2018 Preparation Deprecations

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BusBassist
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Re: 2018 Preparation Deprecations

Post by BusBassist » Fri Apr 27, 2018 7:30 pm

Hey Colin - looking forward to the shock writeup - am planning to replace all 4 on my bus and would be very glad to learn from your experience/recommendations.

How long will you be in Rochester? Would be nice to bump into you for a NY minute.

Jeff
Late 73 Bay w/a transplanted 914 Engine.

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Amskeptic
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Re: 2018 Preparation Deprecations

Post by Amskeptic » Sat Apr 28, 2018 5:39 pm

BusBassist wrote:
Fri Apr 27, 2018 7:30 pm
Hey Colin - looking forward to the shock writeup - am planning to replace all 4 on my bus and would be very glad to learn from your experience/recommendations.

How long will you be in Rochester? Would be nice to bump into you for a NY minute.

Jeff
Jeff! Leaving Holley at 5:30AM for express to Essex NY then Woodstock then Hyattsville MD then Atlanta GA then must be in Pensacola by May 5th. Idiot over-scheduled once more . . .
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

webwalker
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Re: 2018 Preparation Deprecations

Post by webwalker » Sat Apr 28, 2018 6:42 pm

Colin:
Amazing that the first thing we have to do to a brand new part is to 'grind to fit.'
Sympathetic,
Marshall

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BusBassist
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Re: 2018 Preparation Deprecations

Post by BusBassist » Sat Apr 28, 2018 8:12 pm

Safe travels Colin. Hope you found the Western NY fleet in good nick.

I was in NYC the past few days and just got home- missed you by a good 18 hours.

I'll see you in mid August,

Jeff
Late 73 Bay w/a transplanted 914 Engine.

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Amskeptic
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Re: 2018 Preparation Deprecations

Post by Amskeptic » Mon Apr 30, 2018 4:54 am

BusBassist wrote:
Sat Apr 28, 2018 8:12 pm
Safe travels Colin. Hope you found the Western NY fleet in good nick.

I was in NYC the past few days and just got home- missed you by a good 18 hours.

I'll see you in mid August,

Jeff
This is unacceptable, Jeff. It is 34* and pellets of rain on the last day of April here in the Adirondacks. I am freezing my %@&! a$$ off, and the muddy mucky has invaded my creampuff princess Alexus. I am appalled at all of you who chose to live in this frozen wasteland of dripping trees and foggy windows. Appalled. That barn was a mud hole of cow sh*t and bird droppings and thundering rain on the galavanized-but-rapidly-falling-apart roof. Squareback's brakes were locked solid with rust. Wind. Rain. Grey. Mud.
Thanks, Obama.
Colin
(photos to come when I get a breather)
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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BusBassist
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Re: 2018 Preparation Deprecations

Post by BusBassist » Mon Apr 30, 2018 2:46 pm

This is unacceptable, Jeff. It is 34* and pellets of rain on the last day of April here in the Adirondacks. I am freezing my %@&! a$$ off, and the muddy mucky has invaded my creampuff princess Alexus. I am appalled at all of you who chose to live in this frozen wasteland of dripping trees and foggy windows. Appalled. That barn was a mud hole of cow sh*t and bird droppings and thundering rain on the galavanized-but-rapidly-falling-apart roof. Squareback's brakes were locked solid with rust. Wind. Rain. Grey. Mud.
What can I say Colin - we love our destructive road salt, grey skies, and excessive taxes. [Thanks Cuomo] And to celebrate, my wife and I are putting a new roof on our nearly-80-year-old house to keep the wind, rain, and snow at bay.
Late 73 Bay w/a transplanted 914 Engine.

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BusBassist
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Re: 2018 Preparation Deprecations

Post by BusBassist » Wed May 02, 2018 8:58 pm

A quick update Colin - it was 85* here in Rochester today. You should have waited a few more days before trekking north.
Late 73 Bay w/a transplanted 914 Engine.

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Amskeptic
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Re: 2018 Preparation Deprecations

Post by Amskeptic » Thu May 03, 2018 4:49 am

webwalker wrote:
Sat Apr 28, 2018 6:42 pm
Colin:
Amazing that the first thing we have to do to a brand new part is to 'grind to fit.'
Sympathetic,
Marshall
It is amazing and expected. The parts suppliers are adrift without a Volkswagenwerk task master breathing down their necks. Molds might be getting tired. We need to offer sprightly and focused feedback, such as:

"Are you %@&! kidding me? Are you %@&! kidding me? What IS this %@&! you're trying to pawn off as you sit on your %@&! a$$ hoping to cash in on old production equipment until is totally %@&! dead?? Let's go, try to find some pride in your %@&! work!"

Yeah, or not.
Colin :blackeye:
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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Amskeptic
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Re: 2018 Preparation Deprecations

Post by Amskeptic » Thu May 03, 2018 4:52 am

BusBassist wrote:
Wed May 02, 2018 8:58 pm
A quick update Colin - it was 85* here in Rochester today. You should have waited a few more days before trekking north.
Oh yes, Jeff. I should have.
I am now suffering 91* in Maryland, and have a full day scheduled replacing exhaust.
I am sweltering.
The Good Lord toys with my complaining.
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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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From Maryland

Post by Amskeptic » Mon May 07, 2018 8:31 pm

CV boots today on NaranjaWesty. Painted with Chrysler Hemi yellow and clear for a totally fake cad II finish that will hopefully not ever rust:

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Had to order two new ignition point files. They have been decorated to better help me keep them close. They match the dipstick:

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Don't forget to wax yer Konis:

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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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Amskeptic
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Re: 2018 Preparation Deprecations

Post by Amskeptic » Thu May 10, 2018 9:56 pm

After a sixteen year hiatus, I went back to servicing air-conditioners. Yeah, sixteen years ago:
(picture taken for my promotion announcement in the newsletter five weeks before I bailed to take care of youse people full time)

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This is a contactor now drenched with contactor De-Ox gel for nice sparkless cycling:

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Note that the HVAC boy *excavated around the entire outdoor unit pad* for better drainage of the unit:

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Checked balance and capacitance of outdoor blower, and branded the damn thing:

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As you know, branding is very very important:

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Yes, sixteen years . . .

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All right, now that I have thrown my lot with you VW people, we get back to VW projects. We left off with rear brake maintenance and replacement of CV boots:

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Moving to the front of the car, I repacked the front wheel bearings. The right front took two hours flat, the left front took exactly ten:

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It is easier to take the disk off the front hub. I recommend it:

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All clean and greased and sealed:

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So what was the problem? The problem is I forgot this. I forgot this. I forgot this. Look for "chimp":

viewtopic.php?f=70&t=13037#p220777

(to be cont)
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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Amskeptic
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Re: 2018 Preparation Deprecations

Post by Amskeptic » Sat May 12, 2018 8:35 pm

Continuing . . .
You have by now read the link thoughtfully provided for your edification, the wheel bearing repack of May 20, 2016, almost exactly two years ago when NaranjaWesty had 50,410 miles exactly. I had forgotten all about the damage I had run across.

"and today I saw the rage of the last person who somehow came to work on NaranjaWesty's left front hub for reasons I will never know."
Now I do.

I had also forgotten my "note to self" that the left wheel bearing had a damaged cage, and that I should attend to it forthwith. Well, that was 63,772 fuel filter clean-outs ago. Clearly, the wheel bearing note had been drowned in a sea of subsequent gasoline fumes and freeway shoulders.

I had written of taking four hours to do that bearing repack. This time was ten. I think the antecedent event that had set off the prior mechanic was what happened to me this time. As I was putting that nice tidy repacked hub (with that damaged bearing! it looked FINE, even the beaver-chewed cage was close enough to round to not bother me) back on the spindle. It stuck. It done did dumb stop dead dang stuck. Well, what could cause that? I tried to remove it so I could see what tool must I have inadvertently left on the spindle, a sledge? a pipe wrench? a cinder block? It would not move. Finally, and very greasily, I popped the hub off the spindle and asked it desperately, "what is WRONG WITH YOU?" The weirdest thing, is that the bearing looked utterly savaged. The cage was bent oval all over again. The spindle had a nasty gouge in it ( the old one, based on the link's photographs, but I sure didn't remember that), and I had to ask if Losing It includes this sort of baffled confused outrage. Cleaned all that nice new grease off of everything. The bearing, nope, you're done this time. The seal, the seal had a chewed look but the spring looked fine (as per the unremembered May 2016 job). I was so very not in the frame of mind to approach this with my usual curiosity. The flying termites were coating everything, the ants had a column marching across the floor, and I had to get this car together (the Lexus back-up was 4 1/2 miles away at the Law Firm).

Here is my late-night scrambled results debris field:

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a) filed and sanded spindle
b) sanded inner surface of new Made In Mexico front inner wheel bearing with a real filed bevel on the inner race.
c) a wasted hour looking up and cross-referencing front wheel bearing brands and googling how to remove and repair my "done did dumb stop dead dang stuck front wheel bearing"
d) utter brain damage after THREE AND A HALF HOURS of the Buck Sexton Show on News Radio 93.1 FM whilst trying to catch the moment that I could get the new bearing to slide on with drama. I swear, I don't know why this has been such a problem area for the poor car:

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We're not done. The disks had not been turned fully last spring at Advance Auto Parts. There was a serious inch of raised surface whee the cutter never went. This caused a burnt localized overheat on the bottoms of the pads.

It was midnight when I globbed that final garnishment of Ultra-Orange speedometer cable protectant on the newly painted dust cap.

It was next morning when I dremeled off the raised last inch of brake disk and showered the work area with stone and steel dust. The things we have to do! That was the first time I have turned rotors on an air-cooled Volkswagen and it was done wrong. I missed it at the time. Next time, I examine turned rotors most carefully at the counter!:

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Did I sit back and take a rest from all of this? Next morning:

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That is a new ISP West-issued tachometer. You'll see it in a minute. But look here at the red border on the gauge cluster. I have a little plus under it. That whole five lamp area is *live* when the ignition is on. The lamps ground through the wires at the center of the bulbs. Brilliant for long wire runs back to the engine. Any shorts would merely turn on that lamp, no sparks, no problem. Open circuits would merely make that lamp go dark, and you would catch it at first ignition check which you conduct every time you turn on your Volkswagen:

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I took the occasion to organize my wiring a la BobD back in September 14th 2010. Sort of labeled. This was a great chance to repair every questionable spade terminal. All three of them, but it was finding them that was the work:

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Installed auditory oil pressure warning system that only alerts if the engine is running:

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It is this simple. One wire to alternator warning lamp wire, one wire to oil pressure warning lamp wire, and one key buzzer mosquito relay:

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Tachometer has a corona of light escaping around the perimeter due to the dial face being too small for the diffuser. And it has an "ISP West" logo on it which I find the height of branding barf.

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Daytime, off to test drive. Oops. I forgot to pump up the brakes after retracting caliper pistons. Good thing there was no traffic - there was no stopping at the bottom of the driveway:

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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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Amskeptic
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Re: 2018 Preparation Deprecations

Post by Amskeptic » Tue May 15, 2018 10:06 pm

FINE! You kids all just chat it up on Facebook, I'll talk to myself here. Let's start with the inexplicably dumb (fatigue) mis-wiring of the fuel gauge. I accidentally put the 12 volt black wire on the gauge terminal, and the brown/black sender wire on the "vibrator". My test drive was 4 miles to check calibration of tachometer, did not notice that fuel gauge was *buried* on the full side:

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Woah. Woe. At first I was convinced that I must have melted the gauge internals because the circuit was still intact. Discovered that the internet has a lot of "noise" when you need precise information in a hurry. Finally took the vibrator apart. Oh yes, burnt windings around the heater with a horrendously thin connection at the board. Wire busted clean loose when I tested it for mechanical integrity. This is like surgery on a gnat's spinal cord. Got the gauge to work, but it would not go above 1/2. Took vibrator apart and manually tried to convince it to cycle just right so I would have a full tank reading and not buried off the right side of the gauge:

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Ahhh no. Ordered a new vibrator for $11.00 + $11.80 shipping. Arrives tomorrow. Good thing too, I have only two days left of my winter layover, and I have to ship out of here in toto, everything (!) because Rodney The Pilot might invite his girlfriend to live with him here in Pensacola over the summer. Yep. That is how the Itinerant's life can turn on a dime.

Today was serious inventory:

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... and giving my SK wrench bag a labeling refresh and the wrenches a "cherry blossom metallic" manicure on the size numbers, so I can see them better:

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We are pleased to announce the new upgraded monogrammed Kustom Kardboard floor mats with a real replaceable heel pad for the driver's side. Oh say uh $79.99:

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Very busy tomorrow, but will check in when the heat drives me indoors.
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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Ronin10
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Re: 2018 Preparation Deprecations

Post by Ronin10 » Wed May 16, 2018 1:57 pm

Amskeptic wrote:
Tue May 15, 2018 10:06 pm
I accidentally put the 12 volt black wire on the gauge terminal, and the brown/black sender wire on the "vibrator". My test drive was 4 miles to check calibration of tachometer, did not notice that fuel gauge was *buried* on the full side:
Tsk, tsk, tsk. Are you sure it was an "accident" and not some other lingering, possibly age-related issue? Do you remember futzing with my fuel gauge wiring last summer? I got the false full tank reading too and ran out of gas on the way to work as a result of the same miscue. Fuel gauge was dead as a door nail as well.

Maybe this is simply some small measure of cosmic compensation for your "remote disable device."
Amskeptic wrote:Finally took the vibrator apart. Oh yes, burnt windings around the heater with a horrendously thin connection at the board. Wire busted clean loose when I tested it for mechanical integrity.
I didn't do any gnat-level surgery on my bad vibrator, but when I replaced it with a spare from the shelves, the fuel gauge came back to life.
Oscar: 1976 Sage Green Bus, Stock Motor, Solid Lifters, Manual Transaxle

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Mr Blotto
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Re: 2018 Preparation Deprecations

Post by Mr Blotto » Wed May 16, 2018 8:10 pm

Amskeptic wrote:
Tue May 15, 2018 10:06 pm

... and giving my SK wrench bag a labeling refresh and the wrenches a "cherry blossom metallic" manicure on the size numbers, so I can see them better:

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I just bought myself the exact set of SK wrenches (SAE and Metric). How long have you had them? You like? Sadly, my vintage Craftsman Made In USA set became horribly rusted from sitting in my detached garage for 10 years....I will rehab them at some point....and put them back in my new garage. These new SKs are getting pampered, as they are last set of wrenches I hope to buy.
1978 Sage Green Westy - 2.0 FI - SOLD WITH 109887 miles :-(

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