1978 vw bus FI 2.0

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Amskeptic
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Re: 1978 vw bus FI 2.0

Post by Amskeptic » Fri Jul 03, 2015 9:23 am

Jivermo wrote:You have the engine out now. Bite the bullet, and get into the entire engine. Do both heads. My thought is that it's a false economy to slap this back together now. The knowledge of knowing that you are driving with a thourouhly rebuilt engine will give you much more peace of mind. Especially since this is your main mode of transport. When is Colin coming to see you? He is, right? He can help you check the end play accurately. Where are you getting the new head? Please check 3/4 before you order just the one. Look closely for minute cracks, too.
My intuition says short and sweet here. Kris, number 3 is NOT the problem child on a Type 4 engine, it used to be the problem child on early Type 1 engines. If you could properly ascertain the health of the remaining parts, you could slappitogetha and do fine. My intuition says that a heart replacement is not necessarily the best time to add a liver/pancreas transplant.
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

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khargis
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Re: 1978 vw bus FI 2.0

Post by khargis » Wed Jul 08, 2015 8:49 pm

Hello everbody. I just wanted to keep y'all posted on the status of "Bad Danger's" engine. I am replacing the 1/2 cylinder head as it was shot and I decided to replace the 3/4 as well (AMC), in hopes that this will provide a little comfort in knowing I have fresh stuff. My oil cooler was incredibly filthy, I do not know if any air could of gotten thru there, cleaned and shinyish, replacing my oil pump, my endplay is good, rods are good, replacing all seals, gaskets, etc. at least the ones I need too. Engine tins are stripped and ready to paint (the lye work great Jivermo - thanks); do I need to use a high heat paint for these? Replacing spark plug wires and plugs, some hoses, any fuel lines that I have not already, ordering a CHT gauge and...I am sure there are some things I am forgetting, but that is a good start. One question; what is the best way to clean my aluminum fan housing? Jivermo's photo on Page 2 of this thread, yours looks all new and gunmetal grey, did you paint it or treat it with something?Here are some pics of the clean engine! That was a lot of scrubbing! :salute:
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khargis
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Re: 1978 vw bus FI 2.0

Post by khargis » Wed Jul 08, 2015 8:50 pm

another view.
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Bleyseng
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Re: 1978 vw bus FI 2.0

Post by Bleyseng » Wed Jul 08, 2015 9:35 pm

The fan housing is magnesium not aluminum so it's hard to make shiney. I have em powder coated silver or black. Use a engine enamel to paint the tins as other paints don't last with gas hitting em.
Geoff
77 Sage Green Westy- CS 2.0L-160,000 miles
70 Ghia vert, black, stock 1600SP,- 139,000 miles,
76 914 2.1L-Nepal Orange- 160,000+ miles
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Re: 1978 vw bus FI 2.0

Post by Jivermo » Thu Jul 09, 2015 12:54 am

I second the powder coat...talk with this guy...very nice work. That looks great, what you have done.


http://www.awesomepowdercoat.com/yourusedparts.html

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Re: 1978 vw bus FI 2.0

Post by khargis » Sat Jul 11, 2015 6:10 pm

Does anyone have any thoughts on oil temperature gauges or cylinder head temperature gauges and which is the best to have in my bus? Thanks! Kris
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Re: 1978 vw bus FI 2.0

Post by Jivermo » Sat Jul 11, 2015 6:19 pm

I like the Dakota Digital cylinder head temp. gauge.

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khargis
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Re: 1978 vw bus FI 2.0

Post by khargis » Sat Jul 11, 2015 6:48 pm

I was looking at that one Jivermo, would I also need an oil temp gauge if I went with the Dakota? Or is one or the other satisfactory?
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Re: 1978 vw bus FI 2.0

Post by Jivermo » Sun Jul 12, 2015 5:46 am

I bought only the one for the heads reading, on #3. When I stopped, I would do the old "feel the dipstick" heat reading. I don't think you need one, but if it makes you more at ease about the running engines condition, why not? The highest head temp I got on my long trip was 413, in August, coming out of Charleston, SC and heading up into the mountains to get out of the oppressive heat. It was 95 degrees, and I was going up a long, steep grade. It would have been informative to know how my oil was boiling.

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Re: 1978 vw bus FI 2.0

Post by SlowLane » Sun Jul 12, 2015 10:51 am

khargis wrote:Does anyone have any thoughts on oil temperature gauges or cylinder head temperature gauges and which is the best to have in my bus?
Okay, you asked. I'll warn you up front that I could charitably be described as a gauge enthusiast. :geek:

Consider having both in one tidy little package: http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_ ... cts_id=357. This nifty little dual gauge can interface to a wide variety of input types, including a K-type thermocouple which is the standard CHT sensor, and also the standard thermistor-based VDO oil temp sender. But it also interfaces to much higher-precision RTD-based temperature senders if you have a desire to know your oil temperature to a better degree of accuracy than a VDO meter could hope to promise.

The beauty of this gauge is its flexibility. I'm using one right now to monitor the fuel pressure in my left and right rails. Once I tire of that exercise, I can re-purpose it to measure other things which might strike my fancy to measure. It costs eighty bucks, which is probably less than the cost of any pair of single-purpose gauges you could find of (excluding J.C Whitney junk).

You will have to do a bit of research and engineer your own solution, though. Auber has quite good application notes to help with that, but they don't supply plug'n'play kits for specific applications. It's not brain surgery, though.

Good luck
'81 Canadian Westfalia (2.0L, manual), now Californiated

"They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance."
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khargis
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Re: 1978 vw bus FI 2.0

Post by khargis » Mon Jul 13, 2015 7:20 am

Thanks a bunch Slow Lane!
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Re: 1978 vw bus FI 2.0

Post by Jivermo » Fri Jul 24, 2015 4:23 pm

How is this going?

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khargis
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Re: 1978 vw bus FI 2.0

Post by khargis » Fri Jul 24, 2015 4:56 pm

Hey there Jivermo. Parts came in yesterday, everything is cleaned, painted, etc. and tomorrow is day one of putting her back together. I borrowed a truck to use from a friend, so I was able to be more thorough. I am pretty excited to get back on the road. I have been taking a lot of pics, so will be posting them soon. Hope you are well and thank you for all your input!
Kris
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Amskeptic
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Re: 1978 vw bus FI 2.0

Post by Amskeptic » Sun Jul 26, 2015 10:45 am

khargis wrote:Hey there Jivermo. Parts came in yesterday, everything is cleaned, painted, etc. and tomorrow is day one of putting her back together. I borrowed a truck to use from a friend, so I was able to be more thorough. I am pretty excited to get back on the road. I have been taking a lot of pics, so will be posting them soon. Hope you are well and thank you for all your input!
Kris
Any questions of deck height/compression ratio, valve train geometry?
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

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khargis
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Re: 1978 vw bus FI 2.0

Post by khargis » Thu Aug 06, 2015 7:24 am

Hello all. It's has been longer then expected since my last reply, but my learning curve has increased exponentially! Bad Danger's engine is going in today! I feel good about the process and about all the work that has gone into this journey. Thanks to everyone for their support and feedback. Now it's time to break this mug in slow and proper. All my best and thanks again.
Kris
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