IAC back in Colorado

Moderators: Sluggo, Amskeptic

Post Reply
User avatar
jimjxsn
Getting Hooked!
Location: Roxborough Park, Colorado
Status: Offline

IAC back in Colorado

Post by jimjxsn » Tue Aug 17, 2010 9:32 am

As you can tell from Colin’s “Anniversary” post he is back in Colorado a year later. I had a newbie visit last weekend where we inspected my two busses and Colin evaluated their driving characteristics. Colin persuaded me to modify my priority list and he set to work teaching me to work on these things. We put the two busses back to back and adjusted the valves on both simultaneously. The ’76 (blue bus) has solids and the ’78 (brown bus) has hydros so it was interesting going back and forth between them.

You see, originally I had planned to swap the transaxles between the two busses. I plan to keep the blue bus because it is much better overall condition, relegating the brown bus to a parts bus. However the 3rd gear syncros are on the way out on the blue bus, thus the planned swap. Colin wouldn’t hear of it once he saw the parts bus. You see, they both run and drive very nicely. He mumbled something about our obligation to history or posterity or something like that saying that we needed to keep these things around and not part them out. He reminded me of vdubtech’s brown bus which runs so well and is full of rust, like my brown one. So, we are going to try and improve the shifting and clutching on the blue one and see if I can nurse the tranny along for awhile. And save the brown one for someone else if I decide not to keep it.

I must admit that I haven’t worked on any cars since I traded in my ’75 bus back in ’89.

We did the usual double clutching class and like many of you I was too nervous to really pull it off. I’ve got to train the body so this will take some work. He was actually able to downshift from 4th to 3rd without the usual grinding.

Colin is returning next weekend and training will continue them. We needed to jump into the engine pull on the blue bus so that we can do the clutch replacement. We barely got the engine pulled in time for Colin to make it to a dinner date in Denver. He claims he made it in time but, I’m pretty sure you can’t get into town from my house in Roxborough in less than 45 minutes.

Colin left me with a list of chores to do to be ready for next weekend. I cleaned out the stock of BMW fuel line at the local BMW dealer and realized that I didn’t have the 10mm line for between the pump and filter. I have some on order and hope it meets Colin’s strict standard. The local Mercedes dealer is so new they have virtually no parts so I wasn’t able to get the 11mm stuff recommended on Ratwell’s site. I bought two rear shift couplers from the local VW repair shop. One was a Chinese Empi and the other was from Brazil. Hopefully we can make some combination of parts work. The clutch kit and flywheel reseal kit arrived from German Supply on Monday; it took a week from Canada even though Scott sent it by US priority mail. It was in NY on the 11th yet wasn’t delivered to my house until the 16th, the scumbags.

I picked up a six pack of gumout and must get to work preparing for Colin’s return visit. I hope it all goes back together as we didn’t label a thing on the disassemble. If this is a farce and Colin really doesn't know what he is doing, I am screwed...

It was kinda fun and I learned a few things - It wasn’t as bad as I thought, I might be able to work on this thing. I should have cleaned up the bus. Colin doesn’t like dirt falling in his eyes. Robogrips don’t work as well a visegrips. The firing order is really 4321. He showed me a pry trick that works really well loosening stuck screws and nuts.

Jim
'76 sunroof bus
_________________

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

Re: IAC back in Colorado

Post by Amskeptic » Tue Aug 17, 2010 1:49 pm

jimjxsn wrote: A) Colin wouldn’t hear of it once he saw the parts bus. You see, they both run and drive very nicely. He mumbled something about our obligation to history or posterity or something like that

B) We did the usual double clutching class and like many of you I was too nervous to really pull it off.

C) We needed to jump into the engine pull on the blue bus so that we can do the clutch replacement. We barely got the engine pulled in time for Colin to make it to a dinner date in Denver. He claims he made it in time but, I’m pretty sure you can’t get into town from my house in Roxborough in less than 45 minutes.


D) Hopefully we can make some combination of parts work.
If this is a farce and Colin really doesn't know what he is doing, I am screwed...
So, on the way to jmjxsn's house, I found proof that everybody has to Deal With It, not just us air-cooled VW owners:
Image

This train was pulling coal or something and blew an air line. The mechanic was there in ten minutes flat, fixed in another ten minutes, and twenty minutes later was still filling out endless paperwork on the hood of his Explorer.

A) Very nice driving buses with paltry rust blemishes here and there. Both have sunroofs, easy steering, easy driving . . .

B) He pulled off a couple of immaculate shifts, the perfection will fill in later.

C) Oh yes, we pulled the engine between 4:15PM and 6:45PM:

Image

. . . and I was on the road at 6:58PM and I arrived at the restaurant at 7:36 PM . . . just a little 75mph on CO 470 and I-25 here and there . . . in spots. I hope to get some photographs from Marc of he and his kids goofing me up before they drove back to Saint Louis.

D) I am not really a mechanic, but I play one on Portland OR cable.

Today, I was on this nice crest photographing the snow flecked mountains. The Colorado State Patrol decided to pay me a call, with two Chevy Suburbans blocking me in.
"Are you alone?"
"Why yes".
"Are you sure?"
"Sure."
"Would you lift that blanket or whatever?"
"Sure, it protects my laptop (and those pesky explosives) from the sun."
There was an old shed, within which I took the below photograph, that had to be inspected for kidnapping victims or contraband before I was given my license back. The officer said, "these your footprints?"
"Yes. I took some photographs of the mountains from the window opening."
"Mind if we check the shed?"
"Not at all, I don't own it."
"Well, there are weird people and all, and we have to ask."

Image

Turns out that an airplane pilot had radioed in that he saw suspicious activity. Oh.
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
jimjxsn
Getting Hooked!
Location: Roxborough Park, Colorado
Status: Offline

Re: IAC back in Colorado

Post by jimjxsn » Tue Aug 17, 2010 2:26 pm

Amskeptic wrote:Oh yes, we pulled the engine between 4:15PM and 6:45PM
I think half that time was futzing with the heater control boxes and adjacent pieces which are rusted together into a single mass.
Amskeptic wrote:The Colorado State Patrol decided to pay me a call...
Welcome to Douglas County; give me a call if you need someone to bail you out. :drunken:
'76 sunroof bus
_________________

User avatar
jimjxsn
Getting Hooked!
Location: Roxborough Park, Colorado
Status: Offline

Post by jimjxsn » Tue Aug 17, 2010 5:56 pm

Just removed the old clutch and here is the flywheel -

Image

Image

And here are the two buses -

Image
'76 sunroof bus
_________________

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

Post by Amskeptic » Tue Aug 17, 2010 6:29 pm

jimjxsn wrote:Just removed the old clutch and here is the flywheel -

Image
Looks good and dry! Some serious comprehensive sanding should clean it up.

Here's a hand-sanded pressure plate and flywheel job on my old Road Warrior in 2007 at VWBusRepairman's house. Last time I ever saw those parts in the light of day:

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

Post by Amskeptic » Wed Aug 25, 2010 10:20 am

So we got the engine in with a nice .0035 endplay and new o-ring and seal and new clutch.

Drove it down the road and found that every time my attention lagged for a hyper-second, I would blow my shift into the damaged 3rd gear.

My CUSTOMER however, knocks out a couple of stunning double-clutches that bode well for the expected lifespan of this transmission.

That was a good dinner too!
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

Post Reply