Hi and looking for VW mechanic in Portland, OR?

[Marya70Riviera]

Hi all,

I'm probably going to have a guy who works from home work on the bus but he probably won't do all the work so I'd like to get ahead of the game and see what's what and where I should be taking it beyond that.

As uncool as this may be to this community ;) I'm not one who knows much about VWs - or any cars quite honestly. Point being I'm not likely to do a lot of the fixing and maintenance stuff on my own (though I've been slowly researching this and that over the years online and would love to learn to do some of the easier things eventually). I have 3 growing boys and a full plate, besides. That said, I do LOVE my bus! It was bought new by my beatnik buddhist beloved grandpa in '69 or '70. I have wonderful memories of driving around with him (as he played waltzes on his 8-track while he drove way too slowly in his suspenders and fisherman's hat) and camping with him - us kids sleeping in the pop-top and waking in the morning to find him doing a watercolor of whatever lake we were camped by...damn I miss him. Named the bus GG Willardo.

Gramps died in '90, my brother had the van from about '90-'94 and it's basically been sitting in the family garage ever since. He signed over the title to me in '2004. Back then - when I first planned on having engine work done on the bus, although it never ended up happening - there was a list of Portland mechanics who most VW owners recommend. I've been told that the list has changed a bit over time so I'm wondering if any of you can recommend one or two in the Portland area that are known to be reasonable, fair/honest? I hope to be camping in it by March or April!

I'm also wondering if there's a used type II transmission somewhere around town. The only one I know of is going for over $800.00. That might be the typical price but I've seen them go for less so it would be nice to find one that costs less if possible. There don't appear to be any on CL now.

Thanks!

p.s. pic is of pic of pic (!) taken in 2004 just before giving it a good scrubbing!

[Runamuck Bus]

CL is OK, sorta. I might get kicked out of this club for mentioning this but - thesamba.com has classified section. Don't ask me why but there is some deep history there and this site turns out to be a little more 'enjoyable' than some others. Also, I might have your transmission, only 2700 miles away - cost + shipping would exceed your $800; keep patiently looking. Why do you think that you need a trans? Sometimes things are not as they appear

[wcfvw69]

You have a nice looking bus with a great family history to it. I love that you want to get her back running nicely and enjoy it again with the next generation of your family! Your gramps would love that!

As mentioned above, are you having problems with the transmission? Personally, I wouldn't buy a "used" transmission from Craigslist. Too much risk. I just had my 70' tranmission rebuilt. It cost $630 dollars from a VW transmission shop with a great reputation. Why not consider simply getting your rebuilt?

I hope you're able to locate a good, honest shop that does first rate work to do your repairs on such a great family heirloom.

[Marya70Riviera]

Runamuck Bus and Wcfvw69,

Thanks for responding!

Hi - yes I've spent most of my VW online time on thesamba, thanks. I've heard such good things about this forum though and someone told me there was more of a Portland connection.

My brother said the transmission slipped out of either 2nd or 3rd gear (can't remember which - and it's been 10 or more years so at least I *think* he said it slips out of it - either that or it won't go into one of those gears). He thought it needed a new transmission. One guy has the $800+ transmission and would install it for me for a fee but if I could get a cheaper one, hopefully well, the total cost would come down (as opposed to his increasing my labor costs)! He originally wanted the transmission for himself so hopefully that wouldn't upset him if I found one that costs less. Not that I'll necessarily have any luck with that. The upside of his doing the work is that he knows the transmission's condition and couldn't charge me for one that doesn't work, theoretically (I suppose it could break down a week later, ack). This is why I want to buy locally as opposed to not living near the seller.

I was also told the tran. might just need work done to it (so yes I guess rebuilt) as opposed to having to be replaced. But I guess no one knows that yet. I wish I could just have it assessed but I'm guessing that's not cheap as it would have to be taken apart to be determined (?). The guy that's offered to replace the transmission said that for $1500 he'd do that as well as parts and all other work needed - minus the breaks, if that too is needed - to get it road-worthy. I guess that would mean giving it something like a tune-up, new fuel lines and whatever else typically gets a bus back on the road after sitting for many years. For the breaks too, it would be another $500. Sure makes me wish I had the skills (or more importantly, the time to learn the skills)! That's a lot of money for me. I'm hoping that once it's really going again, I can learn some basic maintenance stuff. Also hoping that eventually one or more of my boys will take an interest in working on it (when they get older).

Thanks for your positive feedback on the bus and keeping it in the family. :)

[wcfvw69]

Mary,

I think you should have someone get the bus running first. Since the fuel tank has bad gas and other crap in it, they could feed the carb from a fuel can. Once it's running they can check for engine leaks and the compression of the engine to gauge the motors health. Before driving it, inspect the brake system and suspension thoroughly. Once the brakes get a clean bill of health, you can change the transaxle fluid. At the end of the drain fluid is a magnet. It might leave metal shaving on it that can clue you into the transaxle health. Put some new, clean transaxle oil in it and then drive it so you know exactly what's wrong with the transmission.

What I'm trying to articulate is to get the patient alive again. Once the engine is running, the brakes are inspected/fixed, you can then get a much better assessment of the bus's systems. This way you're not assuming anything and you're not throwing parts or $ at it until you know things are based on fact.

If the engine has good compression, it will need to be pulled out and resealed in all likelihood. The fuel tank will need to come out and be flushed as well. Since you drove it, you'll know the condition of the transmission and if it too needs to come out for a rebuild, which is what I'd do.

You should also post looking for a good shop recommendation on The Samba as well. There are ton's of folks on that site in the Portland area.

[tristessa]

Did you get ahold of Bob..?

[hambone]

Ahoy! And thanks, I will be taking a look on Sunday! Looks like a lovely bus.

[Marya70Riviera]

Wcfvw69,
Wow - thank you for all that detail! I really appreciate it! I didn't realize one of the forum members here (that has also been planning to do some work on my bus, this weekend) also does engine work. So he's probably going to rebuild the transmission. I asked him to read your post since - ignorant as I am - that all seems to makes sense. From the little bit I relayed him, he seems to agree.

Mary,

I think you should have someone get the bus running first. Since the fuel tank has bad gas and other crap in it, they could feed the carb from a fuel can. Once it's running they can check for engine leaks and the compression of the engine to gauge the motors health. Before driving it, inspect the brake system and suspension thoroughly. Once the brakes get a clean bill of health, you can change the transaxle fluid. At the end of the drain fluid is a magnet. It might leave metal shaving on it that can clue you into the transaxle health. Put some new, clean transaxle oil in it and then drive it so you know exactly what's wrong with the transmission.

What I'm trying to articulate is to get the patient alive again. Once the engine is running, the brakes are inspected/fixed, you can then get a much better assessment of the bus's systems. This way you're not assuming anything and you're not throwing parts or $ at it until you know things are based on fact.

If the engine has good compression, it will need to be pulled out and resealed in all likelihood. The fuel tank will need to come out and be flushed as well. Since you drove it, you'll know the condition of the transmission and if it too needs to come out for a rebuild, which is what I'd do.

You should also post looking for a good shop recommendation on The Samba as well. There are ton's of folks on that site in the Portland area.

[Marya70Riviera]

Oh - ha - hi Bob! So looking forward to it!

[Marya70Riviera]

Hi Hal - yes - and as always, thank you so much! At first I misunderstood and thought Bob did more body and interior work, so I was super happy to realize he can do much more than that! He's coming over this weekend.

Did you get ahold of Bob..?

[Marya70Riviera]

Bob came over today and got the bus running! Hal, thank you so much for recommending him. We still have a ways to go, for example it started but needed to have the gas revved to stay on. Tomorrow he does a full tune-up and hopefully soon will do the breaks (which is a good thing cause they're rusted stuck and the bus won't budge)! Then will be getting a rebuilt tranny, unless we find the slipping-out-of-gear issue doesn't require a rebuild.

Why, I wonder, did I post this thread in the parts forum?! That was an accident!

[Jivermo]

I hope you get a break, and don't have to do much work on the brakes!

[Marya70Riviera]

Hey Colin, thanks for moving this from the parts forum!

Thanks Jivermo - we did have to order a new master cylinder and rear drum unfortunately (had been machined past the specs I think?) so are waiting on those to arrive next week. He's done a lot of other work on the brakes meanwhile. My wheels are being sandblasted and powder-coated now, so next thing I need to do is find the moon style hubcaps, a can of spray paint of that gray color they originally came in, and get new BF Goodrich LT tires. Still need an early bay wheel and spare tire but can't seem to find one locally (should it really be this hard?). After all that some electrical stuff might need to get done (hopefully nothing too big), then insulation, then the new floor cover will go in before reinstalling the interior. I suppose it's fooling myself to think I won't need all new seals for the window and pop-top. Sounds like a nightmare though, removing windows and such. :(

Later down the road we'll deal with the transmission issues (still hard to determine what they are but I've barely driven it), and the battery tray rust which has also eaten through to the quarter panels dammit.

[Marya70Riviera]

Speaking of electrical issues, are there any things I should be dealing with or adding during that time?

[Amskeptic]

Speaking of electrical issues, are there any things I should be dealing with or adding during that time?

Heck yeah. Each Technical Forum has an "Overview" essay carefully thought and written for everyone.

viewtopic.php?f=48&t=232&p=196088#p2040


Here in the practical world of grit, rain drops, and rusty dirty living cars, you crawl under the bus and clean the ground strap between the transaxle and the diagonal arm bracket. Shiny where ever things contact, even the washer under the bolt. Use dielectric grease to make a barrier between the metal and the oxygen in the atmosphere.

Then, disconnect the negative terminal of the ground strap leading to the battery, from the post on the battery. ALWAYS disconnect the NEGATIVE side of the battery FIRST. That is because if you accidentally plough your wrench into metal in the vicinity, you will not get a shower of sparks. If you tried to disconnect the positive terminal first, you would get sparks and heat and terror if you accidentally shorted your wrench against adjacent metal.

Yeah, so disconnect and clean both ends of the negative ground strap or wire at the battery terminal and post, and the spot where it contacts the metal of the car. All of your positive wires are now deadeadeadead, so you can then clean them shiny and hit them with a light coating of dielectric grease where they contact or plug in. Do the positive post of the battery, inside circle of the positive terminal, and all connections at the starter. This will improve the reliability of your Volkswagen.

Any time you touch a fuse or a light bulb, hit the electrical contact areas with dielectric grease.
Colin