TheSamba.com :: View topic - 67 Standard Peach Kombi, West Palm Beach, FL

Thu Feb 24, 2011 8:39 pm

Don,
Paul here - nice thread - good looking bus, with a lot of history.

keep the pics comming-

I just put type III on the rear of my 67 - still have not tested it out.
ready to get the front brakes - thanks for the hook-up on the front brakes.

Thu Feb 24, 2011 10:16 pm

9pm, put on some gloves and got to it....
First thing, with the pin out, the big nut was loose :shock:

Put the large o-ring around the bearing

Got it back together with high tack sealant everywhere.

Looks like this

Took a 30 mile test drive and still looks the same...
As good as it gets I guess....

Fri Mar 04, 2011 5:11 am

Drove to Daytona (~200 miles). Drove all around the city and back. Bus ran very well.

Just measured and I have short axles...(did not know)

Need to check my front trans mount though. I have a gut feeling about it's condition...

Wed Mar 30, 2011 7:21 pm

Wow don.ville, I just spent the last 1 & 1/2 hrs reading this thread. You've really put in a lot of work after the neglect from the prior owner and the butcher/builders prior to that. Keep up the hard work.

Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:32 am

avj7209 wrote: Wow don.ville, I just spent the last 1 & 1/2 hrs reading this thread.
I agree, some of these threads have an addiction quality to them. I've sent PM's to Don.ville and he has been kind enough to answer. I go to some of the VW shows and one day I'll put the screen names with the faces.

Mon May 30, 2011 2:53 pm

Slow day...

Upgrading from my aluminum tape, printer paper and clear tape wheel center caps...

Cutting the torker caps (too tall for my taste)

Center cap lowering...

Smoothed off the cut

Used hot glue to hold the center piece in place and as a filler

Top view... going to fill in gaps with JB-Weld...

JB-Welding...

Low profile cap... when JB-Weld hardens tomorrow, I will smooth and paint (not a fan of the chrome caps).

For reference, some center cap sizes....
Looking for 2.5" to 2.75" wolfsburg crest sticker

Thu Jul 07, 2011 7:32 am

The finished product....

Haven't looked for the sticker yet.....

Thu Jul 07, 2011 7:43 am

Last few months I have been driving the bus only once a week or less.

While the bus would start, run, and idle perfectly, sometimes after it is warmed up, it would stall when I come to a light, or after getting off the exit ramp of the highway. Start it back up and it idles perfectly at 980 or so RPM.
I turned the idle up a little, but it would still stall sometimes....

I have thick intake gaskets,

new intake boots, and good vacuum line.

Well I recall adjusting the choke slightly after the weather warmed up in South Florida earlier this year.

So I checked and when the engine was warm, the throttle was still not on the bottom cam section.
So I readjusted the choke when warm to have the throttle adjusting screw just below the last step and left it there.

That definitely solved the problem. I returned the idle to 980, and it now starts, idles, runs beautifully, and does not stall when the bus is slowing down to a stop like it used to
:) :) :)

Thu Jul 07, 2011 7:59 am

The last few months I have been driving the bus, I noticed (when it is quiet inside) that when I swerve to the LEFT, there is a noise that 'goes away'.

Anyone in the bus that is not used to it would not notice or hear it, but since I know how my bus sounds, and I was able to make it come and go, I knew it was not normal.

Sounded like a bad bearing on the LEFT rear wheel. If you swerve RIGHT the sound does not change.

My theory is when turning LEFT, weight is lifted off the LEFT tires, and any bearing noises would lessen or go away. In my case, the noise (not terribly loud, but noticeable) would go away.

I decided to take a look:

I was expecting to find the bearing damaged, but it seems the axle nut was loose and only being held in place by the cotter pin.

I got a new torque multiplier tool, and was all set to use it, and noticed the cotter pin was jammed against the axle nut, I had to break a piece of it off to get it out.
Once I took out the pin, the axle nut was able to come off by hand :shock:

I did not have an axle seal kit, and since everything else seemed OK, I am guessing one of the parts (like a certain spacer I was advised to not install) softened and allowed some more play to allow the nut to become loose.
I left the spacer and just put everything back together.
Got a new cotter pin from Lowe's and buttoned it back together.
Will report back on the status. :)

Thu Jul 07, 2011 8:29 am

I bought my Autozone Duralast 42-DL in December 2008.
It is July 2011, and I drive my bus maybe once a week.
But each time if I go over 5 days without starting it, I have to give it a jumpstart.

I measured the battery voltage after I removed it, and it was 3 volts.

I decided to try my luck at getting a replacement from Autozone.
Cost me about $100 bucks, and since full replacement warranty was 2 years, my prorated credit was $35.
I realized the game, sell a battery and design the warranty around the life expectancy of the battery, this will keep you coming back...
$65 every 3 years (assuming $35 credit each time) to keep you in the store.
I have heard long life stories about the Optima red top line, so I applied my $35 credit and $12 core credit to a new Optima 72-25 red top battery.
Model 7586DT

Looks like this one was made in December of 2010

Fri Jul 08, 2011 8:57 pm

NICE!!!!
Bus starts MUCH easier, in the first second of cranking.....
Weak battery was causing issues I would not have suspected....

Don't hear any noises from rear end.

Sat Jul 09, 2011 10:33 am

did you already get a new nut torque tool thingy or you want to borrow mine again ?

Sat Jul 09, 2011 12:26 pm

71sbeetle wrote: did you already get a new nut torque tool thingy or you want to borrow mine again ?
I got one at the lakeland swap this year.
I sometimes get the urge top do shit at wierd hours and need to have one on the ready. Don't wanna hang on to yours for so long.
Thanks.

I'll lend you mine anytime you wanna do both sides at the same time :D :D

Sat Jul 09, 2011 12:47 pm

[quote="don.ville"] 71sbeetle wrote:
I'll lend you mine anytime you wanna do both sides at the same time :D :D

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Sat Jul 16, 2011 3:32 pm

The red poly bushings in my narrowed beam groan and squeak quite a bit. The suspension actually moves in a sticky jerking motion instead of smooth like if I had used needle bearings instead.

I tried to drill a hole at the existing grease nipple hole thru the bushing, but the torsion arm is immediately behind the bushing right were the hole is

So I had to remove the spindle to take the torsion arms off.
I did it the lazy way, so I don't have to mess with brakes or the tie rod.

Here is where I was drilling into on the torsion arm

Pumped in some grease

Upper torsion arm super dry....

Sat Jul 16, 2011 3:38 pm

Sat Jul 16, 2011 9:38 pm

Looks lubed.

Sat Aug 06, 2011 9:32 pm

Update on exhaust paint.

The spray on high temp black flaked off quickly, and the gray finish that it came with wiped off on everything.

So I hit the visible areas with a scrubbing pad and quickly painted it with this (without taking the muffler or bumper off):

using something like this:

After many miles, I am very pleased that it is not flaking off, and still looks good. I could have removed the muffler and done a better job, maybe later.

Sun Aug 07, 2011 4:44 pm

Just read this from start to finish, great thread and yeah, like others have said, you have a TON of patience :lol:

Sun Aug 07, 2011 5:52 pm

bus guy wrote: Just read this from start to finish, great thread and yeah, like others have said, you have a TON of patience :lol:

Thanks man, sorry to bore you :D

Looking for some models to pose while I am working on the bus :)