RE: coil pack repair

[Marc Gallagher <mgallagher@Langan.com>]

Thanks for posting it Rob.  I was just about to when your note came through.
As an update, I made the original repair in January of 2000 when the car had
32,000 miles on it.  It has been over a year now, the car has 54,000 miles
and I haven't had any problems.  So the moral is, spend the 4 bucks, give it
a shot and if it doesn't work you haven't wasted much time or money.

By the way, one of the posts mentioned the dealer quoting $600 for the job.
F them.  They are plain robbing you.  The coil pack can be had for about 300
to 350.  The replacement job takes all of 15 minutes.  Start to finish.  No
special VW tools, no special training.  A "real" VW mechanic should be able
to do it in under 5 minutes.  So F whatever dealer said 600.  That's just
wrong.

If the repair is "too easy" as someone mentioned, try it blindfolded or with
one arm tied behind your back!!!  Have fun!

Marc
97'  GLX - Red/Black


-----Original Message-----
From: Rob Meikle [mailto:rtmeikle@yahoo.com]
Sent: 30 January, 2001 4:39 PM
To: jettaglx@igtc.com
Subject: coil pack repair


Listers,

A while ago our good friend Marc posted these
instructions.  I saved them just because I thought
they might save me $500-$600 in the future.  I'll copy
them for you here.  I haven't had coilpack problems
yet, but if I do, I'll try this:

BEGIN QUOTE "ok.  As several people have requested my
coil pack "mod" here it is 
with the
standard "this has worked for me but...." disclaimer. 
Several have 
asked
for a "detailed" description so this is long.  I will
write for the 
novice
so those "in the know" bear with me or skip ahead. 
All work was done 
for a
fairly stock 97 GLX with 32,000 miles (43,000 now).

Coil Pack Repair/Reinforcement for VR6's:

Part I - Background

	1)  What is a coil pack?  Thanks for asking.  The
coil pack replaces
distributor caps on "new and improved" ignition
system.  Instead of 
having a
rotor and distributor cap "distribute" the ignition
spark to individual
cylinders at the right time and order, the spark is
controlled
electronically though the electronic ignition system. 
The coil pack is
where the actual electrical current (spark) is sent to
each spark plug 
via
the wires.

	2)  The pack is generally comprised of a metal base
with a plastic
top (insulates the metallic parts so the current is
not immediately
grounded).

	3)  The coil pack is located on the right side of the
engine (look
from the front) under the plastic manifold covers. 
Just follow the 
pretty
spark plug wires to the end and they attach to the
coil pack.

	4)   It seems that the VR6 coil packs (at least pre
98's) just suck.
I am not sure if the plastic is not formulated
properly, if the molding 
is
not performed properly or if the design does not
distribute stress/heat 
well
but by listening to the problems people on this list
have had, the coil 
pack
is NOT a quality part.  Either that or it is designed
obsolescence, 
keeping
the dealer stocked with easy, $500 repairs every
30,000 miles.

Part II - Diagnosis

	1)  If you have noticed that on cool, damp days or
after driving in
the rain (especially on the highway, especially behind
cars/trucks) the
engine is running rough and misfiring, chances are the
coil pack has a
crack(s).

	2)  When this happens, the "check engine light" WILL
come on
immediately, because the emissions just went to hell.

	3)  If possible, pull over and pop the hood ASAP.  If
it is a
cracked coil pack you will notice (at least I did each
time there was a
problem):

		a)  a fairly loud "snapping" or "clicking" sound
immediately
followed by a rough spot in the idle.

		b)  visible sparks running along the coil pack,
generally
from the wire terminal (where the spark plug wires
attach) towards the 
metal
part of the coil pack.  Each spark is tracing a water
filled crack and
grounding the spark to the engine block rather than
travelling along 
the
spark plug wire.  Try to remember or draw the location
of the sparks.

	4)  If you cannot pull over, or if you want to check
later after the
weather gets a bit nicer you can easily simulate rain.
 Get a plant 
spray
bottle/mister and fill with clean water.  Start up the
engine and give 
the
coil pack area a good misting with the bottle.  It may
take a few 
sprays to
get the pack nice and wet.  This should start the
light show again.  
Try to
remember where the crack(s) is or make a sketch.

	5)  You now know you have the dreaded cracked coil
pack.  But have
no fear, there are options...

Part III - Repair Options

	1)  Take car to dealer, tell them the coil pack is
bad.  They will
respond "that's nice but we will have to confirm"
($56.49).  They will 
then
call back several hours later saying "you have a bad
coil pack" (duh) 
and
that for just $350 in parts and $100 in labor we can
put on a new one.  
So
pony up $500.

	2)  Lucky for you, there are engineers out here who
just can't stand
it when a biased party tells me that an inferior part
needs to be 
replaced
with the same inferior part.  So like all good men,
especially 
engineers, I
start to tinker.  Leading to a "fix" that has worked
for 11,000 miles 
so far
- The $3.49 Epoxy Solution.

Part IV - The $3.49 Epoxy Solution

	1)  Drive a different car to Home Depot, Lowe's, etc.
and get a
package of high strength, high temperature epoxy.  I
*think* the brand 
I
used was "Poxy-Weld"?  It is the classic twin tube
syringe, silver in 
color
with a cardboard packaging display that unfolded to
give product
information.  It is made to repair metal, plastic,
etc. with higher
operating temperatures.  It has metal flakes, aluminum
I think, to add
strength.  I think the one I used was rated to 250 or
350 degrees.  It 
was
like $3.49 for the tube.

	2)  In order to make the repair you will need:
		torx wrenches or driver
		allen (hex) wrenches or driver
		damp rag
		hair dryer
		epoxy
		12 hours (1 hour working, 11 hours waiting)
		
	3)  Coil pack removal.  This is very easy.  First
remove the plastic
manifold covers.  This requires torx head
wrenches/driver.  IMPORTANT.
Before trying to loosen the screws, bang the top of
the wrench/driver 
with a
hammer while the wrench/driver is on the screw. 
Aluminum tends to 
"corrode"
quickly (look at the manifold) and slightly bond to
itself.  By hitting 
with
a hammer, the bond is broken and the screws can be
easily removed.  I 
know
this from experience (ie partially stripped screw
heads).  If you strip 
the
screw heads, I used a slightly larger allen wrench and
literally 
hammered it
into the torx grooves.  Of course you then need new
screws ($12).   
Once the
four screws are out, plastic covers come off easily. 
You can now see 
the
whole coil pack.

	4)  Unplug the wire harness attached to the top of
the coil pack and
move out of the way.  If I remember right it has pinch
clips on the 
side to
unlock the harness.  Unplug the spark plug wires. 
Make a diagram of 
which
plug number goes where.

	5)  The coil pack is held to the engine block by
four, long allen
(hex) screws.  I found a hex driver with an
articulated joint made the
removal easier.  A socket wrench should also work. 
Unscrew and remove 
the
pack.  It is a bit heavier than you might think so be
careful when 
removing
the last two screws.

	6)  Take coil pack inside.  Ignore the "you are not a
mechanic"
insults coming from the living room (be the ball
Danny).  Take off 
plastic
cover on the top of the pack (just pop over the small
clips).  Wash off 
the
coil pack with a damp cloth.  If it is really dirty, a
bit of Dawn can 
work
wonders.  Just make sure to wipe off the soap well. 
You will now want 
to
dry the pack WELL with the hair dryer.  I was probably
a bit anal about 
it
but I sat in front of the TV for like 20 minutes just
drying the pack.
Since there is no real way to tell if all the water is
out of the 
cracks, I
was conservative.

	7)  You are now ready for the epoxy.  Mix a healthy
amount is a
small disposable container.  I used a popsicle stick
to mix and spread.
Start applying a liberal coat of epoxy.  The first
time I did it, I 
only
covered the places I had seen sparks.  Of course about
two weeks after 
the
first fix, a new crack or one I had not seen developed
so I did it 
again.
This time I covered the entire plastic portion of the
coil pack.
Concentrate on the area between each terminal and the
edge of the pack.  
No
problem since.  So either coat the cracked areas or
just do the whole 
thing.
I would recommend the whole thing.  The epoxy tends to
get a bit sticky 
so
it may work best doing two batchings.

	8)  Set coil pack in a warm place to dry overnight. 
I did this in
December so by a radiator worked well.  Just don't put
outside since it
makes the curing take a lot longer.

	9)  Reinstall the next morning.  I actually did this
before work one
day and it took all of about 10 minutes.  Put plastic
cover back on 
pack.
Install pack with four hex bolts and reattach the wire
harness.  Plug 
in
spark plug wires in SAME LOCATIONS.  Install plastic
manifold covers (I 
put
some grease on the aluminum screws before installing
to prevent 
locking).

	10)  Start car and she should be running like new. 
It will take at
least 3 warm-up/cool-down cycles to reset the "check
engine light"


I hope this helps those interested.  It has worked
like a dream for me.  
And
at 3.49 vs. 500.00 it is a no brainer to at least try
it.  Worst case 
you
know how to install the pack and can just order the
part from a mail 
order
place (Adirondack, potter, etc.) saving the dealer
rape.

I would actually recommend doing this as preventative
maintenance.  
It's
cheap, easy and can same some significant bucks.  If I
ever HAVE to get 
a
new pack I will do it before installing, just to
reinforce it against
cracks.  Feel free to write back with any questions.

Marc
97' Jetta GLX - Red/Black" END QUOTE

Hope this helps you guys,
ROB
'97 glx




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