Wdollie6 Bus Thread

Bus, Microbus, Transporter, Station Wagon, Vanagon, Camper, Pick-Up.

Moderators: Sluggo, Amskeptic

Post Reply
User avatar
Amskeptic
IAC "Help Desk"
IAC "Help Desk"
Status: Offline

Re: Wdollie6 Bus Thread

Post by Amskeptic » Wed Sep 13, 2017 3:57 pm

wdollie6 wrote:
Tue Sep 12, 2017 1:19 pm
Front of House.png
That is not hopeful. Is that the stop sign at Central Ave?
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

User avatar
wdollie6
Addicted!
Status: Offline

Re: Wdollie6 Bus Thread

Post by wdollie6 » Sat Sep 16, 2017 5:15 am

House and garage in rough shape bug is fine. Water came up 2 to 3 inches, just enough to require cutting out sheetrock and insulation. Carpets, furniture, etc all shot. Neighborhood looks like combat zone with flood damage stacked everywhere. Been here since Thursday finally got spotty power back and this morn internet.
1972 Superbeetle Convertible
1972 Westy Bus
1972 Beetle
1970 Fastback
1966 6V Beetle with Sunroof

User avatar
wdollie6
Addicted!
Status: Offline

Re: Wdollie6 Bus Thread

Post by wdollie6 » Sat Sep 16, 2017 5:28 am

By the way we were the lucky ones as those who were closer to intracoastal measured feet of water along with sewage mixed in. Some news reports indicate these houses will be demolished... ouch.

Amazing the number of volunteers who have poured in to the area to help the elderly, if I didn't have my own issues I would be with them.
1972 Superbeetle Convertible
1972 Westy Bus
1972 Beetle
1970 Fastback
1966 6V Beetle with Sunroof

User avatar
Amskeptic
IAC "Help Desk"
IAC "Help Desk"
Status: Offline

Re: Wdollie6 Bus Thread

Post by Amskeptic » Sat Sep 16, 2017 7:14 pm

wdollie6 wrote:
Sat Sep 16, 2017 5:28 am
By the way we were the lucky ones as those who were closer to intracoastal measured feet of water along with sewage mixed in. Some news reports indicate these houses will be demolished... ouch.

Amazing the number of volunteers who have poured in to the area to help the elderly, if I didn't have my own issues I would be with them.
Glad to hear that Layla was only lightly touched. Insured? Some companies are getting ready to do what students cannot . . . declare bankruptcy.
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

User avatar
wdollie6
Addicted!
Status: Offline

Re: Wdollie6 Bus Thread

Post by wdollie6 » Mon Sep 18, 2017 6:03 am

Flood insurance through FEMA (required) so hopefully be ok. Adjuster was already here should have numbers within a week.
1972 Superbeetle Convertible
1972 Westy Bus
1972 Beetle
1970 Fastback
1966 6V Beetle with Sunroof

User avatar
wdollie6
Addicted!
Status: Offline

Re: Wdollie6 Bus Thread

Post by wdollie6 » Mon Sep 25, 2017 7:11 am

Auto Show.jpg
Photo 2.jpg
Attended my first "drive-in" or for that matter any auto show on Saturday at SUNY Delhi. Had a great time but didn't fit into any of the student set categories; best GM, Ford, Mopar, tuner (whatever that is...) that being said we were the most popular by far. This was a student judged show so results were predictable, some nice looking vehicles, particularly impressed with their best of show, a 1970 Plymouth Cuda', parked in front of us so had some long conversations with the owner.

Let people enter FatBoy via the tent (first time it was setup outside) for a closer look, everyone had a story and a smile. After 3+ years of trials and tribulations she was impressive (Colin obviously kept the front doors closed, no need to show the ugly!).

The Breeze, 66' Beetle (still 6 Volt) received as much attention as the bus, after a rough 6 am start (hadn't been run for over a year) she was off to the races, fun to drive. The rough start was a result of the spring in the distributor cap separating itself from the cap, new just a few years ago, probably only has 2 hours on it, junk! I put the old one back on, worked fine. As I said in an earlier post she is back in the garage next as she needs some love.
1972 Superbeetle Convertible
1972 Westy Bus
1972 Beetle
1970 Fastback
1966 6V Beetle with Sunroof

User avatar
Amskeptic
IAC "Help Desk"
IAC "Help Desk"
Status: Offline

Re: Wdollie6 Bus Thread

Post by Amskeptic » Mon Sep 25, 2017 6:58 pm

wdollie6 wrote:
Mon Sep 25, 2017 7:11 am

Attended my first "drive-in" or for that matter any auto show on Saturday at SUNY Delhi. Had a great time but didn't fit into any of the student set categories;

The Breeze, 66' Beetle (still 6 Volt) received as much attention as the bus,

Looking fine there at the Delhi show. Good to see the Beetle out in the world.
Colin
(I need to enter some shows, last real show I was at was 2002 at Pikes Peak)
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

User avatar
tommu
Old School!
Location: Sunny Burbank
Status: Offline

Re: Wdollie6 Bus Thread

Post by tommu » Wed Sep 27, 2017 10:42 pm

Pikes Peak? That's all the opportunity I need to share my favorite Peugeot 405 T16 movie! Shame the production cars were FWD::
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJsHlugRls4

User avatar
wdollie6
Addicted!
Status: Offline

Re: Wdollie6 Bus Thread

Post by wdollie6 » Wed Oct 18, 2017 2:37 pm

This past week the gas smell returned, so pulled the firewall (yes Colin I dropped the engine/tranny assembly down a few inches) to see if the filler hoseor any of the evap hoses had issues, all seemed good although I will change them out while I am in there as the hoses I used originally for the evap/vent were slightly oversized. That is the good news, the bad news is that I found gas leaking at the front of the passenger side carb which I assume must be a failure of the needle valve or float as both of these carbs were rebushed less than a thousand miles ago. My assumption is that the float needle valve from the rebuild kit has crapped out on me, we shall see. I will pop the top off the carb tonight to see where the problem lies. I have some spares so shouldn't take too long.

Checked my dipstick to see if gas made it all the way to the oil, yup, a slight odor of gas, although it wasn't overfull. Hopefully I caught it in time, will change oil regardless.
1972 Superbeetle Convertible
1972 Westy Bus
1972 Beetle
1970 Fastback
1966 6V Beetle with Sunroof

User avatar
wdollie6
Addicted!
Status: Offline

Re: Wdollie6 Bus Thread

Post by wdollie6 » Thu Oct 19, 2017 4:59 am

After changing the hoses on the vent system (fun task with engine in) focused on the carb. issues. After pulling it apart it appears that both the float and shut off valve are fine, hmmm. I dunked the float in water to see if it had leaks, nothing, and the blew through the intake while working the valve appeared to work properly. It is possible that a small amount of debris was stuck somewhere but it wasn't obvious.

I will finish reassembly tonight with the confidence that all of the gas tank vent hoses have been changed out with proper size/rated Gates hose and then focus on the carb. Maybe I've got it, maybe I don't will know at end day. If I still have the gas smell the carb. is the culprit so will pull it in its entirety to see if there is some other obvious issue.
1972 Superbeetle Convertible
1972 Westy Bus
1972 Beetle
1970 Fastback
1966 6V Beetle with Sunroof

User avatar
wdollie6
Addicted!
Status: Offline

Re: Wdollie6 Bus Thread

Post by wdollie6 » Fri Oct 20, 2017 4:58 am

Quick update, problem solved although not sure which change provided the resolution. No fuel leaking at the back of the carb and no fuel smells in the car, awesome! Supposed to be beautiful this weekend will be planning several long drives in the Catskills before putting Fat Boy up for the winter.
1972 Superbeetle Convertible
1972 Westy Bus
1972 Beetle
1970 Fastback
1966 6V Beetle with Sunroof

User avatar
Amskeptic
IAC "Help Desk"
IAC "Help Desk"
Status: Offline

Re: Wdollie6 Bus Thread

Post by Amskeptic » Fri Oct 20, 2017 5:42 pm

wdollie6 wrote:
Fri Oct 20, 2017 4:58 am
Quick update, problem solved although not sure which change provided the resolution. No fuel leaking at the back of the carb and no fuel smells in the car, awesome! Supposed to be beautiful this weekend will be planning several long drives in the Catskills before putting Fat Boy up for the winter.
I haven't seen mention of the charcoal canister, hose from fan housing to same, hose from canister to air cleaner, or little lines to the rubber tee that vents the tank to the canister. If you are fragrance-free right now, you fixed it, but keep those items in mind should the problem resurface.

It is beautiful here outside of Albany . . .
Colin

Image
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

User avatar
wdollie6
Addicted!
Status: Offline

Re: Wdollie6 Bus Thread

Post by wdollie6 » Sat Oct 21, 2017 6:39 am

All of those hoses, elbows, etc.. were replaced with new during the initial rebuild so they are in good shape. The three small sections of vent hose above the fuel tank were over sized but what I had available at the time. I was in a hurry to get Fat Boy out of the body shop and home so...

Anyway for now problem solved. Based on the fact that I had fuel seeping on the outside back of the carb. my intuition suggests that it was a needle valve issue, even though it wasn't obvious when I tested. To some degree this makes sense as for a while the smell would come and go then a couple of weeks ago it became a permanent fixture.

Looking forward to some long cruises this afternoon and tomorrow. Only remaining critical issue is getting the chokes to kick down, currently they only do so after full warm up then the idle is fine. The choke butterflies are synched and open properly just can't seem to figure out the two step mechanism described in the procedure.

Enjoy your travels, Lexus sounds relaxing after a lap in Chloe, note that I didn't say an improvement.
1972 Superbeetle Convertible
1972 Westy Bus
1972 Beetle
1970 Fastback
1966 6V Beetle with Sunroof

User avatar
wdollie6
Addicted!
Status: Offline

Re: Wdollie6 Bus Thread

Post by wdollie6 » Tue Jul 10, 2018 7:55 am

For the past few weeks have heard the front wheels growling when I apply the brakes, decided last night to fix once and for all. Pulled passenger side apart and found that the rotor was rusty and needs to be machined. Unfortunately taking it on a trip this weekend (or so I thought) and did not have the time, not to mention that the allen head screws that hold the hub in place are stripped and one was missing, hmmm. So I pulled the entire assembly sealed both ends with clean rags and cross-hatched a multitude of times on both sides of the rotor (trained by Colin, sore arms by Wayne). While not perfect after several hours it was serviceable so repacked bearings, reinstalled seal and reassembled, all was good.

After reassembling the caliper (lightly sanded the pads) and taking for a test drive the growling was gone on the right side =D> , unfortunately on my third hard brake test the pedal went to the floor, not excited about the ride down a long hill (thankfully e-brake did fine...). When I got back to the garage determined brake fluid was leaking where I had just finished working so rechecked hoses and hard connections on passenger side, no leaks at those locations, however a significant leak from inside the caliper somewhere, assume it is the seal on one of the pistons? Since it was 1 am in the morning I cleaned it up best I could and let it sit, was in the wrong frame of mind to go any further.

Very frustrated with this as these are Bus Depot rebuilds that are less than three years old, maybe 2K miles on them. :angryfire: What would cause this? The only good news is that I have two rebuild kits that I purchased for the original calipers (never could get the pistons out) so I should be able to rebuild but timing is lousy. The other good news is that this didn't happen in an emergency situation with the wife and others in the vehicle. The other curiosity is why the back brakes didn't seem to work at all, with a dual circuit setup you would expect that they would provide some stopping capability, add rear brake evaluation to the list.
1972 Superbeetle Convertible
1972 Westy Bus
1972 Beetle
1970 Fastback
1966 6V Beetle with Sunroof

User avatar
wdollie6
Addicted!
Status: Offline

Re: Wdollie6 Bus Thread

Post by wdollie6 » Thu Jul 12, 2018 5:30 am

cracked caliber.jpg
Finally had time to pull caliper back out of FatBoy last night to determine what had caused the leak. Assumed it was a seal however to my surprise it was a cracked casting... wtf? Towards the bottom of the above picture you can see the crack and the raised part of the perimeter. As I said in an earlier post these were provided by Bus Depot just three years ago, would never have expected this. Tells the story of quality "rebuilt" components. Again glad the failure didn't happen in a more serious situation.

Pulled out my original calipers that I had been unable to get the pistons out of and went to work. After a couple of hours working one side in and out with clamps and 120 psi pressure finally got it to pop, scared the bejesus out of me... The piston and cylinder walls looked good, minimal rust, so cleaned up with fine emery cloth, installed new seal. lubricated and reinserted. Unfortunately the other side has less movement and after working on for an additional couple of hours, using the same process, gave up for the night.

Anyone have any pointers for removing the second caliper piston? Also any thoughts on how to remove the badly rusted bleeders without breaking them off?
1972 Superbeetle Convertible
1972 Westy Bus
1972 Beetle
1970 Fastback
1966 6V Beetle with Sunroof

Post Reply