TheSamba.com :: View topic

Sat Jun 19, 2010 8:14 am

When I was a teenager I went through about 8 rear drums in my slammed ( three clicks) Bettle, but all I had was a cresent wrench to put them on with.
I thought that my 160 pounds jumping up and down on that wrench was surely tight enough. Until the 200 pound vw mechanic pulled out a six foot breakover bar and just sat on it, bouncing a few times.

I never stripped the splines out of another bake drum.

Sat Jun 19, 2010 10:30 am

Was visting A friend about 3 hrs away bug started acting up thought it was A burnt valve went through the hole process of going home taking another motor and tools back to his house to change the motor out after all of that fiasco I found out it was A clogged fuel filter?

Sat Jun 19, 2010 2:09 pm

Juice C wrote: When I was a teenager I went through about 8 rear drums in my slammed ( three clicks) Bettle, but all I had was a cresent wrench to put them on with.
I thought that my 160 pounds jumping up and down on that wrench was surely tight enough. Until the 200 pound vw mechanic pulled out a six foot breakover bar and just sat on it, bouncing a few times.

I never stripped the splines out of another bake drum.

Sounds like you went from too little to too much. A 200-pounder bouncing on the bar four feet from the nut with all his weight is good for about 800-1000 ft-lb. The nut only needs 250!

Mon Jul 12, 2010 8:03 pm

JLT wrote: cylinder #1, I unscrewed the tester from the head but didn't realize that I hadn't gotten the whole thing out, but left the adapter in the head.

I did that one before, but I drove around like that for about three months. It ran fine for me all that time, I'd still be driving like that if my mechanic hadn't spotted it when I was having him reseal the engine.

In fact, I thought my bus was running great on what turned out to be three cylinders after using some ring-free (after the leaving of the adapter) because evidently before that I was running on two cylinders.

I could tell that one of my cylinders had resumed firing because blue smoke spontaneously started belching from the tail pipe from all of the gook having built up in the cylinder, and the fact that I could now do over 55mph

Fri Jul 16, 2010 5:50 pm

I let my wife drive my 71 Westfalia to work one day.

She said the "battery light" came on, and then several miles later it quit running and smoke poured out of the back. I've never seen so much smoke coming out of a bus that wasn't on fire! We're still married. [She insists that I add that it was raining and that she was alone on the Interstate after dark, etc.]

The engine was so hot that it messed up the *mechanical* advance portion of the original distributor. The rebuilder [turn key] told me he couldn't get its timing exactly right, and I should get its timimg set before I drove it much. I drove it about 30 miles to another VW mechanic. By that time, my rebuilt [with rewelded heads] engine had cracked heads and a scored jug. It's all fixed and it runs great now, but I am still jonesing for the OG longblock I let a previous engine builder keep in trade. I also had it painted two-toned bright yellow and white and named it "Buttercup." I"m old enough to know better.

Mon Aug 09, 2010 12:51 pm

Just spent the better part of the week tracking down an electrical short. Replaced the battery (2 tests by autoparts peeps confirmed bad battery) and thought all would now be well. 2 days later the bus refuses to start, another dead battery.

I found the short today after hours of searching. PO installed a modern radio and kept the OG in place. Well someone (me prob) turned on the old radio and never turned the dial back to off.

Pfft. Psyched to have the "short" found though!

Mon Aug 09, 2010 4:49 pm

In retrospect, putting a 3 rib in my bus when the conversion was done. Sure it's good for mountains but now there isn't even a hill within an hours drive in any direction.

Assuming that because by bus is a '75, all the parts are '75. Cost me a bit in useless parts / things I had to adapt. Australian mutant flatpack buses argh!

Moving house a year ago. brought the car trailer to the old place to put my bus on to. started to drive it up the ramps and looked out the back. White smoke pouring out!
Killed the ignition, jumped out and ran around. I totally forgot that I had removed the aux. battery. which meant the + terminal was in there bouncing around, sparking away and melting the wire. So close to fire. Amazingly the relay survived!

Mon Aug 09, 2010 7:02 pm

Always using motor oil to prime my gaskets. :oops:
Not until recently [yesterday] did I use axle grease to affix a gasket to the rocker cover. Damn that makes the job so simple. Didn't have to fuss with the one I was replacing at all. Sealed up like a champ, no drips = good!!

Mon Aug 09, 2010 10:44 pm

When I bought my Bus 2 years ago, I had to replace the pop-top canvas. After reading all the how-to threads, it occured to me a better way to install this thing would be to sew a 2" strip of velcro along the top seam, and stapple the other half of the velcro on the pop-top. This would allow for easy removal, and adjustments.

SO I pre-installed the tent with screws at the 4 bottom corners, and made pencil marks along the top where I needed the velcro to be sewn. Took the tent down, sewed the velcro along the lines, took it back to the bus, screwd all the bottom rails in, and tacked the top part with the velcro. Took me quite a few hours, mostly for the bottom rails and stretching the top so the corners would close up right. When I was done, I lifted the roof to contemplate the result : Beautifull ! Not a single wrinkle, and the tent seemed welded in place.

Except...My windows were inside out. Sewing the velcro along the lines meant I had put it on the inside of the tent !!!

Left it like that for the first season, but the following fall, I took it back down, and reversed the velcro strip over the winter months. It's now reinstalled the right way, and holding fast. But man, did I get razzed that first summer !

Notice the exterior facing windows in the picture...

Mon Aug 09, 2010 10:54 pm

TheRustySuper wrote: Saw the "removing aftermarket paint to get OG paint" thread, and thought it would be a good idea to do the same on my '72 Super. Spent about 30 bucks on supplies, and when you're 16 with no job, that's a lot of money. Spent several hours stripping half the hood and some of my driver's door, making my car look like complete crap, and then found that a lot of the OG paint was stripped before the car was painted. So now my car is several shades of primer and Rustoleum paint, keeping the rust at bay. I'll probably rattlecan it this summer, so it's one color again.

Before:

After:

I wanted to get out of the house and do something, so I took the Beetle out to get gas in it. I drove a bit farther, because I wanted to get the Beetle on the bypass and wind it up to 60 or so, since it hadn't been driven much lately. Got gas, turned around and left. Wondered why people were looking at me funny, and why the guy in the Ford Escort honked at me as he passed. Got home and realized that my gas door was open, and that I had left my gas cap sitting on the hood, and that it had fallen off somewhere along the way. So...got in my GTI, sped off back to the gas station, and got my gas cap out of the middle of the entrance of the gas station. It was a bit scuffed up but I don't care, it's always leaked and needs replacing.

Oh, and another one. It was about 15 degrees out, and I wanted to drive the Beetle to church. Argued with my parents about it, and went outside in the cold and scraped off the windshield and windows. Got to the entrance of my neighborhood...and the car died, and wouldn't start. Checked coil connections and whatnot, still nothing. About 5 people offered me a ride back to my house, and I figured I'd better take up one of their offers before I was stuck there. Got home, took the GTI to church. My friend and I left early, and went back to the car. We literally poked each of the battery cables once, and the car fired right up. I've since cleaned and tightened the heck out of my connections, no issues since :?

No offense, but how does someone with a mk5 gti AND a "hobby car" not be able to drop $30 without a blink. The mk5 is a 10k car easy....

Tue Aug 10, 2010 5:57 am

I'm sure it's not the stupidest thing i've done, but I left the wrench on the fly wheel nut the other day. Caught it before i started it though...

Wed Aug 11, 2010 8:23 pm

I wired a switch to a hot wire without an accessory and then ran a ground to the second post of the switch....Wait for it...and I turned the switch on. :oops: Yes, the switch was fried immediately. I'm fortunate it didn't catch anything on fire but the bus wouldn't start after that. The PO had a solenoid wired in so I thought it might have fried the solenoid so I proceeded to replace it. No big deal until I ended up with an extra wire that I was unable to account for. A bad day just got worse!

Blew our AAA tow for the year and $170 on rewiring but the Lizard is among the land of the running once again. I am now under a critical system project moratorium. :)

Wed Aug 11, 2010 8:38 pm

Today I noticed a curious spot under the bus. It kind a looked like an oil spot but it smelled like gasoline. Uh-oh. So I scramble underneath and notice that there is indeed gas leaking from the gas line next to the fuel filter (which I placed outside of the engine compartment 8) ). As I was preparing to unscrew the clamp to check it out, the thing just burst in my hands and doused me with petrol. I managed to jam a pencil in the line and went to change my shirt. Shirt changed, I try to put the fuel line back on the filter. The damn fuel line just crumbled in my hands further dousing me with fuel. I'm kinda panicking now because I cant get the pencil back in the fuel line because it keeps crumbling and I'm about to dump 10 gallons of unleaded on my garage floor. Just as I'm jamming the pencil half-arse into the fuel line the fuel is flowing down my arm and trickles into my ear! :shock: Honestly, I have never felt anything more painful in my life. It felt like someone was hammering a hot chisel into my ear. I writhed in agony for what seemed like an hour but was probably 5 minutes and then ran over to the hose to spray water in my ear. All the while gasoline is dribbling onto my garage floor. I can't help thinking I have to tell the CIA that they should forget waterboarding and just start pouring gasoline into the ears of suspected terrorists. After about 20 minutes I pull myself together, pull on yet another fresh shirt, and manage to stem the flow of gas to a slow drip which I am now collecting in my oil drain pan. I drive my sad self to Kragen (O'Reilly?) which I probably shouldn't have because my equilibrium is shit and buy two 5 gallon gas cans. I drained the tank (which takes a loooong time by the way) and replaced the fuel line. So what did I learn?

1: When the Samba folk say, "replace your fuel lines!" They aint kidding. That fuel line felt like it was made out of graham cracker

2. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever get gasoline in your ear. I would seriously rather lose a fingernail.

Wed Aug 11, 2010 9:05 pm

mranker wrote:
1: When the Samba folk say, "replace your fuel lines!" They aint kidding. That fuel line felt like it was made out of graham cracker

2. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever get gasoline in your ear. I would seriously rather lose a fingernail.

Man, these are two great advices that I will keep in mind forever. Thank you for sharing.

P.S. This story make my day.

Wed Aug 11, 2010 9:12 pm

mranker wrote: Today I noticed a curious spot under the bus. It kind a looked like an oil spot but it smelled like gasoline. Uh-oh. So I scramble underneath and notice that there is indeed gas leaking from the gas line next to the fuel filter (which I placed outside of the engine compartment 8) ). As I was preparing to unscrew the clamp to check it out, the thing just burst in my hands and doused me with petrol. I managed to jam a pencil in the line and went to change my shirt. Shirt changed, I try to put the fuel line back on the filter. The damn fuel line just crumbled in my hands further dousing me with fuel. I'm kinda panicking now because I cant get the pencil back in the fuel line because it keeps crumbling and I'm about to dump 10 gallons of unleaded on my garage floor. Just as I'm jamming the pencil half-arse into the fuel line the fuel is flowing down my arm and trickles into my ear! :shock: Honestly, I have never felt anything more painful in my life. It felt like someone was hammering a hot chisel into my ear. I writhed in agony for what seemed like an hour but was probably 5 minutes and then ran over to the hose to spray water in my ear. All the while gasoline is dribbling onto my garage floor. I can't help thinking I have to tell the CIA that they should forget waterboarding and just start pouring gasoline into the ears of suspected terrorists. After about 20 minutes I pull myself together, pull on yet another fresh shirt, and manage to stem the flow of gas to a slow drip which I am now collecting in my oil drain pan. I drive my sad self to Kragen (O'Reilly?) which I probably shouldn't have because my equilibrium is shit and buy two 5 gallon gas cans. I drained the tank (which takes a loooong time by the way) and replaced the fuel line. So what did I learn?

1: When the Samba folk say, "replace your fuel lines!" They aint kidding. That fuel line felt like it was made out of graham cracker

2. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever get gasoline in your ear. I would seriously rather lose a fingernail.
I feel your agony having been there myself a few times, usually with the added thrill of rotten gas for that incomparable stank that lasts for days. A pair of small vise grips on the new piece of line intended for the section from the tank nipple works better than the pencil, yank off the old line and shove the new pinched one on instantly, no draining required. :wink:

And disconnect your battery before you venture under the bus for any fuel line work, touch that starter terminal with something metal and you're a crispy critter. :shock:

Wed Aug 11, 2010 10:42 pm

mranker wrote: 2. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever get gasoline in your ear. I would seriously rather lose a fingernail.

:lol: :lol: :lol: I had the exact same thing happen to me, trying to fit a plastic hose in lieu of the filter, on the side of a country road, after my bus had stalled on my first ride ever...

The face of the little old lady whose hose I used to try and rince my ear out was priceless. She never even dared to come out of the house.

It is indeed the most pain I have ever suffered. Close second was the intense burning all over my body from the gas soaked clothes on the drive back home...By the time I arrived home, I was driving in my underwear...My wife still has bouts of giggles.... :oops:

Thu Aug 12, 2010 12:34 am

Wow. Worse than having your eyes doused with fuel? I had that happen a couple of months back filling a jerrycan of fuel for my bus. Put the nozzle in the can, squeezed the trigger and FWOOSH! it all erupted straight into my face. I was instantly blinded and iniense pain. I managed to put the filler back and stumble my way to the station toilet where I was greeted by some water and not even any soap. So I spent a while in there desperately trying to rinse my eyes out
Eventually I could sorta kinda see and still felt like vomiting. I did what anyone would have done. headed back and finished filling the can. Went in, paid for it and very slowly drove home through the stinging haze.

edit: oh and I made myself very groggy and out of sorts for hours a couple of days ago using lots of starting fluid to find a vac leak.

Thu Aug 12, 2010 5:17 am

not on my bus but on my first car a 71 Nova single barrel straight 6 replacing the fuel pump.. removed the lines and the two bolts holding it to the case but it wouldn't come off. Leaned over with the big slot screwdriver just a little twitch with the blade and it popped off shooting a full stroke of gas at preasure up my nose and into my eyes.
Funny thing is I don't remember how much my eyes hurt.. my nose and lungs however will never be forgotten..

Fri Aug 20, 2010 7:33 am

16 years old..my mother calls me up to dinner just as I was finishing up the front brakes on my 70 baja bug. After dinner she asked me to run to the store for her. Ran down to the garage and jump in the bug with my brother. Drove about a 1/4 mile when the the drivers front wheel flies off at the top of a hill (I obviously was missed a step in the repair process). The wheel rolled about another 1/4 mile down the hill (my little brother running faster than I have ever seen him before behind it). It nearly hit an elderly couples car who stopped to tell me my car was falling apart as like I was unaware of what was going on at the time. My brother returned with the tire and we took a one lug nut off the other wheels and reinstalled the wheel and drove home.

When we returned home I noticed the fiberglass fender was cracked from the wheel falling off so I popped the bonnet and removed the fender and repaired and reinstalled it. By this time it was pretty late at night and my father came down to the garage closed the trunk and told me to call it a day. I backed it out of the garage and went to bed.

The next morning driving it to school I got to the same spot in the road and the fiberglass trunk lid flies up...breaks off...and sails over the top of the bug leaving two small triangles of the hood attached to the hinges flapping in the wind. My father did not attach the rubber straps that hold down the hood!!! I turned around...crammed the hood in the cab...drove home and took my fathers car to school.

Thu Apr 07, 2011 2:54 am

Got given a complete 65 Splitty which had been sitting for a few years but other than the one patch of rust on each side was solid, Towed it 40km home and started working on it in the driveway, put new battery in it and couldn't get it to go, checked the plugs, coil, leads, cap, oil, everything (so i thought) but it just wouldn't start, so got sick of it and sold it to a person advertising in the paper wanting a gearbox for an off roader. He came and paid me $300 for it (1/30th of the value of a runner at the time) and i gave him a hand to winch it onto the back of his truck. As he drove off i looked at the van and thought SHIT...i forgot to put fuel in it.