1972 Westfalia - No start - $1.29 OSH fix (UPDATE: SUCCESS!)

[covelo]

Went to start the bus this morning and no start. Bus turned over and ran but died right away. A quick visual check uncovered this:

Apparently when I removed and reinstalled this part of the central idling system last week when replacing the fuel lines, the rubber boot decided to give up the ghost. The other end looked like this:

Knowing how hard these boots are to find I went to our trusty neighborhood OSH. One $1.29 foot of heavy duty contractor hose later, the bus is running fine. I hope it holds up.

[hambone]

That damn rubber boot is nothin but trouble. Nice fix.

[bretski]

Well done. The boot looks of similar quality to the AAR elbows being sold these days...C-R-A-P.

[Amskeptic]

I am horrified. . .

The airflow engineering behind the air intake pipe and elbows is not to be trifled with. Procure some new elbows at once and install as intended. Slather your new elbows with a coating of Permatex™ Ultrablack RTV® all the way to the ends and they will last the life of the car. Besides, young Hans, that garish red Series 3020 Contractor 1/2" water hose is not gasoline/oil vapor resistant and it clashes terribly against the grey bulkhead.
Horrified. . .
Colin

[Oregon72]

I recently used the RTV (on Colin's recommendation) to revitalize my brake booster elbow and it looks quite a bit better now. I need to do my central idle tube elbows too though

Before (dried and cracking)



RTV



After



Just for kicks I did a "preventative" treatment to the other side and it turned out a little prettier.

[covelo]

OK. I'll think about it. Does Bus Depot have these elbows?

BTW, the inside diameter of the hose is slightly bigger than that pipe so I'm not too worried about restricting the airflow. And one wants to have a splash of color in there....

[Oregon72]

The original vw part number is 021 129 639. One of your's looks salvagable, but the other appears to be toast.

This site says "in stock" but you and I both know that doesn't mean diddly.

https://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.as ... 21-129-639

[spiffy]

OK. I'll think about it. Does Bus Depot have these elbows?

BTW, the inside diameter of the hose is slightly bigger than that pipe so I'm not too worried about restricting the airflow. And one wants to have a splash of color in there....

(I agree)

[covelo]

OK. I'll think about it. Does Bus Depot have these elbows?

BTW, the inside diameter of the hose is slightly bigger than that pipe so I'm not too worried about restricting the airflow. And one wants to have a splash of color in there....

(I agree)

Well, I'm unhappy to report that either the original problem was different or my fix did not work. Wanted to move the bus into the driveway so I could work on it a little this week and even though it started it died as I was backing into the driveway. I fiddled with the hose while my girlfriend was starting but I couldn't get it going again. So we pushed it in. We'll see if the CIP elbows will solve the problem or if this is something else.

[soulful66]

How about using 90 deg spark plug boots? They come in sizes 7mm - 10mm.
Best Regards,
John

[covelo]

So I got new boots and put them on but still no luck. To summarize:

1. 1972 dual carb bus with AVP engine - otherwise completely original
2. Bus ran fine. No symptoms of any problems whatsoever.
3. I decided to replace my fuel lines out of precaution.
4. Removed the air filter to access the fuel hoses behind it, broke one of the boots as described above.
5. Bus would not start. It starts right up, but dies immediately.
6. Replaced boots and metal piece with a cheap hose. Problem seemed fixed.
7. At first bus starts but no power on the road. Dies on pulling into driveway, cannot get it running again.
8. Replaced cheap hose with new elbow assembly. Bus still does not start.
9. Remove air filter, check everything behind and underneath (including brake booster hose), everything seems hooked up correctly.
10. Reinstall air filter. Still no start. Bus wants to start but won't keep running.

So I think I messed something up when I installed the fuel lines. Can anyone think of anything I may have disconnected or misconnected that could cause these symptoms?

I hate to have my bus towed to a shop. I have never had to use one of those since I got it in 2005 but I've gone through everything twice now and I don't see where the problem is.

Thanks!

[vdubyah73]

Look for a kink or pinch in the newly installed fuel hoses.

[covelo]

Will do. Thanks!

Just checked the various carburator electrical parts (the big plunger thing and the two little ones) and they checked out. The bus almost started again. It seems like it starts only on the first try after having been left alone for a while but then dies immediately. Next I'm going to disconnect the brake booster hose and plug up the metal part at the fire wall to see if that makes a difference. I checked and rechecked the rubber vacuum elbows below the carburators but they seem OK. It's a mystery.

[covelo]

Checked the fuel lines. No kinks or anything.

Took the brake booster vacuum boots off to check them and stuffed the brake booster ends to see if the problem is with the brake booster line. No difference. I'm at a loss.

Is there any way an electrical problem could cause the car to almost start but not quite? My battery is pretty run down from all the starting so it's on a charger now.

(My girlfriend wants to have the bus towed to a shop, where they undoubtedly will tell me to replace the carbs with a single Weber. I would like to avoid that experience. Not sure what to do next though).

[bus71]

Have you checked points, cap and rotor. Perhaps things failed at the same time to be sneaky!