Retitled: Gypsie's rebuild

[hambone]

Yep. Those vids are pretty big files but I will give you a copy via CD. Great to be part of the experience, and may I say "JOB WELL DONE". Dare I say it's almost camp time?

[Amskeptic]

Congratulations, Gypsie. It has got to be a rush to drive all that you put together.
You are correct in wanting to get the throttle linkage proper. Any time you have a cable sheath anchored, you can loosen its clamp/bolts/bracket/whatever, and use its slop to help you get things aligned up at the tpa. This is also true for occasional clutch wingnut issues on baywindows, you can actually loosen the 13mm bolts/nuts and pull the Bowden tube bracket towards the front of the car to get a couple more threads of adjustment.
Colin

[ruckman101]

Fantastic news! I can attest to the first fire noives. Acute.


neal

[dtrumbo]

Good job, buddy! Don't forget to have a look at your brake and reverse lights. Probably tail light housings full of water after the long sleep. We collectively heard an exhaust leak at the Lab which might explain the throaty sound. Can I rain on your parade any more? Seriously, nice work!

[spiffy]

I love it!!!!! Can't wait to see and hear it!!!! Farking miss you guys!!!!!

[dtrumbo]

Thanks to both Mike and Jim for poppin' in (hey, that rhymes!). Sure have missed ya both around here.

[Gypsie]

To all who've helped me with guidance and support during this journey of discovery I say thanks.


Now I say AAAAAAARGHHHHH!!!!!!!

Just getting things tuned in. final steps toward having a decent idle along with the nicely running engine and what do you think happens.....

CV joint breaks. Or something in the CV joint area.

I pull off a side street onto a pretty steep incline and "Keraang......whizzzz...". No power.

Towed home (a little more than 1 mile...) dropped in front of the house at 10pm last night. I have not crawled around underneath it but is is likely an exploded CV joint (4 new cv joints installed a month ago), or sheared mounting bolts, or god knows what...

If taint one thing 'Snuther...

-Gypsiewannabuyavanagon?

[chitwnvw]

Yes, they test the faith don't they? Eventually you will run out of things that can break.

[ruckman101]

No power? Or like stuck in neutral no matter what gear, no move? Those CVs are pretty stout, must be bolts. But wouldn't the axle drop?

Hub splines stripped? Although I got no kerang! when the hub splines stripped on my '62 ghia, it left me with what I thought was no clutch.

Other than that, the only thing that comes to my mind is.... Oh I hope not.

Sorry to hear. What's the prognosis after inspection? There were some dry portions of the day.



neal

[spiffy]

April fools?

[Gypsie]

Finally had dry enouugh gound to check it out. Found that the outer cv joint had become separated from the wheel hub assembly. ???

only one of the bolts was broken (about 1/2 inch off the tip). one of the hub threaded holes was resistant to allowing another bolt to be put i. I presume this hole is the one that had the broken bolt, though I did not find any pieces of broken bolt in the thread, in the cv joint or in the suspension boom area. Perhaps it fell out on the ground???

Pulled the axle and inspected. cleaned the outer assembly and regreased. reinstalled and snugged everything up. I found that both axles had loose cv bolts (each bolt was a little loose (less than a 1/4 turn)., one or two were very loose (more than half a turn).

What's up with that. I did have a moment when I thought that maybe the joint that let loose hadn't been torqued down, but after finding all the bolts loose I know I didn't leave them all untightened. What gives?.... Do I need to add loctite to these?

Hoping that all is well. I didn't want to take it out after I was done wanting rather to test drive during the day, just in case...

Fingers crossed and now on to drilling holes in NLA parts....

[Gypsie]

Ok, here I lay, prostrate at the feet of the Dub Gods. Once again being required to pay tribute to the inner workings of the Engine that has continued to demand discipline and adherence to a strict weltanschauung.

I must drop my engine to remove the 'new heads' that were disassembled and ground and cleaned by a local shop (not particularly air cooled oriented shop). I have seen the light of AMC potential for sub-par QC. Though Spiffy has had a good experience with his "out of the box" bolt on.

I have 30lbs in my #3 cyl and app. 100lbs in the other three. I have wet tested the cylinders with no change.

My starting and low idle issue is still giving me the dickens.

I have determined to use my Colin visit to reassemble and install the engine So I can have his expert eye and guiding hand in the process.

Which means that I am removing the engine and having the heads done up right by a local machinist that used to work at our local VW machine shop that recently closed due to a 'transition'.

It has been suggested that I get the exhaust valves "up sized". Anyone have an idea what that will mean in size. I am also getting the impression that this will mean several more steps and parts in the process (New seats, guides, valves, springs) Got to keep an eye on the budget. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Sources, sizes, brands, etc.

I do not want to add a bunch of machine work to the bill so I want to stick with stock valve guide sizing, and if possible stock seats, but I am in uncharted territory for me. Suggestions or things to consider?

The machinist doesn't have any "stock" and would have to source parts (except stock valve guides). I am doing research and may order them myself to give to him use. This is side work for him and he works a regular job in a motorcycle shop (though he may have decent sources...I am in a time crunch if I want an assembled engine after July 9.)

I could just go with the stock valves and seats that are in the heads, ground up properly and spec'd by someone familiar with VW heads... ?

I am not trying to build a hot rod, just a trusty vehicle to take me camping.

[RSorak 71Westy]

According to Jake Raby all the parts that come in those heads are junk. So if you want reliability then everything must be replaced with GOOD parts.

To upsize the exhaust valve means to make it a larger diameter. Yes this requires a new seat, valve and some machine work. But results in a large performance benefit.

[airkooledchris]

is the theory that the less than steller AMC new valve train parts failed in some way causing this issue with low compression?

one cyl at 30# is bad, but the other three at only 100# isn't good either.

def get the best parts you can afford, but I would be sure to take a good look at the other bits as well to be sure the heads are simply a victim of a separate failure.

[Gypsie]

if you want reliability they everything must be replaced with GOOD parts.

.

Excellent.

Any suggestions as to what "good parts" are?

Goetze? TRW? I do not want to assume that if it's $30 dollars compared to $20 that it is "better"

Guides: Should I be asking the machinist what guides he has in stock? Suggestions for "good guides"?

Seats: brands? Materials?

Springs: Brands?

Better Performance would be nice but standard reliability is nice too. I am thinking that I would like to go with good parts and a stock configuration. I am hoping to have three heads worked so one can go on the shelf. Affordability is a big part of this equation.


I will know more about the heads after I get them off though the low compression issue has been present since initial startup. I have a feeling that I screwed up deck height calculations. I am also concerned about valve geometry and will hope to get a master class when Colin is here.