I've been on the Vanagon and Type2 lists for a long, long time.  I also
have, and have read, 3 different Vanagon manuals.  I have never, ever, heard
of magnetically active paint inside the Vanagon distributors.  Maybe you
have something wrong with your distributor - though probably not since
you've replaced it twice - but somehow I *don't* think magnetic paint has
anything to do with your problem.

There's lot's of things that might be causing your problems - ignition, fuel
and exhaust issues pop immediately to mind - and we could all stand around
and make guesses, and you could replace all kinds of things in response.
But, I think the slow methodical approach is called for here where a
competent mechanic starts working through the systems, eliminating suspects
one by one.  Your regular mechanic may not be the guy; I'd still like to
hear more about this "magnetic paint."

Here's a guess for you, only because I experienced similar problems with a
wasserboxer Vanagon one time: you've got a blockage problem in the exhaust
that's intermittent, probably a partially blocked catalytic converter.  You
didn't mention a change in exhaust "tone" that accompanies your problem, but
if you *do* hear that tone change that goes with the problem, here's a place
to look.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Young                       '81 Vanagon
Lafayette, CA 94549         '82 Westfalia
---------------------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Heissenbuttel" <jim@HEISSENBUTTEL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Sunday, July 11, 2004 8:58 AM
Subject: Distributor Nightmare

> My van has been experiencing what my regular mechanic has called
> "erratic retardation."To the driver it seems like at random times
> (usually the most critical) the engine does not have the power, it
> sputters, and acts like it will die. There is some stalling, poor
> idling, and even backfiring at timies. It seems like when this loss of
> power occurs, stepping harder on the gas the the wrong thing to do,
> while letting up (almost completely) will result in a slight return of
> power, but not back to normal. After some time the engine will go back
> to normal operation. Stopping, turning off the ignition, and restarting
> does not seem to help. Usually, I pull over to a safe spot, a gently
> coax her back to running normally by alternately running up the revs
> and then letting off.
>
> I have been given a very complex explanation about how there is a
> magnetically active paint inside a particular part of the distributor
> that is critical to the advance or retardation of the timing. He has
> also told me that this paint is no longer made and that all of the
> remanufactured distributors may or may not have problems with it. His
> explanation was that the only way to fix this was to buy a NOS (New Old
> Stock) distributor. I have used this mechanic quite a bit and I trust
> him. In addition, he works solely on VW and mostly on Vanagons, so I
> think he is very knowledgeable.
>
> Last week the problems came back with a vengeance. Since my normal
> mechanic was on vacation, I had a to use a more local (and likely less
> knowledgeable) mechanic. I had purchased a working used distributor and
> gotten a hold of another remanufactured in replacement for the faulty
> one I received earlier. In talking with this mechanic, he recommended
> still that I install the remanufactured unit, which we did.
> The problem did not go away, but since this issue is somewhat sporadic,
> the mechanic saw no signs on his short test drive.
>
> At this point I have paid to have 2 remanufactured distributors
> installed into my 83.5 WBX Westy. Neither has resulted in fixing the
> issues that I have had. I also have a used distributor (PN 025 905 205
> K) which I could try. However, the Bently calls for PN 025 905 205 D.