VW

Problems Down Under

Drew

Problems

I spent some time over the last couple days crawling around underneath the bus (well more like scooting along the dirty garage floor).  I mentioned how I heard concussive noises after running the engine for 10 – 15 minutes, and one theory is that my engine timing is off, causing the spark plugs to ignite too much gas and put too much pressure on the pushrods ( I know, I’m learning big, mechanic sounding words like ‘pushrods’ and ‘oil’ and ‘gasket’… so exciting).  This might be the reason why the driver’s side push rod tubes have evidence of a significant oil leak.  The good news is that they sell replacement tubes and rods that can be installed w/o taking out the engine.  I can’t wait to get all up in that greasy mess!  While I’m at it, I’ll replace the oil and drain gaskets that are clearly not sealed right now.

I also think I have discovered a solution to my brake light problem.  More to come on that soon!

Uncategorized, VW

A Sense of Foreboding

Drew

Bus No Headliner

Today I removed the headliner, ran the engine for a while, and attempted to remove the old rusted side bolts. Thankfully, the vinyl headliner came out with little trouble.  We are going to replace it with something like this eventually, but right now the fabric smells and I want it out of there. – Oh and if you like the linked picture, definitely check out Bumfuzzle’s blog.  They have done some crazy stuff, and their VW bus looked amazing.  I’m going to try not to copy everything they did with their bus, but it’ll be hard because it looks so good! – As I was pulling the headliner down, a big metal thing came flying at my head. In keeping with the randomness of everything that happens around this bus, this replacement oil drain plate somehow found itself up in the ceiling… crazy bus.

Random Oil Plate

I posted a video of the engine running this weekend, and I’m really hoping that everything is fine with it.  I ran it for about 10-15 minutes, and it just didn’t sound that great by the end.  I have John Muir’s book, and have been studying it in detail.  I’m feeling a pretty strong sense of foreboding that somethings not right in that there engine, and will have to get my hands dirty sooner than later!

 

I also started prepping the front door hinges for the new side mirrors.  I need to remove the old rusted bolt from the previous mirrors, but I soon found out that this is actually an almost impossible task.  After reading online, it sounds like all I need to do is either bang away with some kind of pneumatic air  press, heat up the steel with a blow-torch, or drill it out with brute force… I’ll just leave it as is for a while!

Door Hinge Pin

VW

Engine Running

Drew

I ran the engine for a while this weekend to see if anything blew up (literally and figuratively). It starts right up with no hesitation, and seems to run well – very little if any exhaust smoke. The generator light is still on though, and after about 10 minutes of run time, I start to notice some concussive sounds that get slightly louder; the engine hesitates ever so slightly afterwards. Everything seems to get a little hotter than I would expect – although I don’t really know what to expect… Either way, I really don’t want to destroy this engine, and so will start learning how to properly inspect/ maintain this thing asap.

Oh, and I got a little carried away with the camera zoom!

VW

First Blood

Drew

New Tire

I picked up my new tire today. During the process of putting it back on the bus, I managed to slice my hand.  I’m sure my dad would agree that its not really a project until you are bleeding a little, and this is officially first blood for this project.

After looking at the current tires on the bus (all four are different brands and sizes…), and doing some research online, I ordered a Hankook RA08 from Wal-mart Site-to-Store.  It looks like the tires need to have specially reinforced sidewalls, but yet be small enough to still fit in the wheel well (14” tires).  WMT had the tire I needed online, and they were able to put it on the rim and balance it.

It was quite a struggle to get it back on the bus though.  If you can see from the pictures, the tire actually sits up inside the wheel well.  As hard as I tried I could not fit that thing back on the mount.  I kept cranking the bus up higher and higher, and each time it sort creaked ominously!  Finally, it was up high enough that I could wiggle the whole tire into the well and fit it over the bolts.  Success!  Of course I then lowered the bus too fast, and it came bouncing down and almost killed me, but it’s all good.  I’ve now replaced my first tire, and the bus is mobile again (even though I still don’t know how to drive it – I’ll get there).

New Tire Bus

I’ve also noticed the real wheels have a decent amount of positive camber (they bow out at the top).  I know VW’s have independent torsion bars, and are supposed to be slightly positive, but I’m not sure by how much.  Another future project for sure.

Bus Rear Cambered

Also, did you notice the brand new brake drums?  I didn’t know they were there when I bought the thing – Sweet!

Uncategorized, VW

Oops!

Drew

Broken Key

I broke the key. GREAT. That’s just awesome.  Key broke-off right in the ignition.  Oops.  I managed to get it out using a thin steel pick, and I have a spare key so we’re good – It doesn’t look like the big box hardware stores can make me a new key, so I might have to call a locksmith.  In the mean time, I’ll be more careful!

 

Also, the driver’s side rear tire lost all air pressure at some point, and I’ve got the bus propped up on the jack.  Looks like I’ll need to special order a new tire.