Overhaulin

I bought a bunch of parts for the engine, and spent all weekend getting things cleaned up and put back together. I’m hoping that I can solve several problems in one go, and finally get this bus up and running on a regular basis.  By the end of the weekend, I’m not quite there but getting close!

I started by draining the gas tank.  My fuel filter is obviously all gunked up, and I’m worried that I have a big corrosion problem in the gas tank – the only way to fix this would be to pull the engine out, remove the gas tank, and either send it to a shop to be cleaned, or replace with a new one.  I wrapped an old shirt around the can to filter the gas as it drained out.  Luckily, the gas came out clean with no rust or crud.  I’m thinking the rust might have come from the fuel pump instead of the tank – things might actually not be that bad!

I pulled the old fuel pump, filter, and carburetor off.  I’m headed inside to strip down the carb, clean it up and rebuild with my newly arrived carb kit.

Check out the rust in the bottom of that carb!

New float needle valve – the old one had the wrong washer according to the instructions – we’ll see if the new one works better!

New float – the old one was brown from the bad gas.

New top gasket – doesn’t quite match the old one, so I had to make a few modifications.

New idle shutoff solenoid – old one worked and wasn’t that dirty, but it was missing that silver washer, so was pretty loose on the carb.

Finally got everything put back together.  The whole apartment reeks of gasoline, so hopefully this was worth it!  The carb really wasn’t that bad – I’m wondering if I will actually have fixed anything with the new parts.  Either way, I’ve got the carb cleaned up and will move on to getting the fuel lines and new pump installed.

I’ve got the ‘generator’ version of the fuel pump (as opposed to the ‘alternator’ version) – I bought a new one, and a new long pushrod to go with it.  However, when I put the long rod into the engine, it sits so high that the pump can’t even sit on  the plastic flange – guess I’ll keep using the short one that was there before.  So even though I replaced the exact same pump, and everything online says use the long pushrod – I’m using the short one because thats all that fits – stupid bus. I also replaced the soft fuel lines and moved the filter to fit before the pump.  According to the forums, this will help protect the pump (and the carb) from crud, and will lessen the risk of fire in the engine compartment if something were to come loose.

I also replaced the spark plugs.  The old ones were fairly blackened so I think replacing these should help things run a little smoother.

Finally, its the moment of truth – I’ve spent a lot of time this weekend cleaning things up and replacing parts.  I’ve got it all put back together, and its time to start the engine and see if it all works.  I reset the distributor timing, turn the key and fire up the engine.  It starts!  The engine ran for about 30 seconds… and then died.  I check everything for gas leaks, and make a few adjustments to the carb.  Start the engine again, it idles for a while but I as soon as I give it some gas, it dies immediately.  After that, it doesn’t start at all.  The engine just keeps cranking but doesn’t fire up – not good!  I’m thinking I could have problems with the ignition coil, the new spark plugs, or the replaced fuel system.  I checked the carb to make sure it is getting fuel.  I thought maybe something was messed up with the new fuel pump and the short pushrod.  I took the pump off and removed one of that gaskets (it only had one before but is supposed to have two).  This didn’t really change anything, but I think the pump is working because I can see the fuel move a little as I hand-crank the pulley.  I’m wondering about the ignition system, and  I tried to check the coil for a spark – didn’t get one.  I had just checked this coil the other day – maybe something happened to it?  I’ve also heard that sometimes when the battery runs down, the coil has too much resistance, and possibly wears out.  Maybe the battery is low on charge from all of the starting attempts I’ve made?  I’m going to trickle charge the thing for a while and see if that fixes anything.  Its pretty frustrating – I’ve spent all weekend cleaning and replacing stuff – only to have the stupid bus not start.  I’m going to keep troubleshooting this thing, and I’ll hopefully have some good news to report next time!