TheSamba.com :: View topic - samba saved our bus...thanks fuel line sticky!

Thu Jul 24, 2008 5:31 pm

Well what a day

Our new to us 73 westy with a 1700 has been home with us for a couple of days, after a long long month and half wait for its safety check at my buddy's automotive business

Twin stock solex's and leaking more oil than the exon valdez

This is my first air cooled anything and I have posted a bit here and there, with questions of tools needed and other bits ..since I became hooked on the Samba after getting the bus in May

So..I know that the engine is going to need some serious attention, as I am still blowing a bit of blue smoke...more than I am comfortable with even with years of experience driving worn out junk.

I am going to be doing the full work up on the motor, comp test, leakdown etc...and I am waiting for some tools I bought on ebay, more posts on the samba for sure!

My #3 plug had tooooooo much carbon deposit, the electrode was buried and not visible...the whole thing was a solid mass of hard black carbon build upCylinder 4 looked rich, and 1&2 looked pretty good....

I am sure that is a bad sign...it was that way for sometime I think..

Dismayed as I think camping in the bus this year is going to be in the laneway..(I do have a good chance of seeing a bear or a moose from my laneway though!)

So since I need to correct everything done by a series of PO's

I dove into removing the fuel lines...

You know the kind with the oversize clear plastic filter in the engine..

And the 6.5mm hi pres line...from the tank to the tee for both carbs (isn't it supposed to be 5.5mm?)

how wrong can it get...did I mention it was flopping about with a foot of extra hose comming from the tank into the engine bay, no firewall grommet, fuel line laying on engine etc

What did I find...the dreaded el cheapo line clamps that destroy the hose..

and guess what...

A weak spot in the fuel line..that sprayed gas out ...when I grabbed the filter on inspection.... :shock: :shock: :shock:

I am sure that the Samba saved another bus....

now I have to figure out my idle and time it to 10 deg atdc...which is at the other end of the spectrum to where it was timed at 7.5 btdc

but that is another story

Thu Jul 24, 2008 6:21 pm

Good to hear you averted a disaster, what makes you think 10 ATDC is right for your distributor? What number is on the distributor? Done a compression test after a valve adjust?
That plug sounds like a dead cylinder, you may not want to spend any more time trying to tune what's beyond simple repair.

Thu Jul 24, 2008 6:35 pm

Thunder Bay. Great town!

Try repalcing the all of the igniton stuff including points/plugs/condensor/wires and doign a valve adjustment. A correctly done compression test will tell you plenty

Also make sure you are checking the fuel pressure the pump is putting out.

If it were me I would also plan on having an up close and personal look at the carbs, espcially if the bus sat for very long.

I am sure you have been here already, but Richard's site has lots of good information in it. http://www.ratwell.com/

Fri Jul 25, 2008 3:06 am

Dead cylinder makes a lot of sense..

There is no way it was firing..

I do need to replace cap rotor wires and plugs, check coil, inspect points just as a rule of thumb..

The setting and checking points thing has me nervous..I have never done any work like that before

I twisted the dist as far as I could each way to find some definitive numbers and saw nothing..

busdaddy I searched a lot and came to the the conclusion ?? with the 1973 manual trans bently specs in mind, of 10 deg ATDC at 950rpm idle..on the premise that I had the dvda dist because I have two vac lines comming out of the vac can on the side of the dist body

is that right?

pulling the dizzy would solve that problem I guess

I was reluctant to do that..this VW engine has me pretty intimidated at the moment..but sheer lack of experience and ineptitude shall prevail :)

I could see things moving when I put a vac line on the dizzy ports and sucked in a bit..not a ton of pressure needed, I do need to buy a vac tester now that I am thinking out loud

Yeah.... lets figure out my fuel pressure

so this week I will have all the tools for a comp test, dwell and leakdown..I have been taking my time picking stuff up on ebay that was reccomended to me in a "what tools do I need post" a while back

seems like the carbs could use some help as well..I have talked to Keifer about redoing them...looks like cash wise that will have to wait for winter

I am not opposed to pulling them for inspection and cleaning, I am mechanicaly inclined :) I swear..but the carbs are a big mystery to me...still I do like to read read and read some more,,try stuff first and break it later..then send them off to Kiefer :) for example

Does anyone have a good link to making a remote starter? ...so I can start and stop the bus from the back..

Thanks to you both busdaddy and Randy for holding up your corner of the Samba..

Fri Jul 25, 2008 9:40 am

Setting your timing at 28° BTDC @ 3500 rpm hoses off. will work for most any dizzy and fuel system. Remember to set your points gap first as the gap/dwell will affect timing. If you don't have light then set it statically at 7.5 BTDC, that will be close.

Are your plugs sooty or are they oily. Soot would say you are running rich on that side.

Fri Jul 25, 2008 10:02 am

Your vacuum gauge will also do your fuel pressure for carbs.

You should be able to buy a decent timing light + the remote starter for reasonable money at someplace like Canadian Tire (and they have a good one in Thunder Bay if I recall correctly).

Or in Minnesota if you have to.

Mine is a cheap one but gets it done.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_009021750...921x00003a

Sat Jul 26, 2008 7:42 pm

plugs are sooty not oily

I have a good timing light..

I will try setting the timing at 28 deg BTDC @ 3500 (hoses off, but do they have to be plugged?)

I hooked up a tach ...so it will be scientific..gulp

I want to do a compression test in additon to new points cap rotor condensor plugs wires

Looking at my carbs...I am gonna have to find post on cleaning them...who knows what could be in there after all these years

I still have to slip over the border to pick up my ebay'd tools..looks like that won't be till wed...

time has slipped away on me again

I'll keep you posted and thanks again

:)

Sat Jul 26, 2008 9:09 pm

No need to plug hoses for a high speed timing check, they are diconnected from where they do anything already and it will still run well enough to reach 3500rpm.