'82 Bus - No Spark

[the miz]

All,
Sorry for the long delay in updating this thread-sometimes life gets in the way of Volkswagening, I guess...

some news: SHE'S ALIVE!!!!
...BellePlaine and I got the bus running last night and took her for a quick spin around the neighborhood!

So- apparently I blew it while gapping the new points I installed several weeks ago, the points were not quite gapped enough. So we took care of that, got the dwell set, re-timed her and reset the idle. She seems to be running about as well as she did before we removed the engine to go after that oil leak. Now, the leak still seems to be there- the upside is that I can definitely tell where the leak is from now: the oil filler tube connection to the engine. I am looking forward to my day off on Friday when I might be able to take her for another quick jaunt.

[BellePlaine]

It was fun when she fired up last night, huh Miz? I'm still beaming!

So, we (I) have a question for you Vanagon guys: How the heck do you turn the aircooled Vanagon engine over by hand? Us Baywindow T4 owners can use the alternator to turn the engine when performing valve or dwell adjustments but the Vanagon has a boot over the face of the alternator. We had to man-wrestle the fan to inch it into place but there must be a more civilized way.

[the miz]

It was fun when she fired up last night, huh Miz? I'm still beaming!

...yes, it was super-exciting, hadn't driven the bus in 2+months! Thanks again!

Another side question- any ideas as to how to make a better seal on the oil fill tube where it meets the engine? I was thinking I would try to track down some rubber gasket material and put a thin layer in the groove on the fill tube where it is supposed to slide over the corresponding metal tube on the engine...if someone knows better or has had experience with a leak here, I am all ears!!!

[Gypsie]

You can just turn it with the fan, especially if you pull all the plugs.

I use a 13 mil deep socket with a long wobbly extension (don't we all, eh...?) on the center fan mount.

Long enough to bring the ratchet past the fan housing is easiest for me and can be reached while leaning into the engine bay area. Though you can get it long enough to bring it out past the license plate.

Pretty much limited to clockwise turning but not necessarily.

When your done, break the torque and retorque the center bolt. This way you won't be driving around with a bolt that may just be waiting for the next heat cycle to snap.

I have cut a few of the strands of mesh on the fan screen so I can slip a driver in without having to take the screen off.

I have also made a tool for just this purpose: oversize socket (just big enough to slip into the fan hole)with a tab that will fit into the notch welded onto the outer wall of the socket. slips into the hole and eliminates the concerns about over torquing the fan mount bolt.

2 cents.

[Gypsie]

...yes, it was super-exciting, hadn't driven the bus in 2+months! Thanks again!

Another side question- any ideas as to how to make a better seal on the oil fill tube where it meets the engine? I was thinking I would try to track down some rubber gasket material and put a thin layer in the groove on the fill tube where it is supposed to slide over the corresponding metal tube on the engine...if someone knows better or has had experience with a leak here, I am all ears!!!

My recollection is that this mating surface is a flat flange type and has a paper gasket twixt the two.

disassemble, clean gently scrape away the old gasket material being careful not to gauge (especially the case side), apply permatex to both sides of the gasket and torque to spec. Not much pressure here but the heat cool cycle will expose weak links.

For old gasket scraping I like to use 'gasket remover dabbed onto the stuck gasket material with a qtip and then scraped with a plastic scraper. finishing with a razor for any troublesome gasket.

The oil filler side of the flange can be brought back to a good clean plane by using fine sandpaper on a sheet of glass or mirror. sand a bit and see if there are any high spots. clean the heck out of it before reinstalling to remove stray abrasives.

The plastic extension part that slides into the metal goose neck shouldn't need sealing but should be secured with the 10 mm nut and large washer. If it slips off you could spray oil sll over the area where it gets sucked into the fan and coats the heads and can drip onto the exhaust causing flames to spew out of the rear of the vehicle....ask me how I know...on second thought, don't ask, i'm embarrassed...

2 more cents.

[dtrumbo]

Another side question- any ideas as to how to make a better seal on the oil fill tube where it meets the engine? I was thinking I would try to track down some rubber gasket material and put a thin layer in the groove on the fill tube where it is supposed to slide over the corresponding metal tube on the engine...if someone knows better or has had experience with a leak here, I am all ears!!!

Isn't this what you need?
http://www.germansupply.com/home/custom ... at=&page=1

[the miz]

The plastic extension part that slides into the metal goose neck shouldn't need sealing but should be secured with the 10 mm nut and large washer. If it slips off you could spray oil sll over the area where it gets sucked into the fan and coats the heads and can drip onto the exhaust causing flames to spew out of the rear of the vehicle....ask me how I know...on second thought, don't ask, i'm embarrassed...

2 more cents.

Thanks for the tips-
...the point where the leak is occurring certainly seems to be where plastic meets metal. Although it is torqued, there is still a bit of wobble in the junction and, evidently, not a tight seal. Although I have yet to have the pleasure of spewing flames , I have certainly bailed my share of smoke from the rear of the vehicle...and have also repeatedly atomized (via the fan) a fine patina of oil all over the rear of my bus! ...good times-thank God for Dawn-it takes 20w50 out of your way!

miz

[the miz]

...so, on the plastic part of my oil fill tube assembly, the outer flange(where the nut is) seems to be quite ovalized, whereas the inner flange seems to still be in round. Is this abnormal? Is it perhaps time for a new oil filler neck? Also, frustratingly enough, the amount of torque placed on the plastic neck while using a long funnel to fill oil is enough to loosen the nut and allow the wobble back into the system.
...going for a drive now, will see if we are still leaky when we come back.
miz