Eric,
I had the same problem with my old '85 GL Vanagon to the point that the
rotor had about desinigrated. The problem was that I was using an
offbrand cap and the wrong rotor (it was from an air-cooled 009
distributor). Swapped things out for original Bosch and I never had a
problem again.
                        Rod in west Texas
'56 Beetle
78' Beetle vert
'91 Jetta Carat
'93 EV MV

> ----------
> From:         Eric Miskow[SMTP:EMiskow@aol.com]
> Sent:         Thursday, September 25, 1997 4:58 PM
> To:   Vanagon@GERRY.SDSC.EDU
> Subject:      Re: Cap and rotor burn out.
>
> Volks.
>
> I have an 86 Westy in which I noticed an abnormal amount of wear on
> the rotor
> and distributor cap contacts. I have to change both about every 3500
> miles.
> Does this mean I need a whole new distributor like my local VW parts
> store/shop tells me. Or, is there a simple less expensive method. I
> was
> quoted $ 270 for a new distributor.
> Thanks in advance.
>
>                                                  EM
>