I changed the timing belt on a 97 vw Golf 2.0, 5 speed. While doing this, the distributor cap hold down clamps broke (rusty) while double checking TDC. Got a used distributor that looks like new.
Anyway, when I tried to start the car, would not start. I figured I had gotten the timing belt wrong. But decided to check the distributor. It was no longer pointed to the TDC mark. So, rather than redo the timing belt, and move the intermediate shaft, I simply installed the distributor pointing to TDC.
The car started and ran, quite smooth. However, it threw and check engine light. I and a few others, assumed this was just due to the ignition timing being so far off when I tried to start it.
I went ahead and changed the clutch and trans (no reverse) while I was still up on blocks. That seemed to go reasonably well, for how difficult a job it is. Also changed the water pump, earlier before the timing belt. Just mentioning all this for completeness.
Finally got around to connecting an ODBC tool and found the P0341 code. Cleared it and went for a drive. Seems fine, but, sometimes, at idle, the engine wants to stumble, when starting off. The check engine light will come on when that happens, a P0341 code again. Then it runs fine, until the next time.
Some searching seems to indicate this could be a bad distributor, and not just the cam timing being off.
I should mention that the timing belt marks to not align "perfectly". The cam is off "a hair" from "perfect", but way less than 1/2 a tooth. It has been my experience, doing other timing belt on other cars, that a 1/2 tooth indicates being off one tooth on the crank, relative to the cam. The marks, do align exactly as the old belt did.
So, where am I? Do I chase a bad distributor, or hassle with trying to get the timing belt marks "perfect"? My experience has been that if cam timing is off "by a tooth", the engine will simply not run, or run very, very, poorly.
Thanks.