Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Portland OR

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Amskeptic
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Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Portland OR

Post by Amskeptic » Mon Aug 01, 2016 9:57 am

. . . although I am writing this in Redding CA (forecast high of 102*), I love Portland and all of Oregon. It is beautiful beyond belief.

From the 83AC Vanagon in The Dalles on July 20th, I detoured through the wilds around Mount Hood to catch a sighting of the Elusive Hambone, then the Columbia River Gorge calls of Ol' Shadow and 71whitewesty on July 22nd and 23rd, then to the beehive scrum of Portland, my first call being a quick substitution of Upsimba for Rusty Sub at the very same address. Rusty Sub has been inexorably brought into the VW addiction with an acquisition of another member's (Ronin10) old bus, Greta.

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As with Ronin10, Greta was a bit cranky when cold. We adjusted the AFM and checked numerous and sundry other items on the engine in the service of getting a better idle. Rusty Sub, we'll just tell the readers here that the temp sensor 2 is functional at this time. We then diagnosed the alternator light on the 1972 Westy. We had to narrow the scope of the diagnosis down to the immediate presenting symptom. A replacement alternator was all ready to be installed, but I would have none of it. As we bushwhacked in the dark forest of tangled vines (aka wires), we discovered a slightly loose crimp on the blue wire that informs the idiot light. Rusty Sub was hopeful that it was the cause of the problem. Alas, Rusty Sub, it wasn't, because your idiot light was on, so it had voltage and a ground. In fact, our problem was a too-happy of a ground, the freed blue wire terminal of the heater relay plug lying askance over the intake runners, discovered a couple of days later at vistacruzer's VW Bus Garage.

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The vistacruzer appointment was a cruel indoor event, under a building in a parking garage while the yearned-for sunshine and 90* day blasted outside the bars of the gate. Not one to complain, me? we set to work getting an engine ready to go live in Katherine's bus. The engine was parked in a passageway off of a room under the garage under the building and it had given vistacruzer some grief when it came time to adjust valves. We found a stubborn hydraulic lifter that refused to bleed down so we could set the preload. Yanked it and disassembled it and spritzed it with carb cleaner and rinsed the check ball and reassembled it and set the preload on it and every other valve. Discovered that the aftermarket dual Solex carbs would prefer to be on opposite sides of the engine, so we swapped them and left vistacruzer with an assignment to fit new throttle links that would be the correct size. The engineering of aftermarket carb linkages always sets me off in paroxysms of distemper, and these carbs were no different. The arc of a actuating lever must agree with the arcs of actuated levers and they must agree with the travel of the accelerator pedal. So, by and by, we sent the engine up the elevator and rolled it to Katherine's bus and we actually installed it before the end of the appointment, in the dark garage with LED flashlights to help us. Rusty Sub was there through it all. Thank-you, Rusty Sub, you are a credit to the Volkswagen brother/sisterhood. Oh, and that was where we discovered the true cause of the alternator light mystery.

The next morning, NaranjaWesty almost got its windshield blown out when a "Honey Bus" septic tank cleaning truck in front of me decided that he was too far out in the left turn lane of the intersection waiting for a green light. I was mid-coffee-swill when I saw this thing start to back up. Was on the horn with a mighty meeeeeep meeeeep and trying to get reverse without spilling coffee and looking in the rear view mirror to see how far I could back up. The truck stopped exactly one inch from first contact with the left windshield wiper. Do you think I opened a can of New York on his sorry ass? Naah, gave him a thumbs up and a pantomime of a "whew". I was grateful, after all, that he did not hit.

Now alert, I arrived at Ich Bin Kurt's house. We had an easy day in the glorious hot sunshine planned. Repack the rear wheel bearings, set the spring plates, and look at the carbs and noisy alternator/fan assembly. Sure.

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Wheel bearing repack went fine. Kurt has owned this bus for twenty years, and you could tell that he took good care of this bus. These bearings had their original charge of grease. The grease was done. It had had it. The bearing races, like Chloe but moreso, had been rotating in the wheel bearing housings for many thousands of miles:

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We did a good thorough job and the car was cooperative throughout. Got it all buttoned up and decided it was time to tackle the spring plate bushings. It was time to tackle the spring plate bushings:

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We could not get the torsion bar to leave the spring plate:

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After doing some simple math in the 95* sunshine, car at 4.5*-, spring plate at 18.5*+, net 23*, we realized that we fortunately did not need to remove the torsion bar from the spring plate. Fiddled endlessly with the bolts that hold the rear wheel bearing housing, spring plate, and diagonal arm together, buttoned it up at 6:30PM, adjusted and bled the rear brakes, tightened the coil on the fan housing, and I left him with the left side spring plate bushings to do on his own. This he does not feel entirely comfortable with. I said I would put out the word for the Portland folks. Portland folks? Kurt would like some help with the left spring plate bushings. He has excellent coffee. Based on the condition of the right side bushings, we think the left side could use replacement as well.

It was good to meet you, Kurt. You have a nice bus there, and I am sorry we ran so very out of time.

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Left Portland in the evening light. NaranjaWesty then decided upon a new system of informing me that the filter was clogging, the Drop Dead Instantly System. It was here at a coast-down dropped-dead moment that I discovered that the whole Porc du Grand Marnier weighs:

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The front of the car weights 1850 lbs (45%):

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The rear of the car weighs 2,300 lbs (55%):

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Will post again after I determine my options here in Redding CA.
The gas tank is high on the list of things that must be dealt with, as I have been getting sick on gasoline ingestion and fumes and skin burns. The right rear tire has a leak. The cylinder head temps were a ridiculous 435* under partial load yesterday even though the car drove beautifully up the Siskiyou Pass.
Colin

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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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wcfvw69
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Portland OR

Post by wcfvw69 » Mon Aug 01, 2016 10:06 am

Wow.. those have to be the most worn out spring plate bushings I've seen. It appears the rust/metal dust simply ate them up.. Yikes.. I bet that bus was "clunky" over bumps. What year was his bus? Did it have the notch on the spring plate to slide the metal brake line though? Mine is a July 70' and it didn't have the notches..

I hope someone in Portland helps him get the other side changed ASAP!
1970 Westfalia bus. Stock 1776 dual port type 1 engine. Restored German Solex 34-3. Restored 205Q distributor, restored to factory appearance engine.

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Amskeptic
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Portland OR

Post by Amskeptic » Mon Aug 01, 2016 10:16 am

wcfvw69 wrote:Wow.. those have to be the most worn out spring plate bushings I've seen. It appears the rust/metal dust simply ate them up.. Yikes.. I bet that bus was "clunky" over bumps. What year was his bus? Did it have the notch on the spring plate to slide the metal brake line though? Mine is a July 70' and it didn't have the notches..

I hope someone in Portland helps him get the other side changed ASAP!
It is a 1969 bus that I did not get to drive before we disassembled it. It has the hole versus the slot, we had to remove the brake line complete to disassemble, thus we had to bleed brakes. I, too, hope he can find assistance. It is a good solid car that deserves good work to give it a continuing lease on life.
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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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Portland OR

Post by SlowLane » Mon Aug 01, 2016 11:33 am

Amskeptic wrote: Left Portland in the evening light. NaranjaWesty then decided upon a new system of informing me that the filter was clogging, the Drop Dead Instantly System.

Will post again after I determine my options here in Redding CA.
What the heck are you doing that far inland when your next appointment is on the coast? :scratch: Just couldn't bear to toodle down the scenic 101 instead of blasting down the enervating I5? :joker:
Amskeptic wrote: The gas tank is high on the list of things that must be dealt with, as I have been getting sick on gasoline ingestion and fumes and skin burns.
Got a plan for that? Let me know if you need an address to have a tank shipped to next week, It might just make it in time.
Unfortunately, modern gasoline isn't the sweet leaded nectar that we grew up on in the '60s.
'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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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Portland OR

Post by airkooledchris » Mon Aug 01, 2016 3:36 pm

My spring plate bushings were bad, but nowhere near that bad. Dang. That said, you can do it Kurt! Sure, it's scary, but it can absolutely be done at home.


Naranja - Great weight distribution for a rear drivetrain vehicle with the camper kit in it!

If you make it to Eureka tomorrow, ill be available anytime after 3pm if you want help or can meet up for a beer and a slice or something.
=)
1979 California Transporter

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Portland OR

Post by asiab3 » Mon Aug 01, 2016 7:47 pm

Pray tell what was the thought process on getting Rusty Sub's idle issue to improve?

And did you get a few days to do any personal projects?

Sent from Minnesota, I think. Either that or Iowa,
Robbie
1969 bus, "Buddy."
145k miles with me.
322k miles on Earth.

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Portland OR

Post by Amskeptic » Mon Aug 01, 2016 8:46 pm

SlowLane wrote:
Amskeptic wrote: Redding CA
What the heck are you doing that far inland when your next appointment is on the coast? :scratch: Just couldn't bear to toodle down the scenic 101 instead of blasting down the enervating I5? :joker:
Better freeway shoulders and more timely gas stations, I LIKE the heat, remember? And I needed to give a pep talk to Walter at Bus Boys, but it was closed up on a generic Monday morning . . . . :pale:

This car did an excellent CA-299 today. Unlike Chloe, I was able to maintain momentum through the twisties. Had a BMW behind me along the river (no big hills) and thought he would pass at several opportunities, but no, he was following my line for fun.
We did a little Total Roadway Utilization until the hill when I lost my 55-60 mph. As he passed, he pumped his fist through his sunroof and yelled "That rocked!"
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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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Portland OR

Post by tristessa » Mon Aug 01, 2016 9:50 pm

Amskeptic wrote:This car did an excellent CA-299 today. Unlike Chloe, I was able to maintain momentum through the twisties. Had a BMW behind me along the river (no big hills)
How's the construction between Whiskeytown Lake and Buckhorn Summit west of Redding? Last time I was through there it was almost an hour wait for the pilot car (just missed one), but that's been a year...

Along the river between Junction City and Willow Creek is fun .. unless you're a kid who gets carsick easily. :cyclopsani:
Remember, only YOU can prevent narcissism!

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Portland OR

Post by airkooledchris » Tue Aug 02, 2016 10:59 am

Glad you had a chance to give it a run on the ol 299, esp if the 36 won't be in the cards this time around. Really fun roads to find a vehicles limit's.
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Portland OR

Post by chachi » Tue Aug 02, 2016 11:40 am

oh fun, kurt lives just around the corner from me. one of the few buses to make the @portlandbuses instagram twice. maybe i'll go knock on his door one of these days...
1974 transporter panel, 2.0 dual solex
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Portland OR

Post by jcbrock » Tue Aug 02, 2016 12:00 pm

I've not done 299 but I did 162 a couple weeks ago from Willows. It becomes Alder Creek Rd and then Mendocino Pass Rd, or as the Forest Service knows it, FH7. Pops out near Covelo. But it's Hwy 162 the whole way, including the 40 miles of dirt over the top. How many times in California does a highway include 40 miles of dirt? Apparently it's used for off-road rally-style hooning, as at one point Mr Ranger was investigating a 5-series BMW which had encountered a tree with its front end and been abandoned. I loved it but it was a little too much of an adventure for my wife. Nothing up there but Cal Fire camps and a few other campgrounds.
'76 Type II Station Wagon - in the family since new!
Corvallis, OR

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Portland OR

Post by tristessa » Tue Aug 02, 2016 12:37 pm

jcbrock wrote:I've not done 299 but I did 162 a couple weeks ago from Willows. It becomes Alder Creek Rd and then Mendocino Pass Rd, or as the Forest Service knows it, FH7. Pops out near Covelo. But it's Hwy 162 the whole way, including the 40 miles of dirt over the top. How many times in California does a highway include 40 miles of dirt? Apparently it's used for off-road rally-style hooning, as at one point Mr Ranger was investigating a 5-series BMW which had encountered a tree with its front end and been abandoned. I loved it but it was a little too much of an adventure for my wife. Nothing up there but Cal Fire camps and a few other campgrounds.
I've wanted to check that route out as long as I've been driving and have never had the opportunity when I've had time to do so. I'll have to put it on the bucket list. I've done 299 from both ends plenty of times over the years; grew up in Santa Rosa and my family has a summer place outside Weaverville. :cyclopsani:
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Portland OR

Post by jcbrock » Tue Aug 02, 2016 5:01 pm

I guess technically the dirt part is not 162, but there is a 162 sign at both ends, so I'm calling it so. Another, northbound, my worst route ever: 101 to 199, 199 to just short of Cave Junction. Forest fire closed 199 north of there. Back a couple miles to Waldo Rd to Greyback Rd, picking up the Klamath River Hwy at Happy Camp and then north to 5 at the Klamath River rest area. Greyback is all paved, but it goes way up there and is twisty.

My sons had the best suggestion ever when driving a twisty road a couple dozen years ago: "We should do this with go-carts and paintball guns!" I really, really want to do that.
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Corvallis, OR

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Portland OR

Post by Ich Bin Kurt » Mon Aug 08, 2016 8:17 am

And good times were had by all! The 95+ degree sun nearly killed me and I think I burned my ass a little bit on the pavement but we sure accomplished a lot that day. Colin was extremely generous with his time, skills, and knowledge. The last 10 days since our work I have had a couple busy weekends including just getting back from several days in the back-country (Goat Rock Wilderness), but I am ready to tackle the drivers side. He really did leave me with enough information to do it as he walked me through the entire passenger side procedure. It was indeed quite a pain for us to get the spring plate, wheel bearing housing, and diagonal arm to realign bolt holes for attachment and one of the spring plate bolts went in a little tender but it did go and tightened just fine eventually. I just get really scared when its time to break out the hammer and bang on stuff :)

Just need to get a 22mm socket, 22mm wrench, angle finder, and possibly a bottle jack as mine might be bad. I will give it a go asap while things are still relatively fresh in my mind as I took pretty good mental notes along the way. Stay tuned to details.

Thanks again Colin. Safe travels and happy trails!
Kurt

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Portland OR

Post by Ich Bin Kurt » Mon Aug 08, 2016 8:23 am

Amskeptic wrote:
wcfvw69 wrote:Wow.. those have to be the most worn out spring plate bushings I've seen. It appears the rust/metal dust simply ate them up.. Yikes.. I bet that bus was "clunky" over bumps. What year was his bus? Did it have the notch on the spring plate to slide the metal brake line though? Mine is a July 70' and it didn't have the notches..

I hope someone in Portland helps him get the other side changed ASAP!
It is a 1969 bus that I did not get to drive before we disassembled it. It has the hole versus the slot, we had to remove the brake line complete to disassemble, thus we had to bleed brakes. I, too, hope he can find assistance. It is a good solid car that deserves good work to give it a continuing lease on life.
Colin

Indeed it was SUPER CLUNKY over bumps. They finally put speed bumps down my street and I get to test it out real soon. No doubt the bus isn't going anywhere until I do the drivers side(next week or so just gathering a few needed tools and possibly an extra strong arm). I can't wait for the test drive as the rear end should be so much happier now(poor thing).

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