Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Atlanta II

Moderators: Sluggo, Amskeptic

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

Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Atlanta II

Post by Amskeptic » Sun Sep 01, 2013 8:56 pm

I removed the BobD's engine and transaxle today. Note that I did not remove so much as the dipstick or oil filler or air filter or AFM or s-boot, not even the foam seal:

Image

Image


My failing jack was bleeding hydraulic fluid all over the floor. Here's the engine and transaxle:

Image


Not too terribly dirty at 89,000 original miles:

Image


I washed the transaxle only with Tide and water and a washcloth, this to see if I could work down to that original goldish cast of Volkswagenwerk cryoline wax:

Image

Image

I had forgotten how fun it is to work on the BobD, everything *fits properly*, everything disassembled with ease. Here's why I disassembled it:

Image

That is a plastic hockey stick ball that had to deal with a spring-loaded gear selector, it got worn down. I decided to install a steel one, visible on your left. The shift housing has not bronze bushings like Chloe, but what look like trick little ball bearings trapped in a needle bearing sort of shell, these bushings almost look like the pilot bearings found in gland nuts or crankshafts.

Itinerant Scissorhands started on the Milling Of The Nose Cone at 7:00 PM:

Image

It is now 11:50 PM, and I knocked off the razor-blading only 45 minutes ago. The magnesium in this 091 gearbox is far harder than that in Chloe. Can it be that they changed the alloy? This stuff fights bastard files and razor blades by becoming smooth and hard as I attempt to mill the .002 or .003" necessary to bring the slightly pounded bearing surface to the same level as the flange:

Image

Much much work ahead in the next 24 hours, before my 1972 Bug appointment with Steve Culpepper ( a referral by zabo, thank-you zabo! ) on Tuesday. Then, I have a Karmann Ghia appointment with ( another referral by zabo, thank-you zabo!! ) on Thursday, before I leave Thursday night for the final Northeast trek of the 2013 Itinerary. Enjoy your Labor Day . . . I will be laboring.
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
glasseye
IAC Addict!
Location: Kootenays, BC
Status: Offline

Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Atlanta II

Post by glasseye » Mon Sep 02, 2013 8:59 am

SIGINT: PRISM/NRO/NSA/DEA/FDA/DVD/ISO/HDTV/3D/2013/09/01:09:17:23.3455

Dear Mr. "Amskeptic".

It has come to our attention that the engine parts of your recently-disassembled Hippie Bus motor clearly display the numerals "420". As you may or may not know, this druggie reference constitutes some kind of a violation or other and we are, as your duly appointed Guardians of Public Safety, required to inform you that you will now be under increased surveillance forever. Sniffer dogs will meet you at the next Starbucks and they will sniff you and your Hippie Bus all over the place, and any evidence of drug use, past, present or future will be held against you, somehow, somewhere.

You have been warned.

Yours in Safety and Patriotism,

PRISM/NSA/NRO
"This war will pay for itself."
Paul Wolfowitz, speaking of Iraq.

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

Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Atlanta II

Post by Amskeptic » Mon Sep 02, 2013 4:21 pm

glasseye wrote:SIGINT: PRISM/NRO/NSA/DEA/FDA/DVD/ISO/HDTV/3D/2013/09/01:09:17:23.3455

Dear Mr. "Amskeptic".

It has come to our attention that the engine parts of your recently-disassembled Hippie Bus motor clearly display the numerals "420". As you may or may not know, this druggie reference constitutes some kind of a violation or other and we are, as your duly appointed Guardians of Public Safety, required to inform you that you will now be under increased surveillance forever. Sniffer dogs will meet you at the next Starbucks and they will sniff you and your Hippie Bus all over the place, and any evidence of drug use, past, present or future will be held against you, somehow, somewhere.

You have been warned.

Yours in Safety and Patriotism,

PRISM/NSA/NRO
Dude, that is so like . . . what was I saying? oh yeah, trippy dippy numerals, man, gotta love it, hey you all take a chill, 'kay? I think I 82 many brownies,
Coli :hippy2:
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

Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Atlanta II

Post by Amskeptic » Mon Sep 02, 2013 5:28 pm

It has been a remarkable couple of days here at the storage unit. Last night, under the sodium street lamps, sitting against a protector pole, 11 PM, what is that figure doing? What is that hideous screeching that makes a far-off dog bark?
Oh.
It is a late night Itinerant Scissorhands machining panic. That magnesium shift housing was giving me caniptions as it became hard as glass if I got it too smooth. Even the file had a hard time getting through. My machinist's ruler, my final arbitrar on Earth of what is "straight", was letting light leak under its edge as I ran it across the flanges. That was the panic.

Woke up this morning with magnesium star dust all over, and a half quart of gear oil spreading across the floor. Who knew and didn't tell me that the stupid protective paper towel draped over the bearings would wick up the gear oil from my catch pan (a Motel6 ice bucket) and drip it out across the transaxle? Then it began to rain. This storage unit is on the cheap side of the property, we don't get "gutters" over here. A steady drumming drip/splash kept peppering me well inside the door, it was Winnie Texas all over again, lubricant plus water equals slippery mess. I didn't care, actually, I was engrossed in this late model bus selector assembly:

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Did a dry fit no gasket of the "machined" coughcough, nose cone, and it looked OK. Applied the Lanval Commemorative Vanagon Water-Cooled Cylinder Head Sealing Sauce to the transaxle flange and the nose cone, stuck in a gasket and torqued that sucker back together the better which to keep out floating magnesium dust and rain showers. Lost torque value ( cripes, it's only 11 ft/lbs! ) on the upper nose cone bolt (Chloe uses more expensive studs and nuts, the better way when threading into magnesium). Dieter must have not set the torque spec correctly on the factory floor back in December of 1977. Found a replacement bolt in my stash that was a good deal longer, so I made some new threads down that savaged hole and have a gaily decorative red plastic spacer announcing to all > HACK Repair! Can you see it in the below photograph?

Image


Ever seen this dust cap? It is sturdier than the pleated rubber bellows as found on Chloe.

Image


Inspector Otto's signature is still here:

Image


You all may remember that my last engine pull on the BobD back in December 2010 in that church parking lot was rendered agonizing by the failure of my jack after a hard life. You may remember that I bought a barfy "Dale Earnhardt" WalMart jack, ripped it to shreds, and stuck its guts into my old jack so I could enjoy that tidy carrying case. You don't remember? Here:

Engine Install While Jack Dies
viewtopic.php?f=58&t=9053#p162950

Jack Rebuild
viewtopic.php?f=58&t=9065#p163141

Yeah, so guess what? That is a bleeding barely three year-old jack, oozing ever downwards without my consent:

Image


THIS time, I am 54 years old and I am trying to lift an engine AND a transaxle in a narrow storage unit. Jacked and jacked and jacked and got the front of the transaxle over the torsion tube. Went to look at alignment of nose cone mount forks. I can LOOK for a damn second can't I?? Nope. Jack oozed down and TRAPPED the handle under the muffler with the whole assembly at a terrible angle. Now WHAT? Jack blood is oozing under my knees. Engine is trapped. Plywood pad slips, ruining the Most Important Center of Gravity Placement. Barely reach the bottle jack and jack the engine one-handed with the bottle jack until it looks really demented, but at least I can recover the dead floor jack from its final hurrah. Here's what I had to do:

Image

Rickety as all heck, but I HAD to use the bottle jack to lift the engine/transmission a lot further than it can go, so upon the shoulders of the dead we go, I guess . . . Buttoned it up at 4:22 PM this afternoon, 26 hours after I pulled the BobD into the storage unit:

Image

P.S. no more spring-loaded gear shift . . . the way I like it. The springs and whatchamacall it and circlips are in a ziplock bag in the glovebox, for whoever needs it after I am dead. I AM dead . . . . . . . . . tired.
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
zabo
Old School!
Location: earth
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Atlanta II

Post by zabo » Tue Sep 03, 2013 3:44 am

looking good- it seems jack related problems are a theme this week- lets hope Steve's is in better shape today.

I am very interested to hear how the shifting feels after this springotomy.
60 beetle
78 bus

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

Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Atlanta II

Post by Amskeptic » Wed Sep 04, 2013 7:06 am

zabo wrote:looking good- it seems jack related problems are a theme this week- lets hope Steve's is in better shape today.

I am very interested to hear how the shifting feels after this springotomy.
Our VWs have a simple "H" pattern. The springs add pressure to all the bushings and the coupler and beat the original hockey stick ball to the point that you lose selectability as slop creeps in.

Without that sop-to-idiots spring-loaded nonsense to "guide" you to the correct gate, you merely need a light left action to select 1st and 2nd, and a light right action to select 3rd and 4th.

Reverse, on both Chloe and the BobD, now stays in the pressed down position, instead of that "pop" where the shifter slips out from under the stop plate when you take out the clutch.

Chloe's shifter is a magnificent precise tight experience now, you can feel exactly the synchronizer action.
BobD still has a slight clickiness between gates, as though the (see photo) interlock is catching on the forks between shifts.

Image

Next time in, I'll file the edges a tad. However, the 2nd to 3rd shift is vastly superior to that old having-to-overcome-the-spring big-ol exaggerated sideways movement, like all Vanagons.

I would recommend this operation to all 091 owners.
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
airkooledchris
IAC Addict!
Location: Eureka, California
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Atlanta II

Post by airkooledchris » Wed Sep 04, 2013 5:07 pm

Amskeptic wrote: I would recommend this operation to all 091 owners.
Colin

Sure, NOW he says so. :thumbleft:

I hope I don't have to see the inside of my nose cone anytime soon, but the mod is certainly 'on the list.'
1979 California Transporter

User avatar
airkooledchris
IAC Addict!
Location: Eureka, California
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Atlanta II

Post by airkooledchris » Wed Sep 04, 2013 5:12 pm

Amskeptic wrote: Ever seen this dust cap? It is sturdier than the pleated rubber bellows as found on Chloe.
Image

looks a bit more well made than the available replacement part:
Image
1979 California Transporter

User avatar
airkooledchris
IAC Addict!
Location: Eureka, California
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Atlanta II

Post by airkooledchris » Mon Nov 24, 2014 11:17 am

Amskeptic wrote: BobD still has a slight clickiness between gates, as though the (see photo) interlock is catching on the forks between shifts.

Image

Next time in, I'll file the edges a tad. However, the 2nd to 3rd shift is vastly superior to that old having-to-overcome-the-spring big-ol exaggerated sideways movement, like all Vanagons.

I would recommend this operation to all 091 owners.
Colin

How does this clickiness feel at the shifter?

We removed that spring when we repaired that reverse clip and installed the bearing retainer plate. I could shift fine previously, but the input shaft would just pull right out of the transmission before. Once I had a chance to drive it, I couldn't find reverse anymore. After seemingly endless adjustments to the base of the shift plate, I was able to use reverse but then I couldn't consistently find 1st and 2nd anymore. 3rd and 4th never seem to be an issue no matter where I adjust the shift plate.

The shift coupler rubber was really really soft, so I ended up replacing that (the replacement is scary though, like it's hard plastic instead of rubber now) - and readjusting the shifter plate a few dozen more times. I can always find the gears now as long as I have a light and very specific touch, but it's not as simple as it had been previously. Im curious if the spring was helping to somehow avoid this 'catching' effect on the interlock/fork before? Sometimes I have to push/force the shifter to get it to 'pop' into the correct position. I know it's the right spot, it just doesn't want to glide right in without a little force applied.
1979 California Transporter

User avatar
airkooledchris
IAC Addict!
Location: Eureka, California
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Atlanta II

Post by airkooledchris » Sat Nov 29, 2014 10:33 am

I should note that the more I drive it the better I am at finding that perfect spot, but im still curious about the possibility of it 'catching' as described above.
1979 California Transporter

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

Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Atlanta II

Post by Amskeptic » Sat Nov 29, 2014 5:51 pm

airkooledchris wrote:I should note that the more I drive it the better I am at finding that perfect spot, but im still curious about the possibility of it 'catching' as described above.
Define "catching" . . .
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
airkooledchris
IAC Addict!
Location: Eureka, California
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Atlanta II

Post by airkooledchris » Sat Nov 29, 2014 6:49 pm

The selector catching forks like in your picture above, where you were going to file down the red areas
1979 California Transporter

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

Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Atlanta II

Post by Amskeptic » Tue Dec 02, 2014 8:43 am

airkooledchris wrote:The selector catching forks like in your picture above, where you were going to file down the red areas
The "catching" I refer to is an unpleasant notch in neutral as I go side to side. Is that what you are experiencing?
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
airkooledchris
IAC Addict!
Location: Eureka, California
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Atlanta II

Post by airkooledchris » Tue Dec 02, 2014 9:50 am

Amskeptic wrote:
airkooledchris wrote:The selector catching forks like in your picture above, where you were going to file down the red areas
The "catching" I refer to is an unpleasant notch in neutral as I go side to side. Is that what you are experiencing?
Colin

Nope. I'll get my mind off of that as a possibility then. There's just a hesitation/resistance when trying to get into 1st/2nd sometimes. I know it's lined up where it needs to be, it just requires a little force/push(or pull) to get it fully seated into gear.
1979 California Transporter

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

Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Atlanta II

Post by Amskeptic » Thu Dec 04, 2014 8:09 am

airkooledchris wrote:
Amskeptic wrote:
airkooledchris wrote:The selector catching forks like in your picture above, where you were going to file down the red areas
The "catching" I refer to is an unpleasant notch in neutral as I go side to side. Is that what you are experiencing?
Colin

Nope. I'll get my mind off of that as a possibility then. There's just a hesitation/resistance when trying to get into 1st/2nd sometimes. I know it's lined up where it needs to be, it just requires a little force/push(or pull) to get it fully seated into gear.
How does it find gears with the engine off? Does it find all gears OK? Have you checked that dreadful shift coupler cage swege issue, where everything looks perfect, but the cage and shift rod have an imperceptable bit of play only under torsional force? Front shift rod coupler grub screw secure?

If you have difficulty finding 1st/2nd when running, you might have either a clutch that is not releasing fully or your synchronizers are just doing their jobs. Try to match your revs more closely to the selected gear at the whatever speed. Remember that there is a little time lag when you dip the clutch to do the actual gear change when the input shaft starts to slow down (more seriously when cold), so you have to get the revs just enough higher than your selection speed so the clutch dip slowdown brings it to matching speed perfectly . . . . :geek:

Did you and I do the comparison double-clutch techniques, the "float the revs" vs "blip n go"?
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