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wcfvw69 Samba Purist
Joined: June 10, 2004 Posts: 13382 Location: Arizona
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2014 3:01 pm Post subject: |
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wcfvw69 wrote: |
Millions of folks drove their VW's W/out gauges for many years and enjoyed their drives w/out ever worrying about what so many people fret about today.
I'm fully in the camp of making sure my engines have everything on them like they were designed and delivered new. Insure your engine has EVERYTHING the smart Germans designed for the engine in place. Make sure you engine compartment seals are good. Insure it's tuned up correctly. Then drive and enjoy it for what it is. |
Two things that made that possible are no longer routinely available. The first is OEM-quality parts. The second is OEM-quality service.
So few of us still daily-drive an aircooled VW any more that the demand for does not support the nexistance of those two things. We are now making do with cases on their 3rd line-bore and the empi quality parts.
Max[/quote]
I agree most parts are not OEM quality these days but.. I don't think all available parts are in the EMPI, POS quality either.
As you stated, it is becoming more and more rare that our old VW's are daily drivers vs. being a collector/hobby car. We've both been on this site for years. It's rare that people post up that their STOCK engine blew up out of the blue. Most people knew their engine was on it's last leg or knew it was knocking before the grenade went off. When I read about a catastrophic engine failures, it seems to always be a larger engine that was beat on or an old bus/bug engine that someone tried to run after it sat for decades. The other one is type 4 engines in buses that drop a valve seat due to poor quality heads/parts (to your point).
I guess my earlier post was to just share that (in my opinion) I think too many people have become FAR to concerned about monitoring gauges when driving their VW's. Is there value to it? Maybe. It's just that I read SSOO many threads w/people panicking over temps that in most cases are within the capabilities of there engines.
There were just as many hack mechanics working on VW's back in the 70's and 80's as there are today, sadly, and most VW's kept on driving down the road w/out their owners staring or being concerned w/a temp gauge. _________________ Contact me at [email protected]
Follow me on instagram @sparxwerksllc
Decades of VW and VW parts restoration experience.
The Samba member since 2004.
**Now rebuilding throttle bodies for VW's and Porsche's**
**Restored German Bosch distributors for sale or I can restore yours**
**Restored German Pierburg fuel pumps for sale or I can restore yours**
**Restored Porsche fuel pumps or I can restore yours**
**Restored Porsche distributors or I can restore yours** |
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scrivyscriv Samba Electrician
Joined: October 04, 2011 Posts: 2918 Location: Memphis
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2014 3:50 pm Post subject: |
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Max Welton wrote: |
Interesting. Anybody happen to know if the FAA requires periodic inspections of home-built aircraft and powerplants?
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No, the FAA does not. There is a one-time FAA inspection on the build, after the airworthiness certificate is applied for; after that, any inspection is at the discretion of the owner. The plans and engine designers usually have a recommended inspection timeframe; 100 flight hours and/or annual is normal on most certificated aircraft while 2,000 hours is the time between overhaul on most certificated engines.
I've always wondered how many hours people are getting on their stock engines before having to rebuild! _________________ Robert in Memphis
Dünkelgrügen 1967 Java Green bug thread
Engine rebuild thread
If you're ever in the Memphis area, you are welcome to stop by for advice and help. |
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fred69vert Samba Member
Joined: August 17, 2007 Posts: 2200 Location: Home of the US Navy Atlantic Fleet, Norfolk, VA
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Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2014 10:50 am Post subject: |
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wcfvw69 wrote: |
kreemoweet wrote: |
The only way you are going to prevent your heads from reaching, and
exceeding 350 deg. F, is by leaving your car parked. That is a normal
temperature for around-town driving. |
I agree. You're chasing an issue that's not there. You need to ditch the Mexican thermostat and simply buy a used OEM one here on the Samba. They are cheaper used than you possibly paid for that new one. I'm running used ones on both my bugs and have been for years w/no issues.
The other variable here is the accuracy of that gauge. I personally don't run any gauges and insure my bugs are tuned correctly, have all the parts they had on them (tins/seals) when new and enjoy my drives.
I think TOO many people get hung up on monitoring gauges on VW's vs. simply enjoying the drive. |
Check this guy out
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1062980
He makes new thermostats of the OEM kind. _________________ I'm not losing my hair, it's just retired and relocating further south.
1969 VW convertible, "Heidi" |
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DadsOld74 Samba Member
Joined: October 01, 2013 Posts: 138 Location: Cody, Wyoming USA
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Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2014 1:10 pm Post subject: |
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Yup. I have already e.mailed him. I'm just waiting until I have the money to order one - and a bracket - and a Hoover bit while I'm at it.
Thanks to everybody who has chimed in on this post. It has been very helpful.
I guess I like gauges because I get a general idea. I was pretty hard on my bug when I was in college - driving from Oregon to SoCal and back loaded down. I lost more than one engine. One time, it was because of a pretty big vacuum leak that deleloped on the way.
My car has always been stock, but 900 miles at 70+ mph in late August with no indication of temperature is, to me, a bit of a risk, even if a gauge cannot be completely accurate.
So, now I'm old and a little more cautious.
It got over 400F (on the gauge) when I took it 65 yesterday. It was probably around 95F out. It didn't get to 450F or 425F yet, so I guess I'm probably OK.
I'm checking for vacuum leaks, though. What is the best way to find them? _________________ --Brian ('74 standard bug)
"If one does not fail at times, then one has not challenged himself." - Ferdinand Porsche |
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wcfvw69 Samba Purist
Joined: June 10, 2004 Posts: 13382 Location: Arizona
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Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2014 2:51 pm Post subject: |
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I like to hook up my tach/dwell meter and set it to tach. I then start the engine and spray starter fluid while looking for any increase in RPM's on the tach. Brake fluid or carb fluid can work as well but I think starter fluid spray is my first choice.
Spray all the connects from the mainfold to the head thru the boots on the manifold (if dual port) to the carb/manifold area. _________________ Contact me at [email protected]
Follow me on instagram @sparxwerksllc
Decades of VW and VW parts restoration experience.
The Samba member since 2004.
**Now rebuilding throttle bodies for VW's and Porsche's**
**Restored German Bosch distributors for sale or I can restore yours**
**Restored German Pierburg fuel pumps for sale or I can restore yours**
**Restored Porsche fuel pumps or I can restore yours**
**Restored Porsche distributors or I can restore yours** |
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Max Welton Samba Member
Joined: May 19, 2003 Posts: 10697 Location: Black Forest, CO
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DadsOld74 Samba Member
Joined: October 01, 2013 Posts: 138 Location: Cody, Wyoming USA
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Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2014 4:05 pm Post subject: |
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A mechanic friend of mine use to do it that way, but then stopped. He said it was too much of a fire hazard. He had some other stuff that would make the engine stall if it got sucked in through a leak. Not sure what that was.
I'm thinking the fire risk is probably pretty small, though, and I do have some starter fluid handy. So ... live on the edge, right? _________________ --Brian ('74 standard bug)
"If one does not fail at times, then one has not challenged himself." - Ferdinand Porsche |
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DadsOld74 Samba Member
Joined: October 01, 2013 Posts: 138 Location: Cody, Wyoming USA
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Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2014 8:48 pm Post subject: |
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Yup. Got vacuum leaks! I thought I had everything pretty tight, too.
The main one seems to be around the manifold boot on the left side. So, that would effect Cylinder #3 where the head temp sensor is.
I think I have some sealer that can help with that.
What do I do around the carb, though? I have it built up with three gaskets to allow some room by my alternator. It's not unusual to need to remove the carb, so what is the best way to stop the leaking? _________________ --Brian ('74 standard bug)
"If one does not fail at times, then one has not challenged himself." - Ferdinand Porsche |
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