Colin visits dhoch14- pics added
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 1:44 pm
Year 3 and counting...
This year’s visit was probably the most impactful of the previous 3. For the first time I was able to keep up with Colin and avoid the deer-in-headlights look that usually takes place. Sadly, Colin only had 3 diet cokes….I was disappointed.
We started at about 8:30AM and made a daily project plan over a cup of joe. Originally, we intended to review my rebuild and dial in the carbs. A compression test several days ago threw a wrench in the plans. My #3 cylinder was showing low compression (100lbs). This was the wildcard for the day. A severely underperforming cylinder and we were going to start the drop……a functioning weak cylinder and we would continue down our happy path. As I complained about not wanting to do a top-end tear down, Colin told me to chillllllll-out and see how the day progressed. Wise-words from a wise man.
We started with the standard valve adjustment….B-O-R-I-NG. After inspecting the ¾ side, we agreed the valve train looked A-okay and moved on. Next, we lined up the timing light and started her up. Timing was A-okay as well. Colin then proceeded to listen to the engine and rev the bejesus out of it. Low-end got the CKellog stamp-of-approval. Finally, I did something right! A power comparison test with my psycho tach showed no major drop and variation between cylinders. #3 certainly dropped the RPMs, but not in a concerning way.
A quick test drive resulted in one of the best zings of the day “these are the worst brakes I’ve ever seen.” I incredulously looked back at Colin and said “buuuuuuuuut 71 VistaCruzer helped me adjust the stars last month”. We agreed to shelve this conversation until later in the day. While on the test drive Colin realized how close I lived to Bookwus so we stopped by for a quick chat. Good guy and awesome garage. On the way back, Colin tested the kick-down and wala(!!!!) my #11 fuse popped. Finally!!!!! I knew what was causing the damn fuse to pop. It was the kick down!
After the test drive, Colin noticed the Sandy Rivers size oil leak(s) coming from my engine. Yah, my VW leaks, sooooooooo what?!?! You got a problem with that?!??! Upon further inspection and ignoring my sputtering comments of permatex application self-doubt, CK discovered several oil gals are leaking. The automatic tranny allowed enough of a clearance between the tranny and torque converter to see one of the gals leaking. Fortunately, my gals are threaded and plug based, though the leaks are definitely a concern.
After letting the engine cool down, we performed a Colin approved compression test.
#1 – 142
#2 – 150
#3 – 120 – a nice 20lbs increase. A wet test yielded 135lbs.
#4 – 150
Colin’s solution to the low compression on #3 = “drive the damn thing”. Aye captain’!
Next we jacked up the bus and tackled the rear brakes. The parking brake was super tight and actually showed symptoms of a common 1973 bus issue. The assembly arms that connect to the parking brake cables hits when pulled, and therefore, can’t actually pull the pads out enough to stop the vehicle. We removed the rear assemble and headed back over to Bookwus to use his grinder. Then we went back to the casa-da-dhoch14 and proceeded to reassemble the rear brakes and adjust the stars. Wala…….the bus brakes better than my Subie AND the parking brake actually works. Sa-weeet!
Also, while the bus was up we tracked down the kick-down issue where the switch from the pedal wire was actually not connected to the kick-down solenoid, but rather laying on the tranny. Geez, one would THINK I would have noticed this while trying to figure out the fuse issue (special bonus points to Gypsie who suggested the kick-down could be the issue). The obvious is often overlooked.
Next was the dreaded dual carb dial-in. My overall adjustments didn’t seem too bad on the test drive. When we actually tested the setup, I had both carbs WAY too rich and the central idling circuit was on vacation in the Bahamas. A quick adjustment to the fast idle links, a minor tweak on my left choke, and an increase on the throttle plate linkage on the right yielded a balance. Next we adjusted the mixtures, 2.5 turns out seemed to be the sweet spot. Unfortunately, after trying to richen the mixture via the central idling circuit it was determined I wasn’t getting enough air ala the retard in the dizzy. This will have to be tackled in Carbs 401 myself in the future. Apparently, I want 10 degrees and the 5 degrees I’m getting wont’ cut it. We agreed to dial in the carbs as best we could until I could increase the retard, thus leaning out the carbs more and riching the central idling circuit. At this point, I could see Colin was a tired man from 4 straight days of IAC help. Thankfully, we were almost done.
We finished the day with a minor adjustment to my sliding door. It still needs to be modified some more, but it is way better than it use to be.
The final test drive showed why Colin loves what he does…that man can smile! I had to tell him to take-it-easy with such lines as “wow, your bus is awesome” or “geez, this engine runs tight and nice, I wish mine ran this way”. Silly Colin!
A final run through of the day and a quick pic and CK was off to Seattle for some grunge and coffee.
I’ve got quite an action list to tackle this summer and winter, namely dropping the engine to seal the oil gals. I’m hoping to tackle this in the next couple weeks and carpool with the g/f.
To be completed:
- Rear wheel bearings
- Lube front end
- Detail and detail and then detail some more.
- New heat exchangers if I want heat
- Fix oil gals
- Seal exhaust leak b/t HE
- Fix sliding door and front door seals
- Shave arm lever on dizzy vac to increase retard then adjust mixtures
[albumimg]2611[/albumimg]
[albumimg]2612[/albumimg]
[albumimg]2613[/albumimg]
This year’s visit was probably the most impactful of the previous 3. For the first time I was able to keep up with Colin and avoid the deer-in-headlights look that usually takes place. Sadly, Colin only had 3 diet cokes….I was disappointed.
We started at about 8:30AM and made a daily project plan over a cup of joe. Originally, we intended to review my rebuild and dial in the carbs. A compression test several days ago threw a wrench in the plans. My #3 cylinder was showing low compression (100lbs). This was the wildcard for the day. A severely underperforming cylinder and we were going to start the drop……a functioning weak cylinder and we would continue down our happy path. As I complained about not wanting to do a top-end tear down, Colin told me to chillllllll-out and see how the day progressed. Wise-words from a wise man.
We started with the standard valve adjustment….B-O-R-I-NG. After inspecting the ¾ side, we agreed the valve train looked A-okay and moved on. Next, we lined up the timing light and started her up. Timing was A-okay as well. Colin then proceeded to listen to the engine and rev the bejesus out of it. Low-end got the CKellog stamp-of-approval. Finally, I did something right! A power comparison test with my psycho tach showed no major drop and variation between cylinders. #3 certainly dropped the RPMs, but not in a concerning way.
A quick test drive resulted in one of the best zings of the day “these are the worst brakes I’ve ever seen.” I incredulously looked back at Colin and said “buuuuuuuuut 71 VistaCruzer helped me adjust the stars last month”. We agreed to shelve this conversation until later in the day. While on the test drive Colin realized how close I lived to Bookwus so we stopped by for a quick chat. Good guy and awesome garage. On the way back, Colin tested the kick-down and wala(!!!!) my #11 fuse popped. Finally!!!!! I knew what was causing the damn fuse to pop. It was the kick down!
After the test drive, Colin noticed the Sandy Rivers size oil leak(s) coming from my engine. Yah, my VW leaks, sooooooooo what?!?! You got a problem with that?!??! Upon further inspection and ignoring my sputtering comments of permatex application self-doubt, CK discovered several oil gals are leaking. The automatic tranny allowed enough of a clearance between the tranny and torque converter to see one of the gals leaking. Fortunately, my gals are threaded and plug based, though the leaks are definitely a concern.
After letting the engine cool down, we performed a Colin approved compression test.
#1 – 142
#2 – 150
#3 – 120 – a nice 20lbs increase. A wet test yielded 135lbs.
#4 – 150
Colin’s solution to the low compression on #3 = “drive the damn thing”. Aye captain’!
Next we jacked up the bus and tackled the rear brakes. The parking brake was super tight and actually showed symptoms of a common 1973 bus issue. The assembly arms that connect to the parking brake cables hits when pulled, and therefore, can’t actually pull the pads out enough to stop the vehicle. We removed the rear assemble and headed back over to Bookwus to use his grinder. Then we went back to the casa-da-dhoch14 and proceeded to reassemble the rear brakes and adjust the stars. Wala…….the bus brakes better than my Subie AND the parking brake actually works. Sa-weeet!
Also, while the bus was up we tracked down the kick-down issue where the switch from the pedal wire was actually not connected to the kick-down solenoid, but rather laying on the tranny. Geez, one would THINK I would have noticed this while trying to figure out the fuse issue (special bonus points to Gypsie who suggested the kick-down could be the issue). The obvious is often overlooked.
Next was the dreaded dual carb dial-in. My overall adjustments didn’t seem too bad on the test drive. When we actually tested the setup, I had both carbs WAY too rich and the central idling circuit was on vacation in the Bahamas. A quick adjustment to the fast idle links, a minor tweak on my left choke, and an increase on the throttle plate linkage on the right yielded a balance. Next we adjusted the mixtures, 2.5 turns out seemed to be the sweet spot. Unfortunately, after trying to richen the mixture via the central idling circuit it was determined I wasn’t getting enough air ala the retard in the dizzy. This will have to be tackled in Carbs 401 myself in the future. Apparently, I want 10 degrees and the 5 degrees I’m getting wont’ cut it. We agreed to dial in the carbs as best we could until I could increase the retard, thus leaning out the carbs more and riching the central idling circuit. At this point, I could see Colin was a tired man from 4 straight days of IAC help. Thankfully, we were almost done.
We finished the day with a minor adjustment to my sliding door. It still needs to be modified some more, but it is way better than it use to be.
The final test drive showed why Colin loves what he does…that man can smile! I had to tell him to take-it-easy with such lines as “wow, your bus is awesome” or “geez, this engine runs tight and nice, I wish mine ran this way”. Silly Colin!
A final run through of the day and a quick pic and CK was off to Seattle for some grunge and coffee.
I’ve got quite an action list to tackle this summer and winter, namely dropping the engine to seal the oil gals. I’m hoping to tackle this in the next couple weeks and carpool with the g/f.
To be completed:
- Rear wheel bearings
- Lube front end
- Detail and detail and then detail some more.
- New heat exchangers if I want heat
- Fix oil gals
- Seal exhaust leak b/t HE
- Fix sliding door and front door seals
- Shave arm lever on dizzy vac to increase retard then adjust mixtures
[albumimg]2611[/albumimg]
[albumimg]2612[/albumimg]
[albumimg]2613[/albumimg]
