TheSamba.com :: View topic - 7k miles in the Bokeh Bus and we're stuck in Franklin NC

Sun Nov 15, 2009 3:15 pm

I wish this was an update with more pictures, but it's a call out for some help. We lost a lot of power on our way from Athens GA to North Carolina and we believe it's our fuel pump. While in Athens we ran out of gas and now when we check our fuel filter (just replaced) there is some gas in it, but not much. We're just outside of Franklin North Carolina and have checked the screen to the fuel pump and it seems fine. We checked the timing and that seems good as well, and the distributer is advancing properly, and the points are gapped correctly. I forgot to mention that we have a 1600 single port with an 009 distributer. We called the local Autozone and they have an electric online fuel pump in stock, or they can order one that will get there on Tues. I'm just not sure if that's the problem....any suggestions?? I'll take a video right now an try to post it in a few minutes.

And here's the link to the other post about our trip...
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=378341&highlight=bokeh

Sun Nov 15, 2009 3:40 pm

do you have an electric or mechanical fuel pump installed right now? theres easy ways to test both

Sun Nov 15, 2009 3:51 pm

Right now we have the stock fuel pump. Here's a video of the motor in action http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoZFgIG40fw

Sun Nov 15, 2009 4:16 pm

Just because you dont see fuel in the filter does not mean it is not flowing. Pull the hose off the carb, put it into a can and have your buddy crank the engine. Any fuel coming out? If not, it probably is your pump. If it is coming out of the line, not the pump. My guess is it is points or something else timing related if it is just "losing power".

Sun Nov 15, 2009 4:57 pm

You have one cylinder that sounds different from the others. :cry: What happens if you turn the engine off and then turn it over by hand for two complete revolutions? Does the compression feel the same on all four cylinders?

Sun Nov 15, 2009 6:01 pm

Wildthings wrote: You have one cylinder that sounds different from the others. :cry: What happens if you turn the end off and then turn it over by hand for two complete revolutions? Does the compression feel the same on all four cylinders?
I heard that too - Also do the old "pull one sparkplug at a time and observe the changes", too. Start with #3. If the hand-cranked compression is inconclusive and you don't have a compression tester with you, pop the valve covers and check your valve clearance. If you find that one of your valve clearances has gone away, you may have a valve seat going or stem stretching. Rebus had that when I got him. Check your plugs too. Good Luck!

Sun Nov 15, 2009 6:34 pm

Do you mean pull one sparkplug wire at a time? Not being picky, it could be confusing for a non mechanic.

Sun Nov 15, 2009 7:36 pm

Yep, that's one wire at a time, Thanks, Rusty!

Sun Nov 15, 2009 7:44 pm

I'm starting to think it's not the fuel pump as there is fuel being delivered to the carb. I'll start in the morning with a valve adjustment and then try the compression test by hand. Depending on the results I do have a compression gauge and will test each cylinder and check the condition of the plugs. I guess we'll take it from there. I'll make sure to post results and a video of it's condition. I'm not sure if I mentioned this earlier but we just put in a new set of points after pulling over and I replaced the exhaust and headers this morning(thanks again to Clyde in Athens, GA for hooking it up on the parts). In either case, we were fortunate enough to have someone stop and offer us his driveway to work on the car and a place to sleep for the night....sometimes I am completely amazed/overwhelmed by the hospitality of the people we have met on this trip. Thanks again suggestions...I'll be posting again soon.

Sun Nov 15, 2009 8:04 pm

Stick your dwell meter on the green points wire at the coil and see what kind of reading you get. You should be seeing about 47º +/- 3º.

Always start there.

Sun Nov 15, 2009 11:59 pm

Yes x2, if you just put points in, check the dwell, gap and timing again. Stange things happen.... Check your distributor cap for moisture, cracks or carbon traces, all that stuff. Good luck!

Mon Nov 16, 2009 4:52 am

Have u checked for spark at the plug(s)?? Pull coil wire from cap and remove cap,turn ign on and take a screwdriver and open/close points whilw holding coil wire abour 1/4 in from metal-should get a spark each time u open points. Gotta be either loss of fuel or spark. Look into carb,pump by hand and gas should squirt into carb,this means gas is to carb. Just because gas gets to carb don't mean it's getting into the carb itself,could be a stopped up needle valve if no squirt and accel pump is ok. Also when checking spark hold the coil wire to center of rotor button and same test,if it jumps to rotor it is shorten to shaft,i had one do this to me. DON'T assume anything now, test each and then check valves - look for any tight ones,note them, if any, for future reference .if it happens again u have a problem with valve.

Mon Nov 16, 2009 7:30 am

ShotnLA wrote: ... we were fortunate enough to have someone stop and offer us his driveway to work on the car and a place to sleep for the night....sometimes I am completely amazed/overwhelmed by the hospitality of the people we have met on this trip.

You do know about the AIRS list, right? You should always keep it handy, especially on a cross country trip.

http://www.type2.com/rescue/index.html

Mon Nov 16, 2009 7:36 am

So I think we may have been a hasty to assume so much was wrong. We started this morning with a valve adjustment. The #1 cylinder exhaust valve was a little tight and both valves on the #3 cylinder were tight. After that we checked the gap on the points and did the timing after warming up the motor. Here's a video of the timing....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0N3SM9yZkz4
The compression on the #3 cylinder felt a little less then the rest, but there was definitely compression. After a little test drive up the hill we're definitely able to accelerate up hill in 2nd. So we'll give it another shot and start heading towards Knoxville. Thanks again for all the quick responses and help. I'll be posting a ton of pictures and video as soon as we hit Knoxville.

Mon Nov 16, 2009 8:45 am

was this your first valve adjustment in 7000 miles?

how tight were the valves before you adjusted them? just curious...

Mon Nov 16, 2009 9:05 am

This was our 6th adjustment of the valves during the trip. We had been doing them every thousand miles, but had gone about 1500 miles since the last one with a lot of city driving on the east coast. The tightest valve was on #1 exhaust which needed a lot of adjustment. Both valves on #3 were a little tight and only needed minor adjustment. We've done a couple of uphill climbs this morning and she's running like a champ again. With the new exhaust it's not nearly as loud in the cabin and a lot of the low end torque has returned.

Mon Nov 16, 2009 9:37 am

Have you checked your dwell angle? Timing without dwell is useless. And is the best way to burn #3.

Mon Nov 16, 2009 9:41 am

I've sat here and watched all of your YouTube vids. Here's my input:

Sounds more like an exhaust leak to me. Especially with the backfire I heard in that one. Carb doesn't sound like it's throttling up properly, may be due to clogged heat risers (you're not getting proper manifold heat) or internal jets may be clogged... either instance can cause improper smooth fuel delivery. Do you see any condensation/icing on the manifold right underneath the carb???

The 009 seems to advance ok, it doesn't appear to be scattering the timing mark from what I can see. Hopefully you have it timed for your engine's configuration.

Your fan belt seems to be loose, does it deflect around 1/2" between the Gen pulley and rear pulley like right in the middle of the two? You may have to take a shim out between the two Gen pulleys to tighten up the belt. How are the brushes in the gen???

Mon Nov 16, 2009 2:43 pm

Check all of your work on that exhaust you may have exhaust leaks

Tue Nov 17, 2009 1:39 am

Should have looked me up.. I live on HWY 441 just outside Athens.. You went right by my house on the way to Franklin.

If the valves keep tightening up that means the engine is running too hot and the seats are sinking and valves are stretching.

You should only need a valve adjustment every 6K miles..