TheSamba.com :: View topic

Thu Jul 14, 2005 1:50 pm

About the wasserpi**er, of course!

Been down the "won't run worth coyote s**t" road recently and now have the engine purrin' like a kitten... but she guzzles fuel.

Went back there to see if I could tinker the thing a bit and found two interesting things...

Idle bypass (on the throttle) does very little. I'm at 4800' so I thought I should be able to shut it down to nada but I cannot get the idle down below 1000rpm... full closed.

I have recently replaced all the hoses and tightened the clamps and checked for "false air" to no avail. No hint of "false air."

The other odd part is I cannot get it to lean out. The O2 sensor is new, the vaccum hoses also new as is the fuel hose. The fuel pressure is golden and drops off as vaccum climbs.
When I dink with the "don't touch" adjuster on the airbox I can get it to lean out a little but still not where I want it before the adjuster comes out!

The only other symptom is that the idle lopes on a warm start (after sitting a bit after a run). Well, that and the low mileage (14-ish city? I ought to get at least 16 city!).

A post below noted that the throttle body can get crudded up by crankcase vapors. Is that a worthy place to go next or just a waste of effort?

I wish I had a wide-band o2 sensor or a CO sensor so I really knew what was happening in there.

Hmmm on second thought, I did the valves per Bentley and there is a lot of talk that Bentley was a little aggressive with the lash... Hmmm. Worth a try, at least!

Thu Jul 14, 2005 1:52 pm

Call me cheap...but I hate to pay someone for what I can do...
Now, engine rebuild, and heavy stuff like picking up spark plugs...
lifting distributor caps...I can do that sort of stuff all day long without cracking a sweat... :roll:

Thu Jul 14, 2005 1:52 pm

Hmmm. first poll. I gotta try again as that made no sense!

:lol: Mike!

Thu Jul 14, 2005 1:55 pm

I have a great air cooled mechanic. He's been doing it for +20 yrs and knows stock and performance. he built me a 144hp motor for my oval that has the manners of a kitten, until you light her up. and I still get 20mpg in the city.

he also does vanagons. haven't had a chance to take mine to him yet. Knock on wood, the motor is rock solid.

Thu Jul 14, 2005 3:01 pm

My automatic Digijet 85 1.9L Westy is getting 14mpg around town, too. I do not hot rod it, I stay on the less side of the speed limits. In short, all the other drivers hate me. F them. Mine runs fine. In fact it runs good. Just that crappy mileage and I do not have it all loaded with stuff inside. I have skinny 185/14 load range D tires at 50+ psi.

So is that mpg or 14 normal, or what?

Thu Jul 14, 2005 3:20 pm

No one EVER touches my baby!!!!!!!!!

Thu Jul 14, 2005 4:30 pm

r39o wrote: My automatic Digijet 85 1.9L Westy is getting 14mpg around town, too. I do not hot rod it, I stay on the less side of the speed limits. In short, all the other drivers hate me. F them. Mine runs fine. In fact it runs good. Just that crappy mileage and I do not have it all loaded with stuff inside. I have skinny 185/14 load range D tires at 50+ psi.

So is that mpg or 14 normal, or what?
Now I know that the automatics don't do as well, but that's crazy for a 1.9 isn't it? I also have an 85 4 speed, 1.9, and in town I get 21 at least, with my last road trip vegas to santa barbara it got 26 mpg.....

Thu Jul 14, 2005 8:02 pm

There is a lot os satisfaction in getting to a traffic light and pulling real close to the ass end of some idiot who insisted on honking his horn to pass you just to get to the light a few seconds earlier. A f'ing mazing.

It is too bad my new TDIs don't make any real smoke. Just some gray stuff every now and then when I floor it.

Fri Jul 15, 2005 5:57 am

I do everything myself, always have. We all have the ability to learn the same that the "pro mechanics" can. Right Dan? I even rebuilt my '70 911E engine. What a fine piece of equipment that is. Take your time to read, read again, cross reference and experiment. Tools and test equipment are still cheaper than a monthly car payment for 5-7 years. Insurance is cheaper too.

Fri Jul 15, 2005 10:16 am

i don't know. this vanagon is really testing me. Driving it home last night (the first time in several weeks it was running), all of the sudden boiled over in back -- smoke everywhere. shut it down. and left it.

I've always done my own vw work (except for high performance engines and trannies). but this water cooled bug engine is really complicated (compared to what I'm use too)

Fri Jul 15, 2005 11:01 am

Here's my story. After I fixed LOTs of stuff and the van ran with no leaks and every thing was fine, it would get warm after a while. Long story short, a new radiator and it is VERY happy, now.

Fri Jul 15, 2005 11:33 am

I do what I can to keep my Vanagon and Super Beetle on the road, there are just some times (like when there's 20" of snow and I don't have a garage) that I'll pay someone to work on my cars.