'98 Jetta GLI 2.0L Timing

[porschebk85]

Hey,
I've got a friend with a problem, he purchased a 1998 VW Jetta GLI, and the guy said it has a timing belt problem, so he bought a timing belt, but looked at the one on the car and that one was fine, so we re timed it with that belt. But someting went wrong, we must have not timed it right with the distributor. Does anyone have any guides or advice on how to do this?

PICTURES REALLY HELP!!!!!


Thanks!, V-Dub In-D-House

[Mr_Diesel]

2.0L 8V engine? VW never made a GLI in 1998 (at least in north America). Anyways, if it's the 2.0L ABA, I have a guide for that. Does it fire at all? Like... even a little bit? I'd check to make sure the cam is 180 degrees out.

[porschebk85]

Well I could swear it was a GLI, but maybe its a GLX. All I know is its a 2.0L, nothing more. And if you have some sort of guide that would be great!
We actually had the car going at one point, when we timed it with another guide off the internet, but some one tried it out, and the car quit on them. Know it either runs too rich or too lean, and tends to back fire.

[porschebk85]

Well I could swear it was a GLI, but maybe its a GLS. All I know is its a 2.0L, nothing more. And if you have some sort of guide that would be great!
We actually had the car going at one point, when we timed it with another guide off the internet, but some one tried it out, and the car quit on them. Know it either runs too rich or too lean, and tends to back fire.

IT IS A GLS

[muppet]

Timing these cars is pretty easy. The first thing I would do is line the crank pulley up to tdc. There is a notch on the pulley, and a mark on the plastic cover behind the pulley itself. People always say it's better to use the mark on the flywheel looking through the plug on the top of the tranny, but I rarely do unless I have issues that feel timing related. Now that you have that lined up, go ahead and check the marks on the cam gear and the distributor. The cam gear is marked OT, and the plastic piece behind the gear bolted to the valve cover has an arrow, these should line up. Last is the mark on the distributor, pop the cap off and make sure the rotor is pointing to the notch in the distributor itself, the black plastic shield might be covering it if you can't see it. It should point directly at the plug wire for cylinder 1, and the wires should be in the order 1-3-4-2 in a clockwise direction. I will get you some pictures.

[ndrewoods]

Timing these cars is pretty easy. The first thing I would do is line the crank pulley up to tdc. There is a notch on the pulley, and a mark on the plastic cover behind the pulley itself. People always say it's better to use the mark on the flywheel looking through the plug on the top of the tranny, but I rarely do unless I have issues that feel timing related. Now that you have that lined up, go ahead and check the marks on the cam gear and the distributor. The cam gear is marked OT, and the plastic piece behind the gear bolted to the valve cover has an arrow, these should line up. Last is the mark on the distributor, pop the cap off and make sure the distributor rotor (http://www.racepages.com/parts/distributor_rotor.html) is pointing to the notch in the distributor itself, the black plastic shield might be covering it if you can't see it. It should point directly at the plug wire for cylinder 1, and the wires should be in the order 1-3-4-2 in a clockwise direction. I will get you some pictures.

+1. Adjusting the timing on a VW Jetta with a distributor is a simple but still requires a clear understanding of engine mechanics. Adjusting the timing on a VW Jetta is required to make the most of many aftermarket performance parts or after changing the timing chain. A VW Jetta with a distributorless ignition system requires professional reprogramming of the vehicle's on-board computer.




1 Remove the timing check hole, above the flywheel on manual transmission models. Connect a timing light to the battery and then to the number one ignition wire at the far right of the engine.
2 Start the VW Jetta engine and allow it to reach normal operating temperature. You have reached normal operating temperature when the cooling fan cycles on and off one time.
3 Let the engine idle normally and point the timing light through the timing check hole or at the crank pulley at the front of the engine. Determine the amount of adjustment needed and turn off the engine.
4 Loosen the distributor hold down bolts and turn the distributor slowly. Restart the car and check the timing again. Repeat the process until the timing mark lines up with the middle line on the timing light.
5 Tighten the distributor hold down bolts and recheck the timing to ensure nothing moved in the process. Remove the timing light and reconnect the number one ignition wire.