Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From IN/IL

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Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From IN/IL

Post by Amskeptic » Tue Jun 25, 2019 7:05 pm

What would you do after a banzai deep into the heart of Michigan's finest roadways?

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Yep. A quick lubrication of the front suspension fittings, and a quick adjustment of the camber:

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Then, a quick trip to the drive-through at McDonalds for a medium coffee where I spied another Candid Camera Award For Most Idiotic Engineering:

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Thus fortified, a quick rotation front to rear and rear to front, re-inflation of the tires to 37f/47r, and we're off to Indiana:

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Here at squeebles house, the Den of Snakes is no more. No more snakes slithering down the rafters, no more startling flicks of little forked tongues, and yes way more mice causing untold damage with the heavy rains and high humidity causing quite the mousey pissey fragrance:

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Our first order of business was to get the engine started. Minor trouble-shooting ensued, and we were inexorably driven to investigate the quality of the gas in the tank, seeing as my prime-shot caps of lawn mower gas did rouse the engine to a few coughs:

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Eventually, we rigged a fuel can to supply the engine via the electric fuel pump and it ran continually enough to do basic tune and mixture ALL WITHOUT THE MUFFLER SO WE COULDN'T HEAR OURSELVES.
"Let's put on the muffler." And my brand-new UltraOrange RTV cap had split itself in two just sitting in its tool box compartment. A new scorching letter to Permatex is in the woiks:

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We did a quiet test drive that was very nice. It was smooth and not too peppy, because apparently a brake caliper was frozen. We pulled over to check the heat of the wheels. Not bad. But there was a hill. What if the brake got hot on the downhill? We turned around instead. Red oil light was on at idle. We discussed prior oil light conduct and decided that it was not a big deal so long as it went out promptly upon revving. We drove back to the house, that left front brake was stinking up the air a bit, let's not push it. Nice long driveway at idle in 1st gear. Shut engine off at garage. Oh, but the rains they are a coming. Tried to start engine. Nope. Very slow rotation. Then I spied the thermostat lever in the fully closed position. Smelled hot. Squeebles had followed the directions in the Wilson and the Bentley, but the thermostat was already fully open due to failure. Therefore, he inadvertently adjusted the cable to close the flaps permanently. We let the engine cool while we attacked the front left caliper pistons with my ball joint separator tool.

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Then the engine refused to start anyway because the fuel pump just died dead in the garage. I am confident that the engine is OK because we were fortunate to have a thankfully balky caliper to demand that we go back home early on in the test drive. Extra glad that we did not attack that hill with closed flaps! After suggesting new snakes for the Snake Den, then suggesting stray cats to get the mouse problem under control, and suggesting a new thermostat, and suggesting a new fuel pump, and suggesting a new brake caliper if the left one should seize again, and suggesting that the engine really really is OK, and suggesting that the car itself shows some real signs of fresh originality ... :

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and suggesting that this really is fun - we just don't know it, I took my leave out into the Indiana dusk whereupon it rained and rained on the way to Illinois ...

... to visit with Sven, Emma, Andrew of andrewtf and Go! Big Emma! fame.
(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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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From IN/IL

Post by Jivermo » Wed Jun 26, 2019 6:35 pm

Permatex caps are the new splitties.

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asiab3
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From IN/IL

Post by asiab3 » Wed Jun 26, 2019 7:02 pm

In the product instructions, Permatex tells us to install the needle cap for use, and let the RTV harden in the needle when you're through with the project. Next time you go to use the goop, unscrew the needle cap, pull out the "plug," reinstall the now-empty needle, and let 'er rip. I don't think the plastic caps were ever intended to be used over and over.

This works well until you squeeze the tube too hard and the copper starts to ooze out the folds in the tube. :pale:

--

That service door looks like the architectural equivalent of the 1975 Dodge Van I had the displeasure of working on this week…No forethought into the design for humans, no thought put into the service manual, and no useful data anywhere on the Internet……

Robbie
1969 bus, "Buddy."
145k miles with me.
322k miles on Earth.

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Dead 1
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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From IN/IL

Post by Dead 1 » Thu Jun 27, 2019 7:42 am

Waiting for our meeting in Pleasant
71 Westy 1776 :flower:

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From IN/IL

Post by Amskeptic » Thu Jun 27, 2019 6:47 pm

asiab3 wrote:
Wed Jun 26, 2019 7:02 pm
A) In the product instructions, Permatex tells us to install the needle cap for use, and let the RTV harden in the needle when you're through with the project. Next time you go to use the goop, unscrew the needle cap, pull out the "plug," reinstall the now-empty needle, and let 'er rip. I don't think the plastic caps were ever intended to be used over and over.

B) That service door looks like the architectural equivalent of the 1975 Dodge Van I had the displeasure of working on this week…No forethought into the design for humans, no thought put into the service manual, and no useful data anywhere on the Internet……
Robbie

a) for those of us who have been using automotive products since the mid-70's, the cap failure issue is indeed a new and very unwelcome failure point. Yesterday, I fished a failed Ultrablack out of the trash at locoqueso's house. It had never been used but it had hardened in the tube due to a crack in the cap from just sitting in a warm garage.

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I showed him how to stab the damn thing with a nail to get out some product further down.
Seriously. I think the stupid plastic caps were designed to hold together and maybe even be loosened/tightened at least once. I am not bowing down to some bullshit new excuse about how to use products when it is just so glaringly obvious that they are cheaping out big time. I suppose if they mandate that you use the applicator, they can at least expect that your consumed quantity at each use will be higher as you leave huge slugs of RTV in the applicator.


b) My deepest condolences for your unfortunate and soul-sucking dispiriting interaction with a Dodge van. There is nothing quire so ungainly as a Dodge van attempting a corner.
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 IN/IL

Post by Amskeptic » Thu Jun 27, 2019 7:24 pm

Arrived at the lovely Illinois home in the glen that hosts Go! Big Emma's Big Emma and little Emma and Sven and andrewtf. We collected at the kitchen table for a cup of coffee to discuss ... things ... and the day's activities.

I love Big Emma and the gaggle of caretakers who prepare Big Emma for the next adventure and the next:
Big Emma was apparently not feeling well. We dived into the basics like valve adjustment, breaker point gap/dwell, timing, and fuel mixture:

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We set off on a test drive with the timing light on the ceiling trick to see if the engine's stumbles related to the ignition system (NO! NO, IT DID NOT!). In a fortuitous moment, we discovered that the flap was sticking in its travel:

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The young travelers set out to disassemble the AFM housing and we raked the flap with a razor blade (!) until it was free, lawdy, free! Then more test drives through glades and pastures and horrific downpours and hideous pavement. The first part of Test Drive 17, Section B Outbound, Minute 7, Mile 3, we were hopeful.
Then it bucked. Back to the workshop, hopes dashed. We installed a fuel pressure gauge, "who wants to babysit the fuel gauge on the test drive? Yeah, have the fire extinguisher nearby ...":

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Meanwhile, Andrew was tackling little things on Murphy The Other Bus, like driver's door latch, shift bushing, accelerator pedal lubrication, brake adjustment, and I was thinking that we need to get Big Emma happy, it is important to me! not to mention, important to them. Somewhere around the end of my rope, we discovered that the temperature sensor 2 was stripped in the head. Little Emma knocked out a serviceable extension wire to run from #3 to #2 where another sensor hole was just waiting for us to install the sensor correctly. That was a little fiddly ... you know, hot engine, cylinder head, howtch! ouch! damn, that's hot! but eventually, the engine was only warm to the touch:

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I sent the beautiful kids off on another test drive by themselves with weak instructions to um fix it n stuff if it screws up, while I put away my tools. Well woonchaknowit, it ran well. I love that Big Emma, you just cannot imagine all that Big Emma has done and been through, it humbles you:

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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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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From IN/IL

Post by vwlover77 » Fri Jun 28, 2019 5:11 am

That is what it's all about! Roll on, Big Emma!!!
Don

---------------------------
78 Westy
71 Super Beetle Convertible Autostick

"When we let our compassion go, we let go of whatever claim we have to the divine." - Bruce Springsteen

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From IN/IL

Post by Jivermo » Fri Jun 28, 2019 5:48 am

Tracking down those pesky, hidden problems is something that I love to read about. Sticking flap is AFM? Now, there is something to think about. I appreciate the ways in which these vehicles really require you, the owner, to maintain an open mind, and think of all the possibilities that may account for today’s issue. The lessons learned, while working on your bus or car, can be carried away and used out in other areas of one’s life.

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From IN/IL

Post by andrewtf » Mon Jul 01, 2019 7:29 am

Is a Colin visit ever less than you anticipated?

I lost the first wager of the day as I predicted Colin would pull in at 8:59, and Emma had her odds on 9:01. She won. Big Emma was the main focus of the day and if anything at all could be squeezed I for my bus Murphy… well, that was just going to be a bonus. More than anything we needed Big Emma breathing easily and cooperating with her caretakers. Thankfully all that and more unfolded over the course of the day.

Of course, with Colin, the notion of leaving Murphy as a spectator for the day was not in the cards. He would tolerate none of that nonsense. Murphy got all the attention he could handle… and of course the obligatory work orders for after the master rides off into the sunset in preparation of the next day’s pupil’s needs. I feel like we cheated Colin and got a two-fer out of this deal. The visit for me was as helpful and instructive as ever.

I will let Emma and Sven chime in on all the activities swirling around Big Emma’s engine bay – which were numerous and varied.

We had the necessary coffee at the ready.. for all of us at the start of the day. One of the aspects of the day that brings such richness – at least for me - is the wonderment of the conversation. Varied and inquisitive, and opinionated and accepting. Seeping in between all of the bus duties are topics of every sort. I learn as much about life as I do about my bus. Its hard to quantify that. I find it rare to converse meaningfully with most people because they only concentrate on hearing themselves chatter on and have no use for utilizing any listening skills. I like it when we all listen as much as we talk. This is always that sort of day for me.

I should preface this list with the statistics of having installed Murphy’s spruced up engine in the spring, getting everything semi-buttoned up, and then turning our attention to getting Big Emma to Warrior Queen status again. So While I have had this bus for about three years, it spent almost the entire first two years at the body shop (That is a three part post all by itself), and it has had an engine in it for only a couple of months. In three years I have logged a total of under 280 miles. About 30 of those were before it got to the body shop and 85 of those were from the previous weekend’s first camping foray. It was running very nicely, but other systems needed attention.

Anyway - The main Murphy project was to tighten up the shifter which I described as trying to find a gear in a bowl of spaghetti……….. Splash pan off and we had a view of a sea of unlubricated…..everything… We got out the shift rod, spring, etc. and I gave it all a good cleaning and we set about putting it all back together. Discovered along the way that the new bushing I got would replace one that was apparently for a completely different vehicle. The original shift plate that came out had a definite crack, so in went a ‘new’ one – although it is certainly of a differing geometry than the original. All back together and ohhh.. I can knowingly, easily, with certainty, find every correct pathway. (Although proper double clutching will probably always elude me). I will replace the clutch cable in the coming weeks.

While I was under the front, I got the necessary parts cleaned and greased up and operating more smoothly. Note: I have since installed a Butty’s Bits accelerator linkage. I like it so far, as it is very smooth and even. The jury is still out, but I think it’s a winner. If nothing else, it is a work of art to ogle over.

I next got the rear end off the concrete and adjusted the rear brakes…..with a good refresher in the process. It takes a minute of mental gymnastics to remember which way to turn those stars. I still need to bleed them once more. I’ll wait for Emma to crawl under there to assist me with this task.

I got the door strikers aligned and indexed. Now I got the proper double click of the lock.

All in all – no major skinned knuckles, frustration mountains to ascend (or descend) on Murphy. We got thru more than I expected or hoped for and that feels fantastic !

Colin – You will be happy to know that I do now have a steering wheel that allows a view of the speedometer. But that slacker Emma made me do it myself.

Again – I feel like Murphy got a full day himself. And collectively, we got way more than we could have anticipated – or deserved. More Christmas in June at my house.

Photos...? uhh well......sorry

As impactful a day as ever

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From IN/IL

Post by Abscate » Mon Jul 01, 2019 12:19 pm

You guys both need to check out the 10,000 Ohm ten turn pot mod on the internet for TS2 manual adjustment Heaven....

Best from NY

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From IN/IL

Post by covelo » Mon Jul 08, 2019 1:20 pm

Jivermo wrote:
Fri Jun 28, 2019 5:48 am
Tracking down those pesky, hidden problems is something that I love to read about. Sticking flap is AFM? Now, there is something to think about. I appreciate the ways in which these vehicles really require you, the owner, to maintain an open mind, and think of all the possibilities that may account for today’s issue. The lessons learned, while working on your bus or car, can be carried away and used out in other areas of one’s life.
How would something like that happen? Dirt? Warping? Expansion?
‘80 Vanagon Westfalia - 54,400 miles
'91 Toyota Pickup (4WD long bed) - 199,960 miles
1987 Alfa Spider Veloce - 166,400 miles
2017 VW E-Golf - 5,600 miles

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From IN/IL

Post by Amskeptic » Mon Jul 08, 2019 10:58 pm

covelo wrote:
Mon Jul 08, 2019 1:20 pm
Jivermo wrote:
Fri Jun 28, 2019 5:48 am
Tracking down those pesky, hidden problems is something that I love to read about. Sticking flap is AFM? Now, there is something to think about. I appreciate the ways in which these vehicles really require you, the owner, to maintain an open mind, and think of all the possibilities that may account for today’s issue. The lessons learned, while working on your bus or car, can be carried away and used out in other areas of one’s life.
How would something like that happen? Dirt? Warping? Expansion?
Backfires! Usually when cold. A real problem back in the day. Porsche sought to calm the warranty returns by asking Bosch to install little anti-backfire poppet valves in the flaps ... then Porsche had a problem with ingested springs and circlips destroying their nice engines ...
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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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From IN/IL

Post by Curtp07 » Tue Jul 09, 2019 4:50 am

Hey! I remember a 77 911s I owned..had a “pop off valve” installed in the air cleaner box for that very purpose....exploding air boxes... :)

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From IN/IL

Post by GoBigEmma » Wed Jul 10, 2019 5:33 pm

Heydyho! Ha, we finally also figured out how to participate here (kidding, we knew how to participate, we were just lazy. And on vacation in Missouri with Big Emma so a legitimate Ha!)

As per usual, we just freaking had a blast with Colin around. Dad is right - this is just bus Christmas (and I like bus Christmas a lot better than regular Christmas!). And not only for the Bus (and our sorry selves). Dad said it right - conversation wanders from one thing to the next and continues to make me think about buses, life, and everything in between (wait....those aren't the same thing?!)

Big Emma’s problems in regards to mixture, timing, ts2, sticky AFM flaps have definitely been eradicated! How nice to not be sputtering around town now! Of course, in Missouri another, whole different problem crept up (alternator busted….), so…..back to the drawing board. We found a good fix though by hooking our starter battery up to our solar for now, which worked like a charm! That will be our next problem to tackle.

I am around this car every day, but I am no less humbled by her beauty and badass-ness. Oh yeah and Murphy The Other Bus (yes, that is his new name) is cool too! :D
Kit Whistler wrote:
Sun Jul 07, 2019 4:29 pm

And now I wanna know, Little Emma + Sven—with the sticking flap mystery uncovered, when are we gonna see you guys and Big Emma Out Here? We’re overdue for a campfire night way down some dirt road.
✨-kit
@Kit - we are so overdue for a campfire! We will still be in the Midwest throughout the summer, but then its time to go international again. Any chance you will be in our neck of the woods? We have a lot of good dirt roads around here….probably :P
'75 FI Riviera "Big Emma"

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Re: Itinerant Air-Cooled Greetings From IN/IL

Post by tristessa » Fri Jul 12, 2019 12:14 pm

Amskeptic wrote:
Thu Jun 27, 2019 6:47 pm
b) My deepest condolences for your unfortunate and soul-sucking dispiriting interaction with a Dodge van. There is nothing quire so ungainly as a Dodge van attempting a corner.
Ungainly as it is, it can be hilarious to watch. Look at some "dajiban" videos on youtube sometime. :cyclopsani:
Remember, only YOU can prevent narcissism!

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