Colin spends another day with me Yea!

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cheesehead
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Colin spends another day with me Yea!

Post by cheesehead » Fri Oct 24, 2008 7:42 am

I suppose I should start with saying this was our fourth visit together! With a second vehicle this time:) I have a yellow Westy with a Camper Special engine kit from Jake Raby that has weber carbs. And a 1973 blue beetle which Colin hinted one time that it would look good with white interior so I thought about it and agreed that the black had to go, it looks soooo much better with the white interior. Oh we did not do the interior together for the visit but we did spend the day mostly on the bug.
Let me quickly recap the other visits. First visit with Colin was within the first three thousand miles on my new engine and so we went over all the stuff you do in your first experience with Colin. As well as Colin learning you and your VW. Mostly I remember valve adjustment, checking those honking 44 Kadron carbs I had on then wow they sucked gas. Stuff like that. Second visit was mixed and not doing what I thought we would do but that happens. I was having trouble with starting the bus, I thought that we would be putting in a new starter and or hot start relay. As soon as Colin listened to it running he was like what is the sound your alternator bearings sound like crap. I was like really! So off we went to my local vw shop Peek Performance to pick up an alternator. so the day was R&R the alternator then when we dug in a bit I have been irritated with an oil leak and we decided it could be coming from the rear seal so we replaced that as well. I think that was the day. Then the third visit was just something I had been wanting to correct to make another part of my bus better than before and that was to replace the heater controls and have them all work well and proper. I believe that took a lot of time but we also tweaked my sliding door so it closes very nice now:)
Well on to Colin’s visit yesterday. The DC area has had some outstanding weather lately and yesterday was no exception. Yes the morning was chilly but we stayed inside to chat for a bit. Discuss my concerns with the new ’73 beetle and yes I had my list of concerns. Gas smell, tune up, shifting hard, pulling to the left.....
The gas smell....first thing Colin did was remove the sending unit to see the gasket, ugh. Cleaned the area then used some fix a gasket etc. still gas smell so we went over the gas venting system to make sure it was free. It seems that one of the vent lines was replaced by a braided vacuum line and the cloth was soaking up the gas. which had to mean a crack and that is not good. So we replaced it with a plastic tube from the aquarium for an experiment and until I get to the store for the correct piece. Hey Colin it seems that there is gas about an inch up the tube but I will see later today if the smell has gone. Of course upon inspection of the engine there were multiple things that the knucklehead P.O had removed etc. Then we started it and Colin said this thing is not running on all cylinders! Let’s figure out what is going on...So by pulling the starter wire from the coil he could tell by if the sound it made as it tried to start. If it had a sort of distinct uptick was good that it still had some compression, phew it did. So then we determined it was #2 that was the missing link. Then checked the valves and not good news #2 exhaust was not closing completely (I think that was it) oh and the valve guide is moving! It came back to life after the adjustment so I am to check it again soon. I really wanted Colin to be here for the first analysis of the bug. The oil was like black paint and the oil bath was icky too. A very neglected bug until now. Checked and adjusted the timing I forgot but maybe we should have looked at the spark plugs too oh well another day... The shifter had a short shift kit which none of us like so out that came because it makes it so tight and not that much fun to drive that way. Oh by the way Colin- Leigh loves the different feel of the shifter yippieeee. Also I suspected a problem with my flappers and thermostat in the westy so he tweaked that and I will do further observation and report back to Colin.
Then off to a brewpub down the street for beer and food before he departed down the road to spread the love.
Colin you know how much I appreciate you and everything we do together, thanks.
Peace,
Meg

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Amskeptic
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Re: Colin spends another day with me Yeah

Post by Amskeptic » Fri Oct 24, 2008 8:21 am

Yesterday was a heavy heart day for me (ever had that feeling that every second is an eternity and if you dare think about it you'll just lose it?), so it was a relief and a pleasure to be firmly outside of myself and dealing with the rest of the world.

The uptick in the starter motor sound was a warning. It drew attention to the fact that some unknown cylinder had low compression (a bad thing). That made me pursue the question, which cylinder? By removing spark plug wires one at a time on the distributor cap at idle, we could see which cylinder was not participating. It was #2 that gave us NO rpm drop when we pulled its wire off the cap.

First place to go with any VW running on three cylinders is the valves. That is where we discovered that #2 exhaust valve was firmly OPEN at TDC. Bad bad bad. While readjusting the valves, I discovered that the guide is in terrible shape (you could move the valve spring retainer in a wobbly arc).

The engine came back and ran well (bless these old VWs) but needs attention. Peppy little bug!

I hope I did not get too goofy at dinner/beer. Leigh, I hope I did not sound to flippantly catastrophic.
Colin :king:
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

bus71
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Post by bus71 » Fri Oct 24, 2008 11:15 am

"Flippantly catastrophic" is that anything like "gallows humour"? :compress:

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cheesehead
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Post by cheesehead » Fri Oct 24, 2008 7:19 pm

Colin,
I talked to Joe about the valves being set at 4 instead of 0 and he said that it is set at 4 because it is a better safe chance to have them a little lose and not risk the chance of burned valve but they set the race cars at 0. He said it is hard to set them to 0 I know you did but why would he say it is hard?
So who has the Camper special engine and how are you setting you valves?
Peace,
Meg

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Westy78
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Post by Westy78 » Fri Oct 24, 2008 7:28 pm

Who's Joe? If you have a Camper Special with chromoly pushrods the valves should be set at zero measurable lash, while still being able to easily spin the pushrods.
Chorizo, it's what's for breakfast.

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Amskeptic
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Post by Amskeptic » Fri Oct 24, 2008 7:36 pm

cheesehead wrote:Colin,
I talked to Joe about the valves being set at 4 instead of 0 and he said that it is set at 4 because it is a better safe chance to have them a little lose and not risk the chance of burned valve but they set the race cars at 0. He said it is hard to set them to 0 I know you did but why would he say it is hard?
So who has the Camper special engine and how are you setting you valves?
Peace,
Meg
Meg?

Can we talk?

Joe does not build Raby engines. Joe may not second-guess Jake. Period. If Joe feels that setting valves at "0" lash is difficult, that may very well be true for Joe. I, however, find it a cake walk. The reasoning behind Jake's specification is sound. With chrome moly pushrods, the expansion of the engine and valvetrain steel maintain a roughly equal rate, with clearance opening in high heat conditions.
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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cheesehead
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Post by cheesehead » Sat Oct 25, 2008 9:01 am

Oh my I feel like I am being yelled at...I know it seemed easy to set them to 0. I just wanted to tell you what Joe said when I asked about the difference. Gosh. I want to do the right thing and make sure I understand I am learning for heaven sake.
Joe is a good friend.

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IFBwax
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Post by IFBwax » Sat Oct 25, 2008 10:45 am

Meg.. I have a Camper Special. Set it at 0. It's easier to me setting it at zero than it is getting out your feeler blade. If you've ever set hydraulics it's virtually the same, except you skip the step about screwing it in a 1 and 1/2 turns. All you do is move it back and forth, tighten a little.. rock it back and forth, tighten a little more, until you hit that point where it doesn't move anymore... then back off a little on the screw to make sure you're right.. then barely tighten again and you are good to go. It's very easy even for me. And that's saying something.

Colin may seem a bit enthusiastic because these CS are very expensive and should not be treated like regular engines. Raby himself makes a big point about not letting ANYONE second guess him. If you let someone tell you otherwise and take their advice over Raby, then good luck getting help if your engine does fry. Don't feel badly, Colin is just looking out for you.

Sounds like a great day with Colin.
The best navigators aren't sure where they're going until they get there. And then they're still not sure.

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Westy78
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Post by Westy78 » Sat Oct 25, 2008 11:34 am

Nope, no yelling from me either. I also have a Camper Special. Just letting you know that it is very important to follow Jake's recommendations with one of his engines. They are built and designed around very strict parameters. Wayne also speaks the truth about going with the advice of someone else over Jake when it comes to his designs. It's nothing personal towards Joe.
Chorizo, it's what's for breakfast.

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cheesehead
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Post by cheesehead » Sat Oct 25, 2008 12:11 pm

I hear what you are all saying and will do just that. I love the way my bus runs and want to keep it healthy for a long long time.

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Jake Raby
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Post by Jake Raby » Mon Oct 27, 2008 4:18 am

FOLLOW MY RECOMMENDATIONS- PERIOD.


I don't know who Joe is, but last time I checked he didn't develop the CS engine combination.
Jake Raby
Raby's Aircooled Technology
www.aircooledtechnology.com

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cheesehead
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Post by cheesehead » Mon Oct 27, 2008 6:58 am

About my write up...
You see this is why I don't post on the forum I don't need to get crap and yelled at, maybe I don't communicate well enough. But having Jake come in to yell at me is enough.
Ugh

Colin-I think you should know me well enough to understand I don't deserve this.

Good Grief

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bretski
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Post by bretski » Mon Oct 27, 2008 7:03 am

cheesehead wrote:About my write up...
You see this is why I don't post on the forum I don't need to get crap and yelled at, maybe I don't communicate well enough. But having Jake come in to yell at me is enough.
Ugh

Colin-I think you should know me well enough to understand I don't deserve this.

Good Grief
???

I just read this thread. No one is yelling at you. What they are doing is being emphatic about a point, so you don't ruin a very large investment you have in a Raby engine.

These folks are looking out for you.
1978 Deluxe Westfalia - "Klaus"

"transcripts are overrated. hardware store receipts: those are useful." --skin daddio

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Westy78
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Post by Westy78 » Mon Oct 27, 2008 7:09 am

No one is yelling. You asked a question and we answered it. No need to be so sensitive. :flower:
Chorizo, it's what's for breakfast.

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hambone
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Post by hambone » Mon Oct 27, 2008 7:26 am

Good folks here, don't take it the wrong way. Good luck!
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http://pdxvolksfolks.blogspot.com
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