TheSamba.com :: View topic - 1600 very sluggish and hesitant after carb pulled

Tue Nov 10, 2009 5:55 pm

I replaced my alternator in a 71 camper, having to partially lift the fan housing and pulling the carb out. Alternator works great, but she now has no pick-up, very sluggish. Carb is seated well with a new gasket.No vacuum leaks that I can tell.Hand over carb snuffs out engine immediately.Carb spray while runnung does not inrcrease rpms :? .This is an 009 Distributor with a 34 Pict 3 carb. A no -no I know, but I;ve had this bus for 9 years and it has always run beautiful until the recent alternator job.I have new spark plug wires and fuel filter also. What am I missing?

Tue Nov 10, 2009 6:13 pm

Did you readjust the throttle cable so the arm stops 1mm from the wide open stop when the pedal is mashed to the floor?
Did you reconnect the choke heater and idle solenoid wires?

Tue Nov 10, 2009 6:37 pm

vwbuser71 wrote: This is an 009 Distributor with a 34 Pict 3 carb. A no -no I know, but I;ve had this bus for 9 years and it has always run beautiful

Please don't let other peoples negativity get to you. If it runs beautiful that's what counts. Mine sure have also. Same with quite a few other people. It's great that they can also work well on industrial engines :lol: .

Tue Nov 10, 2009 6:47 pm

Thanks for the fast response busdaddy-o!! Yes, the choke and solonoid wires are connected and both work. I had a little trouble re-connecting the throttle cable and it does not feel like it did before . It feels stiffer.The engine does seem to rev fully when the peddle is floored. Could the cable still be the problem? I will try your re-adjustment idea tomorrow, thanks again.

Sun Dec 20, 2009 1:02 pm

Buser,

I have never been able to drive my bus since I bought it more than a few miles because the "flat spot" is so bad. So I thought I might as well rebuild the carb to try and fix the problem. Rebuilt the carb with no problem. Of course it is a 34PICT/3. I reinstalled the carb, adjusted the valves, set the points and timing, and then the idle on the carb. I couldn't wait to drive it! I also set the "squirt" at maximum. My 71' bus drives just as bad as it did before I rebuilt the carb with horrible flat spot after taking off in 1st.
I just bought myself a SVDA distributor to replace the 009. It gets rid of the hesitation because the 009 and the 34PICT/3 don't work well together since the 009 has no vacuum advance like the stock distributor had.
I recommend just buying a SVDA with electronic ignition and your life will be much better and your ride smoother.

Sun Dec 20, 2009 1:11 pm

I completely agree with DesertBusMan.

While I am a strong believer in stock carb and distributor arrangements, for years my 1971 bus had a 009 with a 34-pict 3 and that "flat spot" was there but you have to be someone who is around cars and track to even notice it. I went back to the stock distributor only because there was no gain or loss from an 009 on my 1600 DP and I wanted to be smog legal all the time rather than making the switch back every two years just to pass smog.

I am willing to lay money that people with the "flat spot" who complain really have other issues such as vacuum leaks, timed wrong, sticky advance mechanisms, worn out lobes, etc. You must have one of these if you are going to time an 009 on a T1 engine.