Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Michigan

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Amskeptic
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Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Michigan

Post by Amskeptic » Wed Aug 29, 2012 5:31 pm

Yes, I actually have a couple of days to:

add inside flaps to the recently replaced vapor barriers to see if THAT stops the FLOOD of water that DRENCHED the seat areas. done!

change the oil (some brassy looking swirls and shards of aluminum, nice) done!

adjust the valves (painted the valve covers with real engine enamel) done!
Image

compression test ( 140/135/130/130 ) done!

no need to touch the points or timing

AGAIN take apart the exhaust system AGAIN to try to AGAIN cure the exhaust leak AGAIN, but this time I decided to leave the muffler in place and just pull the exchangers forward off the muffler. done?

THIS TIME, I used a Diet Coke can with a layer of ultraorange under it to shim the stupid exchanger repair end that they make waaay too small for the gaskets. If this doesn't work, there are not enough brain cells left to even care:
Image



LAST time, I used a new gasket kit from AlwaysVeedub in Portland. Repaired with HVAC tape to shim it up, I knew I had it licked this time!
But no, the HVAC tape blew out of there when the adhesive melted or burned away :pukeleft: .

Time before that, I used a serious quantity of Ultra Orange on the mesh gaskets and sealed the fresh air jackets after all of that California mountain driving was making me woozy with exhaust fumes. Man, I knew that was going to fix it for good this time! :shaking: :
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It was while performing the above repair at a park in Fairfield CA, that I saw the horrifying specter again of . . . a teenager Texting While Riding (poor horse!):
Image

Time before the time before that, I put new gaskets in I think it was October somewhere in Nevada not days after picking the bus up :scratch: :
Image

And of course, the time before the time before the time before that, Hambone and Ruckman101 were watching me slather ultra-orange on the split heat riser on the old muffler to get rid of any exhaust leaks . . . :geek:
October 7th or something, in Vancouver WA: Image

replace the ball joint boots
replace spring plate bushings and reduce rear camber a smidge
finish the undercoating job I started in Montana:
a) make holes in all weak areas
Image
Image

b) look at the bewildering amount of sand and rusty junk that was inside the "sealed replaced rocker panels whose paint is already blistering:
Image
Image

c) rust-catalyze prime all that exposed rust and spray rubberized undercoating at $7.97 a damn can X 12 cans, youch.

d) wax the poor thing.

The moonlit nights are beautiful, the countryside is gorgeous, the car is running exquisitely well except when it isn't, and I am being thrown out of here.

Wisconsin
Image

Tomorrow will be a big day at the abandoned Michigan factory rear parking lot next to the Great Ruins of Rooftop Air Handlers rusting on the ground beside me.
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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Elwood
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Michigan

Post by Elwood » Thu Aug 30, 2012 4:33 am

Nice to read of your time with "This n' That". I would like more detail about the ball joint boot replacement please. :notworthy:

Be sure and blow a kiss to that full moon, you know why :thumbright:

and as always Safe travels.

Love,

B/E
'69 weekender ~ Elwood

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drober23
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Michigan

Post by drober23 » Thu Aug 30, 2012 9:01 am

More than a couple abandoned factories in Michigan nowadays. I'm sure the idea is the he is unlikely to be bothered there.

Should have good weather for it though!
DJ

'75 Westfalia, '79 Deluxe
(plus more busses than sense)

In a time of chimpanzees I was a monkey

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Michigan

Post by Amskeptic » Fri Aug 31, 2012 7:31 am

Below is the two-day work list between Indiana and Michigan from my original post
I have a couple of days to:

add inside flaps to vapor barriers. done!
change the oil. done!
adjust the valves. done!
compression test. done!
try to cure the exhaust leak. done!

replace the ball joint boots
replace spring plate bushings and reduce rear camber a smidge
finish the undercoating job

Tomorrow will be a big day at the abandoned Michigan factory rear parking lot next to the Great Ruins of Rooftop Air Handlers rusting on the ground beside me.
Colin
for example, the above "tomorrow" is now yesterday:
big day
Image

at the abandoned factory:
Image

It was no "wax the Konis" . . . :blackeye:
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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Sylvester
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Michigan

Post by Sylvester » Fri Aug 31, 2012 8:27 am

Amskeptic wrote: for example, the above "tomorrow" is now yesterday:
big day
Image
So those are the famous Zerk nipples there? When did you put them on?
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue, I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace. Where never lark, or even eagle flew. And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod, The high untrespassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

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Elwood
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Michigan

Post by Elwood » Fri Aug 31, 2012 9:28 am

Well ok then, El will just have to wait for stronger forces :pale:

Me thinks maybe I can "Hippie fix" by shooting some lube in there :geek:

I would be scared of that place---Colin you are one brave man :brave:

Thanks for picts

B/E
'69 weekender ~ Elwood

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Michigan

Post by Amskeptic » Sun Sep 02, 2012 8:36 am

Elwood wrote:Well ok then, El will just have to wait for stronger forces :pale:

Me thinks maybe I can "Hippie fix" by shooting some lube in there :geek:

I would be scared of that place---Colin you are one brave man :brave:

Thanks for picts

B/E
Shall we do ball joint boots next time? It is a nice big nasty terrible job with hammers and banging releases of spindles and metallurgical limits exceeded.

Yes, zerk fittings really do help to keep the ball joints happy. Even with all of that desert sand and dust and rainy day grime blasting in through the most ripped-up boot, not an iota of damage was observed. Every ball joint stud on this car is easy to spin in circles yet has no play whatsoever.
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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hambone
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Michigan

Post by hambone » Mon Sep 03, 2012 11:00 am

Would you consider this lack of nipples a factory oversight?
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Bleyseng
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Michigan

Post by Bleyseng » Mon Sep 03, 2012 9:19 pm

I think they figured the ball joints had a life of 100K and then along with a lot of other stuff would need replacement.
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: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Michigan

Post by RussellK » Tue Sep 04, 2012 7:29 am

Bleyseng wrote:I think they figured the ball joints had a life of 100K and then along with a lot of other stuff would need replacement.
And they probably never considered the replacements would be so hideously out of spec

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Amskeptic
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Michigan

Post by Amskeptic » Fri Sep 07, 2012 6:41 am

RussellK wrote:
Bleyseng wrote:I think they figured the ball joints had a life of 100K and then along with a lot of other stuff would need replacement.
And they probably never considered the replacements would be so hideously out of spec
Our Volkswagen DNA is getting more and more erroneous. The templates are getting more rare.
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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