Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Washington

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Amskeptic
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Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Washington

Post by Amskeptic » Fri Jul 21, 2017 11:32 pm

Missoula was just up the road a ways from Ludwig. Had a day with mtcamper, blessedly drama-free and lusciously hot. No backing up the interstate trying to find a LM-1 exhaust pipe clamp. No hurtling down the exit ramp with no brakes. No Montana pick-ups cracking the windshield with gravel chips. Just a nice easy day of brakes in the broiling afternoon sun, maybe some re-running of a DD gauge harness, and a light attack against impending rust with a putty knife. And yes, mtcamper's engine startled us with a 444* CHT reading in that 96* heat using an untouched Fuel Injection Corp AFM.

Then I hit the road for Washington in that 96* heat in Chloe and could not get the engine over 375* CHT. And we ask, why? Why does one engine run hot and another engine run cold when they do essentially the same work with essentially the same vehicle? I cannot answer this question save to say that Chloe's engine went from flat pistons to dished pistons and lost a good 10 psi compression as a result, but it runs cool. Too cool. I gots carbon build up. But I also have challenged valve seats, so we stay too cool for now. By sundown, the ambient temps had dropped to 83* and Chloe's CHTs dropped to 364*:

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Drove to Helena to say hi to Montana's own body-slammer representative, Greg Gianaforte, at his big house:

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Felt the need to visit a church after that:

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Then I took US-12 to the Big Pass, the MacDonald Pass, to warm up my engine and burn off some carbon:

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It was tougher in the olden days:

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Maybe it was tougher in the olden days, but it isn't exactly easier in 2017 to have no more horsepower than those pictured above and to have deal with cars and large trucks that do:

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Crested the summit at 6,325 feet and stared long at that laughable "speed limit" sign (sure, invert the numbers and divide by two, there ya go, MY speed limit) now we have to enjoy drum brakes all the way down:

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Parked on a hidden dike and stripped out the front of the car to deep-clean. Do you think I have enough fan belts?

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Waxed the floorboards, washed the mats, treated the wheel well mats with Gummifledge:

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Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh . . . duh:

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I have a rash of broken seat springs all of a sudden. Fatso Itinerator is hitting the scales hard these days, and the driver's seat has had to handle some pretty burly butts in its past. I could only put some wire nuts over the ends of the broken springs ( 2 coils and two serpentine springs just busted):

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Considered this view a while:

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Telephoto'd right through and out the other side:

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Spied a bug sitting there with a bunch of other cars and thought that that bug should really see another day out on the roads, there's engineering lurking under that thing:

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Drove directly from Missoula MT to Spokane WA after the mtcamper appointment, right into the Pacific Time Zone. We are officially in the west West now. Here's looking down into downtown Spokane from the bridge that took me to my "projects campsite":

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Can you see how each lamp assembly has been removed, washed, dielectric-greased, and the body waxed underneath each seal? I can't either:

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This to give us every single lumens available from our big quiet 38 A generator with the newly balanced fan (balanced with a tinnerman nut stuck on a fan blade, it really does help):

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Ripped the felts out the doors to refit them more carefully so I might get rid of a wind whistle that is just totally not acceptable in an air-cooled Volkswagen. That is 3M yellow weatherstrip adhesive for the shark bite clips to try to hang on to the felts more successfully :

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Couldn't stand the bleached-out crap felts, so I painted 'em:

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It's fraud, but I don't care. If someone asks, "wow, are those new window fuzz thingies?" I'll just answer, "heck yeah, the best."

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Gummi-Pfledged the vent window seals and the scrapers:

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Tomorrow, it is Off Towards Seattle Until The Pacific Chill Stops Me. Engine is running fine, I had to back off a couple exhausts AGAIN, but hey, it sure goes up the hills:
Colin
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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Happyfolk
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Washington

Post by Happyfolk » Sat Jul 22, 2017 9:51 am

Amskeptic wrote:
Fri Jul 21, 2017 11:32 pm

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh . . . duh:

Image

Ripped the felts out the doors to refit them more carefully so I might get rid of a wind whistle that is just totally not acceptable in an air-cooled Volkswagen. That is 3M yellow weatherstrip adhesive for the shark bite clips to try to hang on to the felts more successfully :

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Gummi-Pfledged the vent window seals and the scrapers:

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What are your plans for that extinguisher? Replace? That trigger/nozzle plastic looks baked!
3M yellow weatherstrip adhesive. Check.
I need to work on my window seals. They're new but don't seal for shit!
What brand of Gummi-Pflege do you use?

Have you ever posted a list of your favorite bus maintenance products?

Great pics as always!

Mike
79 CA FI Westy
Mexico Beige
"Sandy"

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Amskeptic
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Washington

Post by Amskeptic » Sat Jul 22, 2017 10:03 am

What brand of Gummi-Pfledge do you use?

I thought that was the brand name . . . .

My favorite products are whatever is available.
Colin
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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Happyfolk
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Washington

Post by Happyfolk » Sat Jul 22, 2017 12:37 pm

I'd never heard of Gummi pflege but googled it after reading your post and found a few brands.
One called "Genuine BMW", and also Einszett brand, Nextzett, Sonax, Wurth, another marketed as "Autosol Rubber Care (Gummi Pflege)", and one called "Sesam Vaseline Gummipflege". "Gummi Pflege" is german for "Rubber Care".
79 CA FI Westy
Mexico Beige
"Sandy"

mtcamper
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Washington

Post by mtcamper » Sat Jul 22, 2017 5:54 pm

This was a really nice relaxing visit. I learned so much once again but like Colin said , most if it we just broiled in the driveway going over the front and rear brakes, which was great. I had been wanting to go over my brakes for a while now. Every year I learn so much it takes a day or two to absorb it all. I now have a working E-brake =D> .
By the way Colin you did not happen to find a alternator adjustment bolt plastic tin cover in your car? If not I assume it's somewhere in between my house and i90...

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Amskeptic
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Washington

Post by Amskeptic » Sat Jul 22, 2017 9:24 pm

mtcamper wrote:
Sat Jul 22, 2017 5:54 pm
By the way Colin you did not happen to find a alternator adjustment bolt plastic tin cover in your car? If not I assume it's somewhere in between my house and i90...
Oh dear. If I took it off, it would be between the battery and the pinchweld seam/tail light housing/ Look around, under intake manifold or beside the breather under the thermostat cross bar? Under the pulley? Were you the guy where we started the engine with the 22mm wrench resting near the belt?
ColinRetirementImminent
( have a spare cover plate in Atlanta)
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

mtcamper
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Washington

Post by mtcamper » Mon Jul 24, 2017 6:55 pm

Amskeptic wrote:Were you the guy where we started the engine with the 22mm wrench resting near the belt?
ColinRetirementImminent
( have a spare cover plate in Atlanta)

Haha yes that was me. I've never heard that metallic noise before from my engine! I'm going to look around some more for it. I think I may also have another one around as well.

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Bleyseng
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Washington

Post by Bleyseng » Tue Jul 25, 2017 6:31 am

I stopped by on Sunday to check up on Colin while he was at Ronin10's appointment. I stayed around long enough to help sort out the refer/aux battery system and to hear it is rebuild time for the engine. Lots of good bullshitting in the hot driveway and left Colin with valve cover gaskets and a carb rebuild kit.
Andrew, did the refer even get cold?
Colin, did you find a set of 1600SP heads at Jerry's?
Geoff
77 Sage Green Westy- CS 2.0L-160,000 miles
70 Ghia vert, black, stock 1600SP,- 139,000 miles,
76 914 2.1L-Nepal Orange- 160,000+ miles
http://bleysengaway.blogspot.com/

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Amskeptic
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Washington

Post by Amskeptic » Tue Jul 25, 2017 10:01 am

Bleyseng wrote:
Tue Jul 25, 2017 6:31 am
I stopped by on Sunday to check up on Colin while he was at Ronin10's appointment. I stayed around long enough to help sort out the refer/aux battery system and to hear it is rebuild time for the engine. Lots of good bullshitting in the hot driveway and left Colin with valve cover gaskets and a carb rebuild kit.
Andrew, did the refer even get cold?
Colin, did you find a set of 1600SP heads at Jerry's?

pictures and write-up to come . . .
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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Ronin10
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Washington

Post by Ronin10 » Tue Jul 25, 2017 10:39 am

Bleyseng wrote:
Tue Jul 25, 2017 6:31 am
Andrew, did the refer even get cold?
The cooling fins in the refrigerator remain cool to the touch, but only slightly cooler than ambient temperature. May need to remove and shake out the system to really get it going.
Oscar: 1976 Sage Green Bus, Stock Motor, Solid Lifters, Manual Transaxle

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mechanicjay
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Washington

Post by mechanicjay » Fri Jul 28, 2017 1:03 pm

Had a great session with Colin on Wednesday.

Prior to Colin's arrival I had stripped the intake, fan shroud and exhaust off the engine in order to facilitate replacement of every oil seal on the engine (I hate oil leaks). I had most of it cleaned and ready to go back on. I have a rebuilt set of stock carbs to put back on the bus (it came with some horrid after market pieces of crap).

We started the day with Colin very confident over the first cup of coffee (In the 'gaudy' Star Trek Deep Space 9 mug) that we'd be test-driving the car before he left. I disagreed and brought him outside to survey the damage.

After looking at the various intake pieces I'd collected, he agreed that we wouldn't be driving today. "This is a '72 throttle bar, you can't you this. This is a '72 balance tube, you can't use this. This is a '72 line for the brake booster, you can't use this."

With that bit of unpleasantness out of the way, we started on what we could do. I started doing pushrod tube seals....
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while Colin replaced the oil cooler seals and chastised me for buying a cheap Chinese oil pressure switch. Pulling the first valve cover resulted in a shower of about gallon of fuel drenched oil...damn those crappy carbs!

As I continued doing pushrod tube seals (adjusting valves as I went), Colin started prepping the exhaust manifolds to go back on, by filing the ends and drilling out the bolt holes a bit. Then he continued on, re-inserting the 4 exhaust studs that pulled out when I removed the heater boxes a few days prior. We got the point of reinstalling the fan shroud....

"Where are the nuts?" He asks.
"Right on the studs...." I say.
"Yeah those were the ones on bumper I was asking about the importance of a while ago...." He says.

20 minutes or so later, we eventually found what we were looking for and were able to continue on.

We finally got the point of actually re-installing the heater boxes.
2017-07-26 17.19.39.jpg
Towards the end of the day we engaged in some metalwork on the engine tins to get them back into shape before I strip and paint them (Just ran out of time before he got here).

So I have a good shopping list a head of me just to be able to fire this thing up and run it in a reliable way. All-in-all, a good days work.
2017-07-26 19.42.35.jpg


Edit:
Colin, the internet tells me that engine code EA means: 1972-74 VW 411 / 412, 1972-73 Porsche 914, 1.7 liter, D-Jetronic.

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Ronin10
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Washington

Post by Ronin10 » Fri Jul 28, 2017 1:53 pm

mechanicjay wrote:
Fri Jul 28, 2017 1:03 pm
Edit:
Colin, the internet tells me that engine code EA means: 1972-74 VW 411 / 412, 1972-73 Porsche 914, 1.7 liter, D-Jetronic.
Confirmed. I was just reading this in the Tom Wilson book last night. My engine has the same code, though the crankshaft in there is unknown. We'll find out at some point as Colin left me on Sunday with a single item on my shopping list...a new engine. Of course that has many components. that add up to a big ticket expenditure.

For my part, Colin and I had a fairly leisurely day on the weekend. I had four items on my to-do list and we got three of them, the fourth being usurped by a random comment by me which led to adjusting valves, pulling a lifter, and Colin declaring my engine one valve adjustment away from its demise. We got the alternator connected to the auxiliary battery so that it would charge, verified the fridge was functioning correctly (with some help from Bleyseng) and tackled something under the dash...can't recall what at the moment. Colin took a photo, but I never remember to do so.

In other news, I am now on the hunt for a good 2.0L crankshaft, rods, etc. If anyone in the area has one or know of someone that does, please let me know. I can swap for parts, cash, or some combination thereof. Currently pressing other sources as well.

Cheers to all,

Andrew
Oscar: 1976 Sage Green Bus, Stock Motor, Solid Lifters, Manual Transaxle

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Bleyseng
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Washington

Post by Bleyseng » Mon Jul 31, 2017 8:37 am

I maybe will be able to help you with the 2.0L crank and rods.as I have a extra 2.0L case sitting on the shelf...I just have to see what's wrong in the 914 first.
Geoff
77 Sage Green Westy- CS 2.0L-160,000 miles
70 Ghia vert, black, stock 1600SP,- 139,000 miles,
76 914 2.1L-Nepal Orange- 160,000+ miles
http://bleysengaway.blogspot.com/

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Ronin10
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Washington

Post by Ronin10 » Mon Jul 31, 2017 9:29 am

I was able to get a 2.0L crank from Ken over the weekend. Will bring it in to Jerry at NW Connecting Rod sometime this week when I take my case and heads in for an inspection.

Interestingly, I think Colin put a time delay knowledge test into my bus. Currently waiting for a tow truck at the north end of Boeing Field. Lost power on the way into work and now it won't start. Didn't have tools with me to investigate too much further than everything looking hooked up correctly...i.e.no vacuum leaks, lose writes, etc.
Oscar: 1976 Sage Green Bus, Stock Motor, Solid Lifters, Manual Transaxle

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Amskeptic
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Washington

Post by Amskeptic » Mon Jul 31, 2017 3:20 pm

Ronin10 wrote:
Mon Jul 31, 2017 9:29 am
Lost power on the way into work and now it won't start.
Dammit, the remote disabler has a stuck button, I can't undisable.
Colin

(what DID you find?)
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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