Can I wire my air flaps shut for the winter?

[airkooledchris]

The other piece I'm missing and has seemed tricky to find is the spring for the flaps. Anybody know an online vendor that sells the same type of spring?

I take back what I said about it being a quick and easy job. If your missing that spring, im not sure what you can use in it's place - I don't really see how the stock spring even goes on/off, but I think even to add one you would have to be able to remove that rod that one of the flaps is always connected to - which means pulling a whole lot of stuff off to get to it.

This is assuming your talking about this spring squared in red:

[RSorak 71Westy]

As long as the air is cold and your flaps stay open,youre right, The engine never does get hot enough, but on the other hand if the flaps are closed all the way, there's no cooling and it WILL get too hot. Either situation is not optimal, but leaving the flaps open is the least objectionable.

Just fix em.

[airkooledchris]

Im basically in the same boat as you really, as (I think) the only way to get that spring onto the flaps again is to remove that rod, which requires removing a bit more to get to.

I have *everything* I need to make my flaps work, but the flaps are sitting in a box in the garage. Putting it back in place and hooking it up would equal to being the same job your looking at now (again, I believe, due to the missing spring.)

[Hippie]

On the warmitup-yeah, just let it idle briefly to get oil circulating, then drive away gently.

[Randy in Maine]

I couldn't figure out how to get that spring on or off.

Chris was it you I sent that one to? It is smarter than I am.

[airkooledchris]

I couldn't figure out how to get that spring on or off.

Chris was it you I sent that one to? It is smarter than I am.

nope, nobody sent me any springs. I actually have two of those flaps with the rod/spring attached to it in my garage.
I suppose I only *need* one, so if Velokid wants to take the plunge on installing these flaps again - ill send it to him free if he documents the process for those of us still needing to do just that.

[Amskeptic]

Do not allow any car's engine to sit in the driveway idling when cold. Start it up, get it stabilized, take off and be gentle.

Prolonged idling will melt the Subaru's substrate in the catalytic converter, and it will contaminate the oil with acidic condensate in all cars. The air-cooled VW especially wants a quick warm-up to get the heads/cylinders/case all clamped up at operating temperature. A cold VW engine will allow leaks between the heads and the cylinder barrels and the exhaust manifolds-to-ports. You can both hear canary chirps when sealing rings first begin to leak and those cold exhaust leaks that go away after a few minutes, and you can smell leaks between the heads and cylinders in the heater/defroster airflow that cleans up when the engien gets warm.

If your commute is too short, Velo, either prolong the return commute with a scenic drive, or change the oil more frequently.

Does anyone have a thermostat fail-safe spring and a cross bar separate from each other? I'd like to know if an enterprising soul might try to wind the spring onto the cross bar. It might be like a keychain ring from hell, but it might also save you from some ugly disassembly.
Colin

[Velokid1]

OK, whew.

First, it bums me out that the warm-up I thought was saving my bus was actually doing the opposite. I will change my ways immediately. The drive away from our house is a 1.5 mile climb of about 3% (I think). I'll keep it in 3rd and low-ish rpms and just lumber up it in the mornings and allow all the batouttahellers to storm past me.

The flaps came from someone back on the Samba who had a VW junkyard somewhere in like Kansas or thereabouts. They came very rusty so I put some of the rust-stop black paint on them, repainted them with black high-temp and reinstalled them when Colin and I replaced my clutch in 2004. The spring was so rusted that it was in two pieces and just crumbled right off the bar.

I do recall now that the pulling that bar would be a huge job. That's disappointing.

[Amskeptic]

OK, whew.

First, it bums me out that the warm-up I thought was saving my bus was actually doing the opposite. I will change my ways immediately. The drive away from our house is a 1.5 mile climb of about 3% (I think). I'll keep it in 3rd and low-ish rpms and just lumber up it in the mornings and allow all the batouttahellers to storm past me.

The flaps came from someone back on the Samba who had a VW junkyard somewhere in like Kansas or thereabouts. They came very rusty so I put some of the rust-stop black paint on them, repainted them with black high-temp and reinstalled them when Colin and I replaced my clutch in 2004. The spring was so rusted that it was in two pieces and just crumbled right off the bar. I do recall now that the pulling that bar would be a huge job. That's disappointing.

Let's see if someone can string a spring onto the bar . . .

If you have a big hill right away from the driveway, try to find a three minute neighborhood trolling route before you hit the hill.
Colin

[Velokid1]

"String a spring onto a bar." Say that 5 times fast.

I took the back way into town today, trolling for the first 5 minutes. The bus ran perfectly, as if it were warm out. It baffles me that it would run *better* without the 10-minute driveway idling, but so be it.

The flaps will remain open until I next need to pull the engine and crack her open. Or until someone determines how to string a spring onto a bar.

[Amskeptic]

I took the back way into town today, trolling for the first 5 minutes. The bus ran perfectly, as if it were warm out. It baffles me that it would run *better* without the 10-minute driveway idling, but so be it.

HEY! whaddItellya? HAH?
It runs better because you are not loading up the plugs with rich rich rich cold poor combustion with lots of water vapor. Driving off keeps the plugs cleaner and boils the water away sooner.

What's better:
laying in bed after the alarm, barely crawling to the bathroom with your blanky tangled around you, then peeing all over the blanket anyway,
or,
springing out of bed and running a mile in the early morning and saving that old lady at the intersection from that marauding Dodge Ram before making breakfast for your wife?

See?
Colin

[hambone]

Mebbe...but when it's 20 deg. outside, and that poor cold rich stumbling engine rubbing it's tired eyes (lifters?)....it just seems..."humane" to let the poor gal warm up a bit. Must be my Midwest training? But I try to let the engine warm up enuff to where the cold stumble goes away and the engine is idling the way it should. A couple minutes really in this wet but somewhat mild climate. Reminds me of Muir and rolling a cig. Who knows, but we all try to follow our individual gut feelings, maybe that's all that matters, the quest to do right and feel good about our actions.

[vdubyah73]

if no spring, how are your flaps staying open? jury rig a soft tension hardware store spring to hold your flaps open. Hook it up like a throttle return spring. A bicycle shifter or brake cable can be used for the cable.

[Velokid1]

if no spring, how are your flaps staying open? jury rig a soft tension hardware store spring to hold your flaps open. Hook it up like a throttle return spring. A bicycle shifter or brake cable can be used for the cable.

Not a bad idea. ^^^

[Randy in Maine]

My bus does not like to run well until the heads get up to about 200º F. I gently rev it in the driveway until it gets there and then drive off a a moderate pace.