The Tale of Buddy's Hot and Thrash-y Engine(s)

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Re: The Tale of Buddy's Hot and Thrash-y Engine(s)

Post by Amskeptic » Sun Jun 30, 2019 8:15 am

asiab3 wrote:
Fri Jun 28, 2019 9:12 am
Update: it’s an oil control ring from cylinder #2. You know, where the green and red tabs come together to ensure proper assembly? You know, the cylinder that I had off this year for case surgery? The one that would keep that carbon build up off my #2 plug?

I can guess on the size of new rings only, or order a single piston and hope it’s close enough to balance... Good news is I have two weeks off starting today!
Robbie
I hate those butting oil rings. I like the old high-quality Mahle one-piece rings.
Where are you stationed?
ColinPowerBrakesAreNifty

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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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asiab3
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Re: The Tale of Buddy's Hot and Thrash-y Engine(s)

Post by asiab3 » Fri Aug 09, 2019 10:45 pm

Amskeptic wrote:
Sun Jun 30, 2019 8:15 am
I hate those butting oil rings. I like the old high-quality Mahle one-piece rings.
Where are you stationed?
ColinPowerBrakesAreNifty
Wow, it seems I have abandoned this thread… Since my last post I have driven some 5,000 miles…

For the first time in my life, I have a Volkswagen that can go 2,000 miles without adding oil. Is this what they were really like back then? 😍

It started when Gary, of "Yes, That Vanagon" fame and I met at Maupin this year… We chatted about my annual vacation near him in La Pine, Oregon. Then I found the chunk of piston ring in my oil change just as I was entering La Pine, Oregon to visit my parents for a week. I sent Gary a message, and he offered the clean and wonderful* workspace to perform the necessary yet exploratory surgery. Got a flat tire on the way through town! (Screw in the tread…)

*Did I mention clean and wonderful? Workspaces like this make major surgery as simple as building a LEGO set.

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I pulled in at 9am.

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By 11am I had the right side head off. The #2 spark plug was the only one fouled of the bunch, after all… But the rings were completely intact!

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So it was off with the second head!

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Why didn't the plugs show this level of carbon build-up in #3? In the moment, I was also asking why did I use a combination of Roman and Arabic numerals? But I could not dwell on such trivia.

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Well, there is is. Nothing to hide.

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Cleaning of carbon and reassembly was only slightly harder LEGO set. The only setback was an intake stud that pulled. REALLY, VOLKSWAGEN, four and a half threads?!?

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I truncated, Dremel©'d, died, and thread-locked an old bolt in:

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My parents came by around lunchtime to bring me a GumOut restock, and to take my tire to Les Schwab for a free patch! I took no pictures, but my mom actually chased, cleaned, and oiled all of my head studs. Really.

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*I can not thank Gary and Evelyn enough for their perfect hospitality. They knew when to chat and jostle, and when to leave me alone to contemplate and measure the new ring gaps (worse than the old ring gaps booooo) and shoo the family dog away from my open cylinder spigots. You two were angels in my plight.

I broke the new rings (#3 oil only!) with a drive up and down a few thousand feet back to camp out at the family spot for one more day.

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The next three mornings, I performed valve adjustments.

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I changed the oil two times zones later. Now, for the third time, I consider this engine fully broken in.
Robbie
1969 bus, "Buddy."
145k miles with me.
322k miles on Earth.

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Re: The Tale of Buddy's Hot and Thrash-y Engine(s)

Post by Amskeptic » Sun Aug 11, 2019 7:31 pm

asiab3 wrote:
Fri Aug 09, 2019 10:45 pm
Wow, it seems I have abandoned this thread… Since my last post I have driven some 5,000 miles…
For the first time in my life, I have a Volkswagen that can go 2,000 miles without adding oil. Is this what they were really like back then? 😍

It started when Gary, of "Yes, That Vanagon" fame.
*I can not thank Gary and Evelyn enough for their perfect hospitality.I consider this engine fully broken in.
Robbie
Dang. It was #3 after all that? Didn't we all assume it was #2 because you had to do a case tap over there?
Aren't these cars character-builders?
You ready to get some driving in?
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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Re: The Tale of Buddy's Hot and Thrash-y Engine(s)

Post by asiab3 » Sun Aug 11, 2019 7:49 pm

Amskeptic wrote:
Sun Aug 11, 2019 7:31 pm

Dang. It was #3 after all that? Didn't we all assume it was #2 because you had to do a case tap over there?
Aren't these cars character-builders?
You ready to get some driving in?
Colin

Image
I ASSUMED it was #2 because the #2 plug was the only one with build-up. I caught that stud repair in time to avoid any combustion leaks or anomalies, I THINK. It was indeed #3 after all that.

This car has been building my character recently by giving me an easy sail across twelve states and three time zones since the operation… So I'm as lazy of a millenial as ever. Still haven't added any oil. I'm in utter disbelief.

Robbie

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1969 bus, "Buddy."
145k miles with me.
322k miles on Earth.

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Re: The Tale of Buddy's Hot and Thrash-y Engine(s)

Post by Amskeptic » Mon Aug 19, 2019 5:55 pm

asiab3 wrote:
Sun Aug 11, 2019 7:49 pm
I'm in utter disbelief.
Robbie

Enjoy it while it lasts. Every day does its part to bring us and our VWs back to the dust from which we came ...

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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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Re: The Tale of Buddy's Hot and Thrash-y Engine(s)

Post by tommu » Mon Aug 19, 2019 8:58 pm

A martian landscape. It even has a road for the Elon's Teslas.

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Re: The Tale of Buddy's Hot and Thrash-y Engine(s)

Post by asiab3 » Fri Oct 11, 2019 7:20 pm

11,000 or so miles later, I still haven't added any oil. Just changes every month, along with a valve adjustment. I bumped the timing "an amount" somwhere above 10k feet, and took it back "an amount" today at 6k feet entering Salt Lake City. I shall break out a timing light when I leave for Vegas tomorrow night, and rejoice in my volumetric efficiency back home in San Diego soon enough.

We came from planet Mars today, too,
Robbie
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1969 bus, "Buddy."
145k miles with me.
322k miles on Earth.

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Re: The Tale of Buddy's Hot and Thrash-y Engine(s)

Post by Amskeptic » Sat Oct 12, 2019 6:40 am

asiab3 wrote:
Fri Oct 11, 2019 7:20 pm

We came from planet Mars today, too,
Robbie

DSCF5802.jpg

Look, pal, I am trying to get myself settled down to go back into the stable, and you are posting these?
Colin :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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Re: The Tale of Buddy's Hot and Thrash-y Engine(s)

Post by asiab3 » Sun Oct 13, 2019 3:27 pm

Well there was that public land on rock outside Arches National Park, but the next morning Buddy refused to crank without a battery booster, then I got stuck admiring the scenery and forgot to take my turnoff, which lead to me turning the GPS off and saying "I'll find I-15 eventually, right?"

Halfway down I-70, (not a well-traveled highway,) a "black" Vanagon approaches my rearview mirror. I casually waive, as I'm excited to see another VW taking the highways by storm. As they casually wave and pass, I catch the rear hatch mural. There's only one Vanagon with that rear hatch mural. Turns out, the S.S. Galaxy wears a bra!

Pictures attached, of July 8th, with no engine in my bus, or pistons in the engine, and then again not two days ago 816 miles drive away. And you know neither of us took the direct route to Salinas, Utah over four months… :pirate:

Talk about small world…
Robbie
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1969 bus, "Buddy."
145k miles with me.
322k miles on Earth.

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Re: The Tale of Buddy's Hot and Thrash-y Engine(s)

Post by 71whitewesty » Sun Oct 13, 2019 8:34 pm

That is a crazy coincidence. Your Bus really looks good in the desert. =D>

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Re: The Tale of Buddy's Hot and Thrash-y Engine(s)

Post by Amskeptic » Mon Oct 14, 2019 8:35 pm

asiab3 wrote:
Sun Oct 13, 2019 3:27 pm
There's only one Vanagon with that rear hatch mural.

.... that can steal my night's sleep with feverish imaginings of blown head gaskets.
Colin :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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Re: The Tale of Buddy's Hot and Thrash-y Engine(s)

Post by bradleygt » Fri Oct 25, 2019 6:42 am

1612?
an ounce of prevention is waaay more than a pound of cure

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Re: The Tale of Buddy's Hot and Thrash-y Engine(s)

Post by asiab3 » Fri Oct 25, 2019 10:15 pm

bradleygt wrote:
Fri Oct 25, 2019 6:42 am
1612?
It's the code to my heart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRHQPG1xd9o
1969 bus, "Buddy."
145k miles with me.
322k miles on Earth.

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Re: The Tale of Buddy's Hot and Thrash-y Engine(s)

Post by asiab3 » Fri Oct 25, 2019 10:18 pm

71whitewesty wrote:
Sun Oct 13, 2019 8:34 pm
That is a crazy coincidence. Your Bus really looks good in the desert. =D>
Thanks Sean! I think it looks best in indirect light. And I've learned how to hide its flaws with the camera pretty well, except for that damn rear bumper.

This winter is lots of bodywork for me, before and after front torsion leaf replacement. (Front end has been sagging for a year. Gotta get new ones before Brazil stops production…)

See ya on the road!
Robbie
1969 bus, "Buddy."
145k miles with me.
322k miles on Earth.

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Re: The Tale of Buddy's Hot and Thrash-y Engine(s)

Post by Amskeptic » Sat Oct 26, 2019 8:35 am

asiab3 wrote:
Fri Oct 25, 2019 10:18 pm
71whitewesty wrote:
Sun Oct 13, 2019 8:34 pm
That is a crazy coincidence. Your Bus really looks good in the desert. =D>
Thanks Sean! I think it looks best in indirect light. And I've learned how to hide its flaws with the camera pretty well, except for that damn rear bumper.

This winter is lots of bodywork for me, before and after front torsion leaf replacement. (Front end has been sagging for a year. Gotta get new ones before Brazil stops production…)

See ya on the road!
Robbie

Sagged leaves or maybe a couple or just one broken leaf?
Colin12mphmaxdirtroadsjustaskin'
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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