rotor install on the distributor shaft with a little force
anyway.

JMHO

Signature

later,
dave
(One out of many daves)

>> I can't get the distributor rotor off of my 90 Golf 8v. What am I
>> doing wrong? I've pulled and yanked 'till it busted and I can't get
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> Peter Wieck
> Wyncote, PA

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Ears - 09 May 2007 02:43 GMT

I ended up getting it off by spraying a little wd40 down on it,
tapping it repeatedly, and then repositioning myself to pull with all
my force straight up! Unfortunately I busted a sensor just north in
the process.

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