TheSamba.com :: View topic - New Member - 82 Westy - 1st road trip

Tue Sep 02, 2008 8:15 pm

Hello all. I am a new Vanagon owner and have been enjoying the forum for the past couple of weeks. I have a '82 Westy (manual, webber convertion) and took it out for a weekend in the woods.

The van performed very well on the way up, but had some troubles on the way back (1.5 hr each way). It was missing terribly on the start of the way back, sounded like a stuck lifter, plus something - it was backfiring/mis-firing (not kaboom but very strange noise) on acceleration up hills.
So I drove it for a while to see if it fixed itself - which I have been reading in some of the forums that it does (stuck lifter anyway).

Did not fix itself, pulled over, gave her a drink of oil and Marvel mystery oil - she was a little low on oil, not much. Restarted and ran the same way it did on the way up.

After returning home, it would not restart, but I had good batter power. Almost like the starter could not turn the engine over. I have had slow starts (motor turning over very slow) after a long run, but it had never refused to start. Waited 10 min. and she started up again (slow turn over, but started).

Any suggestions on the slow starting after 45 min to an hour on the road and/or the misfiring.

I have gotten the Bentley, Haynes and Idot's guide manuals and have just started to get into them.

We had a blast in the camper and I am looking forward to many years of fun and a bit of wrenching in my future.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions. This forum is very informative.

Cheers,
Frank

Tue Sep 02, 2008 9:24 pm

Frank,

First off welcome and HI! My first thought about the "good battery , but slow starts" and then it seeming like it's not able to turn the engine over...invest in a new battery. This may seem too simple, but if you search the forum you will find a lot of head scratching that goes away after a new battery, and I just went through the same thing. Battery tests good, but slow starts. New battery, no problem.

On the strange running problem, I'm not sure about the webber carb conversion, but it seems like a good place to start is at the beginning. Cap, rotor, plugs, filter(s) especially fuel/air. Check/clean all grounds. Set timing.
Can you fill the tank and it doesn't leak, if it does, it will also have road grime/sand in it, so order up a kit and seal it before you spend a small fortune on filters and fuel pumps. By all means check/ replace all those old gas lines right away and the connector at the fire wall.

Once you know the basics are covered it will make more in depth diagnosis much, much easier. Cheers, welcome to the maddnesssssss :twisted: Todd.

Tue Sep 02, 2008 9:32 pm

Start checking for vacuum leaks. A vacuum hose may have split/come off/exploded...

Gum Out carb cleaner is the check fluid of choice. Spray it around on vacuum parts (be careful of hot spots ~ fire is bad!) to see if idle improves. If so, you got yourself a vacuum leak.

Best,

Lanval

Wed Sep 03, 2008 6:08 am

Also, if it is stubborn to turn over after the engine gets good and hot, this is also an indication of a bad starter. Rebuilding the starter isn't that hard to do yourself and it costs almost nothing.

As for the odd noise when you're going up hills, it sounds like you might be describing some serious detonation. Check the timing before you do any more hills!

Good luck and keep us posted!

Wed Sep 03, 2008 6:24 am

everyone is right, but before wondering if timing is too far advanced etc. invest in a proper tune-up, which would inform of the state of the battery. there is no sense wondering if a stuck lifter is causing noise unless all cylinders are firing (so to speak). if you want to do it yourself i'm that someone here will provide a link for you that will help you do this.

personally i think it's too bad that the fuel injection is gone but that's my opinion and you have what you have so focus on that.

Wed Sep 03, 2008 6:57 am

Thanks everyone for your responses and advice. I had taken it to a shop that was recomended and specializes in aircooled VWs, they had installed new points, rotor, cap wires, new fuel filter and fuel line (partial). A full tank is a problem for me - so I can only fill it to 3/4s without the parfume of petrol. Looks like I have a bit of work to do and will report back what I find. Thanks again.
-Frank

Wed Sep 03, 2008 8:26 am

An old Weber can be a treat.
I'd check the choke first to see if needs to be re-adjusted.
This should helpful:
http://www.webernorthamerica.com/pdffiles/webertroubleshootingguide.pdf

Wed Sep 03, 2008 9:18 am

Thanks Mightyart

Wed Sep 03, 2008 9:57 am

Frank,

I also just wanted to say on the subject of "having a lot of work to do", you're in good company and don't feel bad about having to get the old van back into shape, as much as I wish some days that I would come out and not be able to come up with anything else i can do on my 85, I sure love working on it and then cruising across country. Have fun. Todd.