Itinerant Air-Cooled

Hello all, I have a 1978 Westfalia and decided to join in here. Back in June, the unthinkable happened and she lost the oil filter whilst driving down the highway. The resulting loss of all my oil quickly cashed my engine. Through a friend though, I've just taken delivery of a rebuilt motor and I'm currently putting the last few pieces on to go back inside.
It's a stock 2.0 Type 4 with hydraulic lifters, fuel injection, and electronic ignition.

Here she is in happier times.
While waiting for the engine to be ready, I've taken the time to do some other upgrades as well. I installed a deep cycle battery and relay so I can power my lights, radio, USB ports, etc. when camping. I completely cleaned the inside of the poptop, it had gotten very mildewy over the years. Also installed a new radio and a third brake light, along with a few other odds and ends.

I hope to have it back on the road soon, so I'll keep you updated on the progress. Thanks!

Brief history with this bus: we have a long relationship.

2000: initial purchase with (I think) almost 200k miles. I say "think" because of course the odometer rolls over, but there was enough paperwork in the glove box to support. It was purchased new at a dealership in Houston, TX and then at some point by the mid 80s it had moved to Atlanta, where it seemed to enjoy a well cared-for life. There's tons of paperwork from VW shops where work and maintenance was performed.

2004: I dropped a valve seat (for the second time) and found I was too broke to keep it running. I sold it to a guy locally.

2007: I bought it back. He offered it to me completely redone: new engine (air-cooled from a Vanagon), new front seats, new poptop canvas, etc. I paid a lot more this time than what I sold it for.

2008: I was unhappy with the Weber carb on the type 4 so I sourced all the FI components (he got rid of them) and returned it properly to fuel injection. It ran perfectly from then on!

2011: Fixed a horrendous exhaust leak. Took off my exhaust manifolds and discovered the copper gaskets were in pieces. Replaced and installed a new exhaust. Of course one of the head studs stripped and I installed a helicoil, but it didn't last.

2017: That brings us to present day and after ten years of a trouble free engine, it locked up. But this is not the end! I look forward to getting this new engine installed and back on the road.

Wow, great story; welcome aboard...this is a good place for you to be! I have a '78 Westy, as well, and it has also provided me with some interesting experiences! Good luck with the new engine, and good for going back to the FI.

Yes, Welcome! That is a cool story ! What ever you paid to get it back is probably a fraction of what it is worth today! :)

Thank you! I definitely prefer the FI, having driven the same bus with a carb now. Easier starts, better fuel mileage, no maintenance. I'm getting a few more things done on my engine and hope to have it installed this week.

Welcome, and nice bus.

I'm very curious about why this happened, and how I can guard against it:

russwiththebus wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 27, 2017 1:35 pm

the unthinkable happened and she lost the oil filter whilst driving down the highway.

I wish I knew. I did the oil change myself, so I know the filter was tightened down properly. I had put about 500 miles on it before it somehow came off down the highway. At full speed, by the time my oil light came on, it was too late.

I guarantee now before every trip I'm gonna be putting my hand on the filter to make sure it's still tight.

Progress: Fuel injection components and harness installed, all new fuel line everywhere. Heater box flaps hooked up and the oil filler tube installed. I broke a motor mount when installing the rear support bar, so another one is on the way.

hey russ , nice to see ya here- any group campouts planned soon?
we've made it to dead of winter the past few years but not much else group wise.

Glad the engine is coming together!

Hey zabo, it gets pretty slow in the wintertime with campouts. Unfortunately I've missed out on several this season with my bus being down since July. Stevenson Burning Van is Nov 10-12 and I hope to be there for that, if I'm back up and running.

Also keep your eye on The Samba Bay Window Forum, about this time of year is when Jeff Geisen (Pops) posts details for the MLK weekend bus trip. Last year was a cruise from Jasper, GA to Suches where we camped out over the long weekend.

If all goes well, I'll have my engine installed this Saturday. Waiting on a couple more parts and then hopefully it goes in smooth.

Follow along with Juliet, my 1978 Westy thread in the Type 2 forum!

russwiththebus wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 30, 2017 10:30 pm

I wish I knew. I did the oil change myself, so I know the filter was tightened down properly.

No you don't.
Not giving you this one, big guy.
Oil filters don't just fall off. They don't. No weird little law of physics applies secret torque to the filter to get it to "loosen" the half-to-three quarters turn required to get it to spin itself off.
Let's get fanciful, OK I got one, the filter was contacting the engine carrier and every time the engine rocked on the mounts, it would push the filter counter-clockwise a skotsch
Do your neighbors like you? Just askin'

I once drained the oil out in the middle of nowhere. Where's that new oil? Oh, I guess I don't have any.
Colin
(used a quart and half of transaxle oil to get me back to civilization)

Well, I'll have to take credit (blame) for it, since I was the one who put the filter on. An expensive lesson for sure.

“Where’s that new oil?” Oh, I love that one. Transaxle oil? I love the smell of transaxle oil in the morning!

Amskeptic wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 07, 2017 5:32 pm

I once drained the oil out in the middle of nowhere. Where's that new oil? Oh, I guess I don't have any.
Colin
(used a quart and half of transaxle oil to get me back to civilization)

I vaguely remember that post ....when did you do that? Oh, and I bet you make sure you have your 4 qts of fresh oil before you drop the drain plug now.

TrollFromDownBelow wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 08, 2017 6:48 pm

Amskeptic wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 07, 2017 5:32 pm

I once drained the oil out in the middle of nowhere. Where's that new oil? Oh, I guess I don't have any.
Colin
(used a quart and half of transaxle oil to get me back to civilization)

I vaguely remember that post ....when did you do that? Oh, and I bet you make sure you have your 4 qts of fresh oil before you drop the drain plug now.

Yeah, or maybe he carries a drain pan now and collects the drained oil instead of returning it to mother earth.