IAC Puzzlehand rebuilds birdibus carbs

Moderators: Sluggo, Amskeptic

User avatar
Birdibus
IAC Addict!
Location: Inland SoCal
Status: Offline

IAC Puzzlehand rebuilds birdibus carbs

Post by Birdibus » Fri Aug 08, 2008 12:34 am

Prepping for Colin's visit began with selling a trailer, cleaning and rearranging the carport, cleaning the engine and compartment, and shopping for some parts and supplies. I ended up buying stuff at 4 automotive establishments, and 2 general retail shops. This shopping experience was new to me.

Our main goal was to rebuild my dual solex carbs. Having inspected them earlier, he knew which parts he was likely to need. I arranged with satchmo for Colin to pick up some used carbs from which to harvest parts, and those were carried south in the blue and white bus.

Tuesday morning, I was ready at 9am. Rather than stand at the window waiting, I sat at the computer for a few minutes. I got up when I thought I heard my cat scratching on the screen, and there was Colin standing in my kitchen sniffing the scent of fresh coffee.

He poured a cup of the bitter brew and we went outside.

"Look, yellow paint" says Colin as he peers into the engine compartment. When he was here last winter, it was a dark hole in there. I thought it was black undercoating, but it was thick layers of gunky oil and dirt. Nobody to blame but myself. Can't curse the PO. Finally found a good cleaner and wire brushes and cleaned most of it away. Whoo hoo, yellow paint! I explained about the several times the oil filler cap popped off and sprayed oil on everything. "You should tighten it better" he says. Well, yes, but too many times I've had it stuck tight and the shaft just spins around and around. Even with two hands I can't get it off, so I try to apply the cap loosely. Sometimes, that approach fails. Colin's first thought was that the filler neck had never been installed properly, but it turned out the tab or slot was broken. So he found a different type of clamp, and now my oil filler cap can be tightened snugly.

The rest of the day followed with revelation after revelation of dubious or shabby repairs from the past.

First thing, Colin adjusted the valves and I cleaned the covers. I noticed a dent, but did not say anything. Oops, mistake, because later the dent caused an oil leak that took a while to solve. Are dented, leaky VCs gooped up with rubbery caulk the plague of soCal?

Colin found various problems with my engine tins. The worst was a bend that left a big gap down near the right heads, where I have the most problems. He bent it back as best he could. Need to drop the engine for better repair. I knew I was missing a number of engine tin screws, so I had some handy and Colin replaced what he could.

Colin picks my top engine compartment lid and says "lets make this better". The insulation was black and drooping, and there was a hole burned over the right carb. Ugly. He flipped the insulation, covered it with some plastic I provided, and reinstalled the retaining wire. Much better.

Colin removed the crusty engine fan and handed it to me to clean. First thing I notice is a missing blade and another that is bent and partially broken. That can't be good. Nothing we can do about it today, so I spend a long time scraping and wire brushing it clean. Functional cleanliness, that's what it's all about, ya know?

Colin removes the right carb and begins disassembly. By now I've zoned off into the rhythm of scraping the fan blades and there is a series of comments of disapproval coming from Colin about what he is finding. I tell him how my mechanic's partner, John, was the carb guy, and it all went downhill when John moved to Colorado. I told him about the time I had problems in the central valley on I-5, limping 15MPH down the shoulder. The first mechanic tells me my engine is blown and needs rebuilding, but he can't do it because he's leaving tomorrow for Hawaii (luckily for me). I spend the night at Buttonwillow roadside rest, and limp into Bakersfield at dawn. So mechanic number two, a VW specialist, does not want to look at my bus. Doesn't like VWs after 1971, so go to the dealer, he says. Sheesh. What do you know?, the dealer is the hero in this story... turns out the float pin in one carb worked loose and the float was wonky. Cost me $35 for it to be snapped into place. Dumb me, I should have been able to fix that myself. Finally got to see the darned float pin after all these years.

Colin sat in the sun on the cement driveway, and I sat in a chair in the shade. I scraped the fan and he put together the carb puzzle. There were little tiny parts everywhere, some from the two Royze rebuild kits, some from my old carbs, and some from satchmo's carbs. We squinted together over the tiny numbers and letters stamped on the jets, frustrated by one with no stampings. My central idle was not operating, solenoid missing, holes plugged. It was running very rich, and my mechanic had installed different jets trying to make it more lean. Didn't work. I had clouds of black smoke out the pipe, backfiring, and fouled plugs. Would not start at all until Colin changed the spark plugs.

At some point Colin set me to work installing the new heater hose I had ordered. I measured carefully and cut it in two. Struggled awhile trying to fit it. Darn, WW sold me beetle hose! I asked specifically for hose for a 74 bus. Beetle hose is 50mm, and late bus hose is 52mm. Not carried there. They will be crediting my credit card, very nicely handled. Gotta find another black heater hose.

I fell into a cleaning zone, and probably missed a lot of what Colin was doing. I cleaned a number of plastic parts that Colin had removed, and some engine tins. He finished rebuilding the carbs, and installed them. He changed the spark plug wires with new ones I had bought. I put some fresh gas in the tank. Colin primed the carb with some gas. Bus would not start. Dead. Nada. Spark from distributor is ok. He pulls a spark plug. Dark black. Tries to clean it, but it won't go back into the hole. "the plug hole, it's all chewed up on the edge. What did that guy do?" "You know, Colin, I have new plugs. You didn't see those sitting on the table?" Made in India. Colin disapproves. Different number stamped on them. I'm not understanding the difference, but we use them anyway after regapping, and they go in without too much trouble. Bus fires up right away. Whoo hoo! Colin adjusts the carb settings, his speciality. It is sounding good. All is groovy, except, what's that white smoke and that little puddle of oil? Darned valve cover! Takes a few tries, but he stops the leak after he finds the dent and bends it back. Yow! hot valves!

By now it is after 7PM. We clean up a bit and go for a short drive. I get another lesson in shifting. The engine sounds good. But, oh!, those brakes! The rears are locking up and are squishy. Return home. I refill brake fluid reservoir which is down to 1/4. I go find my bottle jack and Colin looks at brakes. Spider webs galore inside! Well, its been sitting for a long, long time. I tried to kill all the black widows before you got here. Leaky L/R wheel cylinder, frozen R/R star adjuster, worn pads on front. Need CV boots. Clutch cable at it's limit. More work for the future. Colin must go, another job tomorrow. It's after 8 and the pleasant day in the low 90s with cooling breeze has turned to a balmy evening. I draw him a map to San Diego county, but he ends up in Orange county with Lanval. Huh?
71 bus, 74 westy

User avatar
Ritter
IAC Addict!
Location: Sonoma County, CA
Status: Offline

Post by Ritter » Fri Aug 08, 2008 9:01 am

Nice writeup. Fun in an exhausting, mind-numbing sort of way. I bet you can do the brakes yourself.
1978 Westfalia 2.0 FI

User avatar
Birdibus
IAC Addict!
Location: Inland SoCal
Status: Offline

Post by Birdibus » Fri Aug 08, 2008 9:41 am

Ritter wrote:I bet you can do the brakes yourself.
That's what I like to hear! What tools do I need? I have a few, but nothing specialized.

Where is a good write up?

Starting with the star adjuster, is that a job for PB Blaster? Or is there some reason not to go near brakes with it?

I left out a little story... but can't bring it to mind right now.
71 bus, 74 westy

User avatar
dtrumbo
IAC Addict!
Location: Mill Creek, WA
Status: Offline

Post by dtrumbo » Fri Aug 08, 2008 10:15 am

Birdibus wrote: Where is a good write up?
Right here.

http://www.ratwell.com/technical/BrakeJob.html
- Dick

1970 Transporter. 2015cc, dual Weber IDF 40's
1978 Riviera Camper. Bone stock GE 2.0L F.I.
1979 Super Beetle convertible.

... as it turns out, it was the coil!

User avatar
chitwnvw
Resident Troublemaker
Location: Chicago.
Status: Offline

Post by chitwnvw » Fri Aug 08, 2008 10:20 am

Interesting about the size of the beetle/bus fan hose. My PO had made a flange out of duck tape in order to make it fit.

User avatar
dtrumbo
IAC Addict!
Location: Mill Creek, WA
Status: Offline

Post by dtrumbo » Fri Aug 08, 2008 10:44 am

BTW, here's where you can get the correct heater hoses for your Type 4 engine.

Left with round ends:

http://germansupply.com/home/customer/p ... at=&page=1

Right with one round end and one oval end:

http://germansupply.com/home/customer/p ... at=&page=1

Unfortunately, it shows that the right one is out of stock. Perhaps you can PM Scott (germansupplyscott) and ask if/when he'll have more.
- Dick

1970 Transporter. 2015cc, dual Weber IDF 40's
1978 Riviera Camper. Bone stock GE 2.0L F.I.
1979 Super Beetle convertible.

... as it turns out, it was the coil!

User avatar
Ritter
IAC Addict!
Location: Sonoma County, CA
Status: Offline

Post by Ritter » Fri Aug 08, 2008 10:59 am

dtrumbo wrote:
Birdibus wrote: Where is a good write up?
Right here.

http://www.ratwell.com/technical/BrakeJob.html
That's the one I used for my rear brakes. It was my first time. I replaced drums, pads, hardware and cylinders. The worst part was getting the adjuster stars out. Patience and tenacity will win the day. Do one side at a time so you have the other to compare to when you can't figure out how it all goes back together! :blackeye:

Replace the rubber lines while you're at it and flush/bleed the system.
1978 Westfalia 2.0 FI

User avatar
chitwnvw
Resident Troublemaker
Location: Chicago.
Status: Offline

Post by chitwnvw » Fri Aug 08, 2008 11:18 am

Birdibus wrote:
Starting with the star adjuster, is that a job for PB Blaster? Or is there some reason not to go near brakes with it?
You don't want to get any on the pads. What happens if you contaminate your pads?, I don't know. I would think if you have the little hose in the nozzle and were careful, you could pull it off.

User avatar
dtrumbo
IAC Addict!
Location: Mill Creek, WA
Status: Offline

Post by dtrumbo » Fri Aug 08, 2008 11:28 am

Aren't you going to replace the shoes anyway? If so, who cares if they get contaminated with PB Blaster. If the brakes are as bad as Birdi led me to believe, it sounds like new shoes, cylinders and probably new hardware are in order.

My point is, there's no reason to destroy the adjusters trying to get them loose by trying not to get spray on the shoes you're replacing anyway.
- Dick

1970 Transporter. 2015cc, dual Weber IDF 40's
1978 Riviera Camper. Bone stock GE 2.0L F.I.
1979 Super Beetle convertible.

... as it turns out, it was the coil!

Lanval
IAC Addict!
Status: Offline

Post by Lanval » Fri Aug 08, 2008 11:31 am

Birdi,

Do you know about Interstate Used Parts in Elsinore? If you don't, you need to. I'm going to head over there pretty soon and pick up a set of VC's to use. This place is, I kid you not, the Elephant Graveyard of VW's. He's got acres of VW air-cooled vans, from stripped to complete. He's got 50+ shipping containers full of parts. Anything you could possible want, he's got. That's where I picked up all the engine tin, and missing blower/air parts for my bus.

If you'd like a shared trip, let me know. They're open on Saturdays, and I know Jack so he'll maybe let us wander around in the yard ~ though he's not always open to that, due to the number of jerks who've lifted stuff.

Best,

Lanval

User avatar
chitwnvw
Resident Troublemaker
Location: Chicago.
Status: Offline

Post by chitwnvw » Fri Aug 08, 2008 11:50 am

dtrumbo wrote:Aren't you going to replace the shoes anyway? If so, who cares if they get contaminated with PB Blaster. If the brakes are as bad as Birdi led me to believe, it sounds like new shoes, cylinders and probably new hardware are in order.

My point is, there's no reason to destroy the adjusters trying to get them loose by trying not to get spray on the shoes you're replacing anyway.
All things being even, I always like to keep my options open.

User avatar
dtrumbo
IAC Addict!
Location: Mill Creek, WA
Status: Offline

Post by dtrumbo » Fri Aug 08, 2008 11:54 am

chitwnvw wrote:All things being even, I always like to keep my options open.
Exactamundo!! That's why I said save the adjusters, which you would have to get from a VW-specific vendor, and sacrifice the shoes which, in a pinch, you can get at any FLAPS.
- Dick

1970 Transporter. 2015cc, dual Weber IDF 40's
1978 Riviera Camper. Bone stock GE 2.0L F.I.
1979 Super Beetle convertible.

... as it turns out, it was the coil!

User avatar
chitwnvw
Resident Troublemaker
Location: Chicago.
Status: Offline

Post by chitwnvw » Fri Aug 08, 2008 12:04 pm

While we are on brakes, anyone know where to get the 14mm thick pads? Whenever I get them at a flaps they are the older 10mm thick ones.

User avatar
Birdibus
IAC Addict!
Location: Inland SoCal
Status: Offline

Post by Birdibus » Fri Aug 08, 2008 1:58 pm

This advice from Colin via PM:
Since PB Blaster will harm the brake linings, the best course of action is to remove the right rear wheel, remove the two 11mm bolts on the drum, and remove the drum. Then you can soak the adjusters with PB Blaster and remove them by prying the shoes out of the little slots and pulling the adjusters out of the anchor one at a time. Then you can clean the threads and apply grease to the threads and the outer surface of the star wheels where they rotate in the anchors. Then, when you reassemble, you can adjust the brakes easily henceforth.
ColinOnTheWayToTexas

Laval, I tried to find that place once on google satellite map, but no luck. I've heard of it, and know they want us to make appointments. I saw a couple of engine fans on the samba for 15 and $20 (if they are any good). I wonder what Interstate wants. No hurry on that for now.

Yes, where to buy 14 thick pads?
71 bus, 74 westy

User avatar
dtrumbo
IAC Addict!
Location: Mill Creek, WA
Status: Offline

Post by dtrumbo » Fri Aug 08, 2008 2:05 pm

Birdibus wrote:This advice from Colin via PM:
Since PB Blaster will harm the brake linings, the best course of action is to remove the right rear wheel, remove the two 11mm bolts on the drum, and remove the drum. Then you can soak the adjusters with PB Blaster and remove them by prying the shoes out of the little slots and pulling the adjusters out of the anchor one at a time. Then you can clean the threads and apply grease to the threads and the outer surface of the star wheels where they rotate in the anchors. Then, when you reassemble, you can adjust the brakes easily henceforth.
ColinOnTheWayToTexas
As always, good advice. However, you need to be prepared for the possibility that you won't be able to get the drum off without backing the adjusters off to retract the shoes. Then you're back to square one if the adjusters are frozen.
- Dick

1970 Transporter. 2015cc, dual Weber IDF 40's
1978 Riviera Camper. Bone stock GE 2.0L F.I.
1979 Super Beetle convertible.

... as it turns out, it was the coil!

Post Reply