I've done this several times and never lost washers down into the engine.
Not sure what engine you're talking about here but if you can get the engine
properly timed with the distributor in backward I guess there's no big deal
in leaving it that way.  Though, weren't some older distributors for older
engines designed so #3 was slightly retarded?
---------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Young                       '81 Vanagon
Lafayette, CA 94549         '82 Westfalia
---------------------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Seifert" <theburnvictims@HOTMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Sunday, April 18, 2004 9:30 AM
Subject: distributor drive shaft installation

> i think i installed my distributor drive shaft 180* out, because my dist.
is
> in backwards. should i leave it alone, or try to pull it out and turn it
> around? would i be risking losing those 2 washers at the bottom? thanks.
>
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