Re: IAC wannabe, or, DON'T JUNK THAT BUS!
Posted: Sat May 10, 2014 11:16 pm
I'm with the kid, great work asiab3!
neal
neal
Tech and Community Help For Air-Cooled VWs
http://www.itinerant-air-cooled.com/
http://www.itinerant-air-cooled.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12040
This reads like Son Of Itinerant Air-Cooled visit. I knew I was gonna be obsolete some day . . .asiab3 wrote:The bus shall live to see another adventure
Not that it took a lot of brains to figure out...
We started with a pop quiz of "what am I pointing to?" to assess their knowledge (and willingness to learn,) when I was suddenly told we had three hours to work instead of eight. Ok, better go quick! A brief overview of VW engines, L-Jet, and Kettering ignition followed, with poorly drawn diagrams by yours truly. Although the engine is not REALLY 16 rectangles and circles with labels, I thought I did a good job drawing it like a Venn diagram showing how different parts are related. (ie- how the fan cools and engine AND heats the cabin. Or how the amount of air and amount of fuel has to be correct, and how the AFM meters one and "dispenses" another. We ignored things like the AAR and CSV for now.)
We started getting dirty with a valve adjustment since the engine was cold. All of the exhaust valves were tight, and most of the intakes too. They told me "it starts and drives fine but won't idle when you stop." True to tale, it started. Well, I guess you could say it started. The starter chugged mightily while the engine gave occasional coughs of smoke. Almost 20 seconds of chugging got the bus running. Rough, but running.
I'm sorry, I know FI buses don't start with a quick flick like a cold carb bus does, but this was absurd. Add piss-poor start to the list of symptoms. Since valves were known good, I hooked up my timing light and dwell meter. 205AB distributor (originally DVDA, here with an advance-only replacement can,) showed 5* atdc at idle, (20* hoses off,) which is the idle spec if you follow the book with a working/existent vacuum can. I bumped it to 28* hoses off, and noted that the vacuum advance went to nearly 40* on high RPM overrun. Now it idled around 5*btdc. I personally think the installed vacuum advance can is too much for a bus. It looks tiny and not the same silver color as Bosch cans.
Now I know my 1600 is in good shape, and it revs quickly with quick throttle actuation, but this 2.0 looked better than it sounded. Ok, timing is good, but I should have set dwell first what does the meter say now SEVENTY????? Yes, the dwell meter read 70* so I chuckled inside and shut it down. Removed the distributor to show them points and how they open… Wait… I know I still have a lot to learn, but I KNOW points are supposed to open and close. Under a microscope these probably opened too, but I could not get my .003 (smallest at hand) feeler gauge in there. Add to that a GIANT pit/tit combo, and you get this distributor. I have a bazillion sets of points floating around my back seat, glove box, jetta, sock drawer, so I gave them one. Want to know how to impress someone who's never worked on cars? Show up with a bin of parts that they need, right at that moment. :) They baked me brownies and had a bin of fresh fruit waiting for me afterwards. Best 10$ I've ever spent.
I know Type4 engines aren't any "harder" to work on, but I'll be dipped in weasels if the clamp and timing nuts aren't a pain to get to compared to my T1 bus. The distributor went in fine, and we started it up and it ROARED to life instantly. Their kid came RUNNING down the stairs and stared yelling and cheering. These cars have soul, this kid can tell too. I really feel like this family has a renewed interest in this bus, and I'm glad I could surprise them with how easy it is to make a big fix with only a little effort and willingness.
Yeah yeah we did the timing properly after setting dwell, and test drive rewarded us with a NASTY grind with every attempt at 2nd gear. The stop plate ended up being in backwards. I felt a pain in my heart when I was mentally debating the diagnosis when I saw him go for reverse without pressing down. Now we're shifting smoother, running good (not great, more on that later,) and they can't wait to take it to her dad's house (original owner) next month. I know there's a lot of techno babble in here, and there was definitely too much information exchanged at them by me today. But all that evaporated when I saw their faces light up and son start cheering. This is why I can't let these cars suffer.
(Ok, so idle is fairly smooth, but I hear a TINY hiss coming from somewhere in the intake system. I sprayed every connection, wiggled every connection, and could not hear or see a change. Does any component in a proper L-Jet system naturally hiss? The only issue I SAW was the brake booster pipe- the one way valve was in front of the fire wall, and in the engine compartment was the plastic 69-70 brake fluid reservoir hose clamped INTO the rubber Y from the decal valve/intake plenum/brake booster. It went through the firewall and was then clamped into a rubber gates brake hose then into the check valve, then into the metal main tube. Is the real compartment booster line metal, rubber, or a hybrid? I have no prior experience with power brakes but I would love to narrow down the cause of hissing.)
??asiab3 wrote: Colin, I know you do a LITTLE more than replace points
All Volkswagens can take more timing. It merely shortens the life of the engine, both in hotter temps and greater stress. I do not even listen to people who tell me that the engine can take more timing. I don't *need* what more timing offers!asiab3 wrote: So is it true the T4 bases can take a little more advanced timing than a T1 overall?
Amskeptic wrote:??asiab3 wrote: Colin, I know you do a LITTLE more than replace points
I knew I was gonna be obsolete some day . . .
As and when you get to know me, you will discover that I am more rueful less sarcastic.asiab3 wrote:I was catching your sarcasm and raising you more.Amskeptic wrote:I knew I was gonna be obsolete some day . . .
asiab3 wrote:I visited this bus again, and in my haste to get it running and shifting in May, I never FULLY observed the owners' driving habits. Oops.
I can't figure out why I like this bus so much. Maybe it's speaking to us for giving it a second (third? fourth?) chance on life.
Robbie
Amskeptic wrote: You follow your intuition. That bus may have an unexpected future . . . like what happened with Vdubtech's Rusty Bus (sadly, it was recently sent to the knackers behind a Ford Escape, eeew).
asiab3 wrote:…the couple that owns this bus wants to scrap it. They said they will wait for me to inspect it to see if it can be fixed for cheap. I'm fairly certain it can be, and I want to help them feel a little bit of Volkswagen Love so they might respect the bus more. I hope they take a liking to it enough to call upon Colin's service. If they don't, I'll buy them out of it to keep it out of the crusher.
I had a similar experience. They didn't touch it for twenty years.asiab3 wrote:The family has too much going on in their life, and they haven't touched the bus in eight months. I pick up the bus this Friday. It will start a new life as my surf/hauling/workhorse vehicle. A "Son of Rustybus," if you will.
Robbie
I don't plan on keeping it for too long. I have to drive to the Atlantic Ocean by this time next year and need it to have a new home by then. And PLEASE… it WILL get the second garage berth. The fancy new Jetta will have a crippling electrical issue before its paint succumbs to the elements.Amskeptic wrote: So, do I get to visit it in Newhall, or will it be in Oceanside along the frigid Pacific misty cloudy dank shoreline?
Standard mantra, here and on TheOtherSite, when someone asks this question is: "replace the fuel hoses", followed by anecdotes and pictures of burning busses. Among the work that you've done so far, I haven't seen any mention of fuel hoses.asiab3 wrote:
EDIT: I have injector seals, a TS2, and ten feet of wire with connectors. Anything else I should bring besides the usual suspects? (Points, cap, condenser, etc…) We're only going 200-ish miles.
Robbie
The factory used ear clamps on the injector stubs, I believe, and ABA-type clamps (though with a button Phillips head instead of the hex+Phillips on the ABA clamps) for the rail clamps.asiab3 wrote:Thanks SlowLane. I'm on phone call number five looking for that line locally. Two more "no" calls and I'm going to grab some 7mm line from the BMW dealer down the street. I have a box of nice ABA screw-type clamps; which did the factory use?