Car:
1995 VW Cabrio
2.0 L ABA engine
5 spd manual tranny

Problem history:
1. Car was getting an intermittent MIL. DTC codes (OBD I) showed 2113
(Camshaft Position Sensor). MIL would illumninate, car would feel like it
was going to stall, then within 20 seconds it would recover and everything
would be fine.

2. Took the car to my mechanic. He couldn't duplicate the problem, but did
find that my spark plugs were coked up because the CCV was not functioning
properly and oil was getting into the intake (the air filter was soaked with
oil). So, he replaced the breather, plugs, ignition cap, ignition rotor,
plug wires and air filter. Told me that the car was running better than
ever.

3. Two days later, MIL comes back. Same symptoms. He gets the car back,
drives it all day, can't get it to duplicate. He suggests it may be the
camshaft position sensor, which is part of the distributor, but he doesn't
want to just throw an expensive part at the car and not have fixed the
problem, so he says that I should wait and see if it gets worse so that he
can duplicate it.

4. This past week, the problem got much worse. I decided to replace the
distributor, so I bought the Bosch part and installed it. I started the car
and it wasn't running quite right. MIL came on. I turned off the car,
rechecked all of my work, discovered a torn grommet for the breather element
that my mechanic just replaced, bought a new one and reassembled everything.
While I was talking to the parts guy, I explained the poor running to him
and he suggested that I get the car running and then try to turn the
distributor body ever so slowly until the engine is running properly. The
original Bosch distributor had two pins that aligned it with the hold-down
bolt, but the new one just has a flat, so it is easier to have off by a
degree or two. Nonetheless, when the O-T mark on my camshaft belt sprocket
is aligned with the TDC mark on the engine, the rotor is pointing directly
at the mark on the distributor body. Dead nuts.

Now the car won't start. When I turn the key, it sounds like a car where the
starter is burnt out (just spinning), but I had my wife come start it and I
can see the camshaft belt and sepentine belts turning. I can smell gas and I
checked for spark on cylinder 1 and shocked myself, so I think the
distributor is ok. I've checked all over for loose connections or vacuum
hoses, to no avail.

Here are my questions:

1. How fast should the rotor move when the starter is actuated? Mine turns,
but it seems slow to me. Like maybe 1 revolution per second.

2. Can the starter burn out or come out of alignment when turning the engine
by hand? I had to turn the engine quite a few times before I finally got it
aligned just right at TDC, because everytime I was almost there I'd build up
compression and then slip right by the mark. Could I have screwed it up? I
think the starter was nearing the end of its life too, because there were a
couple of times when it didn't start the car before. At those times, I'd
just turn the key off and then back on and it would fire right up, but I was
waiting for the day that I'd have to jump start it on a hill.

3. When starting a car with the fuel pedal depressed half way, is it normal
to see vapor exiting the throttle body? I ask because after having checked
the fuel and spark, I started to think that maybe it was lack of air. I
pulled the intake hose from the throttle body and had my wife try to start
the car with the throttle about 1/2 open. When she did this, what looked
like smoke came back up from the intake.

Sorry for the long post, but thanks in advance for any help people can
offer. I don't want to have to tow this car back to the mechanic with my
tail between my legs.

Happy driving,
Jonathan
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