2 new problems

i got 2 problems
1.) i have a smoke coming out of my tail pipe and its pretty strong
2.) i have been trying to test drive the new engine and every time i get into high 2nd and 3rd gears i start to get back fire and so i dont even try to get into fourth i just turn around and bring it back....

any suggestions?

ive tried adjust the timing and re-syncing the carbs numerous times and it started to get better but it just started doing it again

MAKE SURE THE VALVES ARE ADJUSTED PROPERLY. COLD (BELOW 100 DEGREES OF THE HEAD) 0.006 IN VALVE GAP, THEN TIMING, THEN CARBS.

sweet thanks

Yep.. what Cliff said. Sounds like valves to me.

Valves are all correct :/ any other ideas?

timing.. if running points.. check the points.. if electronic ignition.. Man, it sounds like valves.. timing to me.

Sure you did not get one tooth off when putting the cam shaft gear and crank gear back together? Or one tooth off on the distributor.. one tooth off will let the car run but very poorly. when on top dead center, does the rotor line up with a plug stop on the cap? If so do you have play in the distributor both ways.. or is the distributor cranked all the way left or right to make it run?

When on TDC of #1cylinder both valve rockers should be loose (valves closed) and the #2 should have one rocker depressing (opening the valve) Breck

i have play both ways on the ditributor i have it straight in the middle all the way to the left and all the way to the right and still get the same problem when i start to drive it... it doesnt make any noises when i have it in neutral and rev it up

and i bought the engine and carbs brand new from bugformance..

we checked the points and they are the right size we made sure it is top dead center

i think im timing it wrong otherwise nothing else makes sense what would make it back fire in the carb?

i understand how the top dead center and how to check and i have a brand new feeler tool so its none of that :/

backfire in the carb is just a guess i dont know if that is the problem

Sounds like the distributor is in a tooth off or something of that nature. Did u buy a short block/long block or a complete motor from bugformance?

i bought 1776cc engine from them and tranferred over the tin, alternator.. all the stuff off my old engine... how could the distrubutor be in wrong do i take it back out and put it back in?

Did you install the distributor or did bugformance?

i installed the distributor

Its complicated to type the process. If I am telling you stuff u allready know, I am sorry. When you pull your distributor off the distributor drive shaft should stay in the hole. At the end of that shaft is a gear. If that gear is one or more teeth off from TDC the car may start but run like crap. To check if it is correct. Put the car at TDC for cylinder number one. pull the distributor off, leaving the shaft in. Look in the hole. you should see a circle with a slot. The slot divides the circle into two halves. The sides are not equeal in size. One half is smaller than the other. The slot should be running perpendicular with the crankcase seam. And the smaller half should be at the back of the car near your crankcase pully. If you have a Haynes manual there is a picture on page 5-5 upper right side. If the slot does not run perpendicular to the crank line than the shaft gear may be a tooth or more off. Now here is what I do not know. If it is off I do not know how you should pull the shaft out. I have never done it or seen it. Some one else needs to chime in with the proceedure to do it. I would NOT pull it without instruction. Breck

well we did line it up i remember that and that it slid right in nice and easy other than that i wouldnt know if they were off

Did u instal thewhole distributor with the shaft and gear or just the top half of the distributor?

what do u mean by the shaft and gear the engine was put together we just inserted a distributor into a hole

The VW distributor can split into two pieces, a top half and a bottom half that has the gear attached. When you installed the distributor did it have a small gear attached to the bottom or did the bottom look like a common screw driver. A flat blade that slips into a slot, no gear attached?

no gear attached i believe

Since I have never bought a motor for a VW I do not know how far the shop went. What I need to know is if the shop installed the distributor shaft or did you. If the shop did it is most likely correct. If you did it it is possible that it is in wrong and causing the problem. The shaft has the gear attached to it. If it was put in by the shop then your distributor would only have the blade on the bottom that would fit into the slot as discribed b4.

maybe i should wait for my dad to get home i believe i have the 009 distributor does that help any?

So if there was no gear then the shop put it in. take the distributor off, rotate to TDC on the #1 cylinder and look at the slot in the hole. The slot should run from left to right with the smaller part of the circle facing the back of the car. If the slot does not run from left to right perpendicular to the crank then the gear is in wrong.

I believe the 009 works as I am discribing. Do u have a Haynes manual?

Hey My friend, I just called bugformance and they told me that when you buy a long block from them THEY installed the distributor shaft and gear. All you do is install the distributor onto the gear shaft. So to check if they did their installation correctly all u need to do is take off the distributor. Put the #1 cylinder at TDC and look at the slot in the distributor hole. It should run from left to right with the small side of the circle facing the back of your car. If it does than the gear is in correctly and this is not your problem. Hope this helps. Breck