From the 83AC Vanagon in The Dalles on July 20th, I detoured through the wilds around Mount Hood to catch a sighting of the Elusive Hambone, then the Columbia River Gorge calls of Ol' Shadow and 71whitewesty on July 22nd and 23rd, then to the beehive scrum of Portland, my first call being a quick substitution of Upsimba for Rusty Sub at the very same address. Rusty Sub has been inexorably brought into the VW addiction with an acquisition of another member's (Ronin10) old bus, Greta.
![Image](http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x133/73VW1800/IAC%2016%2008/07%20OR%2049.jpg)
As with Ronin10, Greta was a bit cranky when cold. We adjusted the AFM and checked numerous and sundry other items on the engine in the service of getting a better idle. Rusty Sub, we'll just tell the readers here that the temp sensor 2 is functional at this time. We then diagnosed the alternator light on the 1972 Westy. We had to narrow the scope of the diagnosis down to the immediate presenting symptom. A replacement alternator was all ready to be installed, but I would have none of it. As we bushwhacked in the dark forest of tangled vines (aka wires), we discovered a slightly loose crimp on the blue wire that informs the idiot light. Rusty Sub was hopeful that it was the cause of the problem. Alas, Rusty Sub, it wasn't, because your idiot light was on, so it had voltage and a ground. In fact, our problem was a too-happy of a ground, the freed blue wire terminal of the heater relay plug lying askance over the intake runners, discovered a couple of days later at vistacruzer's VW Bus Garage.
![Image](http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x133/73VW1800/IAC%2016%2008/07%20OR%2050.jpg)
The vistacruzer appointment was a cruel indoor event, under a building in a parking garage while the yearned-for sunshine and 90* day blasted outside the bars of the gate. Not one to complain, me? we set to work getting an engine ready to go live in Katherine's bus. The engine was parked in a passageway off of a room under the garage under the building and it had given vistacruzer some grief when it came time to adjust valves. We found a stubborn hydraulic lifter that refused to bleed down so we could set the preload. Yanked it and disassembled it and spritzed it with carb cleaner and rinsed the check ball and reassembled it and set the preload on it and every other valve. Discovered that the aftermarket dual Solex carbs would prefer to be on opposite sides of the engine, so we swapped them and left vistacruzer with an assignment to fit new throttle links that would be the correct size. The engineering of aftermarket carb linkages always sets me off in paroxysms of distemper, and these carbs were no different. The arc of a actuating lever must agree with the arcs of actuated levers and they must agree with the travel of the accelerator pedal. So, by and by, we sent the engine up the elevator and rolled it to Katherine's bus and we actually installed it before the end of the appointment, in the dark garage with LED flashlights to help us. Rusty Sub was there through it all. Thank-you, Rusty Sub, you are a credit to the Volkswagen brother/sisterhood. Oh, and that was where we discovered the true cause of the alternator light mystery.
The next morning, NaranjaWesty almost got its windshield blown out when a "Honey Bus" septic tank cleaning truck in front of me decided that he was too far out in the left turn lane of the intersection waiting for a green light. I was mid-coffee-swill when I saw this thing start to back up. Was on the horn with a mighty meeeeeep meeeeep and trying to get reverse without spilling coffee and looking in the rear view mirror to see how far I could back up. The truck stopped exactly one inch from first contact with the left windshield wiper. Do you think I opened a can of New York on his sorry ass? Naah, gave him a thumbs up and a pantomime of a "whew". I was grateful, after all, that he did not hit.
Now alert, I arrived at Ich Bin Kurt's house. We had an easy day in the glorious hot sunshine planned. Repack the rear wheel bearings, set the spring plates, and look at the carbs and noisy alternator/fan assembly. Sure.
![Image](http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x133/73VW1800/IAC%2016%2008/07%20OR%2036.jpg)
Wheel bearing repack went fine. Kurt has owned this bus for twenty years, and you could tell that he took good care of this bus. These bearings had their original charge of grease. The grease was done. It had had it. The bearing races, like Chloe but moreso, had been rotating in the wheel bearing housings for many thousands of miles:
![Image](http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x133/73VW1800/IAC%2016%2008/07%20OR%2038.jpg)
We did a good thorough job and the car was cooperative throughout. Got it all buttoned up and decided it was time to tackle the spring plate bushings. It was time to tackle the spring plate bushings:
![Image](http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x133/73VW1800/IAC%2016%2008/07%20OR%2039.jpg)
![Image](http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x133/73VW1800/IAC%2016%2008/07%20OR%2041.jpg)
![Image](http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x133/73VW1800/IAC%2016%2008/07%20OR%2043.jpg)
![Image](http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x133/73VW1800/IAC%2016%2008/07%20OR%2040.jpg)
We could not get the torsion bar to leave the spring plate:
![Image](http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x133/73VW1800/IAC%2016%2008/07%20OR%2042.jpg)
After doing some simple math in the 95* sunshine, car at 4.5*-, spring plate at 18.5*+, net 23*, we realized that we fortunately did not need to remove the torsion bar from the spring plate. Fiddled endlessly with the bolts that hold the rear wheel bearing housing, spring plate, and diagonal arm together, buttoned it up at 6:30PM, adjusted and bled the rear brakes, tightened the coil on the fan housing, and I left him with the left side spring plate bushings to do on his own. This he does not feel entirely comfortable with. I said I would put out the word for the Portland folks. Portland folks? Kurt would like some help with the left spring plate bushings. He has excellent coffee. Based on the condition of the right side bushings, we think the left side could use replacement as well.
It was good to meet you, Kurt. You have a nice bus there, and I am sorry we ran so very out of time.
![Image](http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x133/73VW1800/IAC%2016%2008/07%20OR%2045.jpg)
Left Portland in the evening light. NaranjaWesty then decided upon a new system of informing me that the filter was clogging, the Drop Dead Instantly System. It was here at a coast-down dropped-dead moment that I discovered that the whole Porc du Grand Marnier weighs:
![Image](http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x133/73VW1800/IAC%2016%2008/07%20OR%2048.jpg)
The front of the car weights 1850 lbs (45%):
![Image](http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x133/73VW1800/IAC%2016%2008/07%20OR%2046.jpg)
The rear of the car weighs 2,300 lbs (55%):
![Image](http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x133/73VW1800/IAC%2016%2008/07%20OR%2047.jpg)
Will post again after I determine my options here in Redding CA.
The gas tank is high on the list of things that must be dealt with, as I have been getting sick on gasoline ingestion and fumes and skin burns. The right rear tire has a leak. The cylinder head temps were a ridiculous 435* under partial load yesterday even though the car drove beautifully up the Siskiyou Pass.
Colin
![Image](http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x133/73VW1800/IAC%2016%2009/08%20CA%2006.jpg)