[tech]: help! moving timing

[abatzis2@hotmail.com (Michael Abatzis)]

i've noticed the last couple of weeks that my timing's been a little off. i 
figured my distributor was slipping because one of the bolt holes is 
stripped. last night after some hard driving, car lost all power. still 
drivable, but obviously something wrong. looked at it today, and the cam 
timing was off 2 teeth. took off my valve cover, verified cam timing, set 
cam timing back to tdc (i had the adjustable gear advanced), and went on my 
way. getting on the highway, i revved to redline, and noticed power loss 
again. again, timing off two teeth. i reset, and on the way home (despite 
easy driving), timing went off 3 teeth or so. when turning by hand, 
everything moves as it should. timing belt looks ok, and was properly 
adjusted every time this happened. what the hell is going on here?
only 2 things i can think of: 1) crank gear is stripped a bit, and timing 
belt is slipping. i haven't taken off the lower belt cover yet to check, but 
this seems unlikely. the timing belt looks good, with no evidence of 
slipping.
2) crank gear is moving on the crank. the cam gear can also be moving on the 
cam, but everything was lined up when i removed the valve cover this am 
(after i started having probs).

i'm hoping that the woodruff key didn't snap, but that's what i'm thinking 
happened. could this also happen if the bolt holding gear on pulley came 
loose (i kinda doubt it, but...).

i really need this car, and hope i can fix it tomorrow. if the key snapped, 
what do i need to do? can i remove the crank with the engine in the car? do 
i need to change cranks, or can i somehow replace the key with it on the car 
(again, i doubt it).  i have a spare block, so i can steal parts if need be. 
  can anyone think of anything else that could cause these symptoms? has 
anyone ever heard of these keys snapping? tia,

-Michael Abatzis
Hotlanta! GA
1988 Scirocco 2L 16v RIP-->parting, prelim web site, but not taking orders 
yet: www.learnlink.emory.edu/~mabatzi/mikes_page1.html
1987 Scirocco 2L 16v...




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