Another poor sap with Bus fever

[airschooled]

Oooooooh I think I just remembered! Is your front "firewall" tin the factory dual carb tin with the preheat holes in it? I'm leaning towards a yes on that one, and I have no idea if the engine has to come out if you want to switch it. One friend of mine in Michigan fabricated a nice block off plate out of a Pringles can and some HVAC tape.

Who am I to judge, I have dog hair in my main bearings,
Robbie
_________________
Learn how your vintage VW works. And why it doesn't!
One-on-one tech help for your Volkswagen:
www.airschooled.com

[williamM]

Think "all of the above". is your final answer.

Converting back to FI would be a pain with engine in and you'd need a crane to get me back out of there . AND think that muffler was going to be replaced anyway.
_________________
some days I get up and just sit and think. Some days I just sit.

opinion untempered by fact is ignorance.

Don't step in any!

[KentABQ]

Okay okay okay.... I'll stop being a wimp and take the engine out.
One (of many!) things I don't understand is how to keep the transmission supported in case I need to move or tow the bus with the engine out. Any ideas?

In yesterday's mail, the EGR filter and new harness arrived. Kyle's harness is a piece of art in itself. And he makes them longer now, to route along the firewall instead of draped on top of the engine.

WanderGlobe left his hightop with me while he's in Canada for a few weeks. He said it was alright to drive it, which was nice of him. The couple times I've driven it makes me want to get Chloe going again. Just a few more weeks...

WilliamM: I hadn't planned to replace the muffler. Did you see something I missed? ...other than the broken bolts where the tailpipe should be?

Robbie: Right! I forgot to put Pringles on the list.
_________________
-Kent-
1976 Riviera, 1.8l FI chrome yellow VAN - "Chloe"

"I must say, how can you be in a bad mood driving this vehicle full of vibrant color.
Cars of today are so bland in comparison. It's like driving a celebration!" ---WildIdea

Bus ownership via emoticons:
---williamM

[KentABQ]

Step 1 for Carb-to-FI conversion:
Remove carbs...

Now there are only, what... another 325 steps to go?
Gotta start somewhere, right? Removed the carbs, clamped and removed fuel line, disconnected battery, and disconnected and labeled wiring (after taking lots of "before" pictures).

Time to remove the engine? Wish me luck, and feel free to offer tips, being my first time. I saw the tricky/cool engine holder made from a small furniture dolly with one side cut off, so off to Harbor Freight for that, and maybe a motorcycle jack. I doubt if my dinky floor jack is up for the challenge.

When the weight of the engine is removed, the back is going to spring up a bit. Since I only have about a half-inch clearance now between the top of the bus and the garage door, I'm going to need to find some weight to sit in the back to get it outta the garage. That's where a mother-in-law would finally come in handy....
_________________
-Kent-
1976 Riviera, 1.8l FI chrome yellow VAN - "Chloe"

"I must say, how can you be in a bad mood driving this vehicle full of vibrant color.
Cars of today are so bland in comparison. It's like driving a celebration!" ---WildIdea

Bus ownership via emoticons:
---williamM

[rockerarm]

Hi Kent.
When I R&R'd any Bay window engine I always removed the entire drivetrain, meaning engine and trans together. I did it this way at the dealer, the independent's, and most definitely at home. The use of a standard shop floor jack with a pair of 1x12 boards supported the drivetrain assy.
VW did make a tool to support the trans during just an engine removal but it was a bit of a hoakey built tool and got jacked up from over aggressive dealer tech's.
Bill.

[KentABQ]

Thanks for the tip. What is the benefit of taking them out together? I'm guessing it makes installation simpler? Would you recommend this method for a first-timer?
About using 1x12's.... Do you set them on top of the jack, and run them the length of the drivetrain? And where do you position the jack for balancing?

I'm sure many, many stupid questions are yet to come!
_________________
-Kent-
1976 Riviera, 1.8l FI chrome yellow VAN - "Chloe"

"I must say, how can you be in a bad mood driving this vehicle full of vibrant color.
Cars of today are so bland in comparison. It's like driving a celebration!" ---WildIdea

Bus ownership via emoticons:
---williamM

[andrewtf]

And I am listening intently.
_________________
'75 Riviera - 'BIG EMMA' (Pan American highway trip paused for a make over)
'77 Riviera - Murphy' (being reborn.... slowly)
'63 Austin Healey

[rockerarm]

Hi.
You may consider yourself a first timer but you've accomplished feats that many folks yearn to do, at this point.

There are many advantages to having the trans stay with the engine during the R&R. Basic cleaning up underneath, trans maintenance/inspection, CV maintenance, easier access to the fuel lines/pump you will be installing, etc.

The use of the 1x12's will run from the trans' front mount area to the engine's rear cross member mount. The use of a minimum of two is req'd as the engine/trans assy is aprox 500lbs total weight and just a pair may not be sufficient. The floor jack, something like a basic 2 1/2T to a 3T service jack from HF should suffice. The jack's pad will be positioned to balance the assy somewhere near the area of the seam between the eng and trans. This actual position will vary. The trans on all bay's are approx. equal. The different engines all throw the jack pad position to different places. The latest 2.0 T4 engines were long, wide, and had more weight to the left side.
A supplement addition to the 1x12's would be a similar support that ran from heater box to heater box thus supporting the assy from the possibility of tipping. The end product would resemble a cross (sorry, no pun intended on this fine Sunday).
Hope this helps, Bill.

[rockerarm]

Hi.
An additional method to R&R your drivetrain assy could be built off of the method used here on this video.
Harbor Freight sell furniture dolleys cheap. # of them for the sides of the engine and the trans' front. Somehow tied together for unity support. Area between the 3 dolleys for the service jack to lower the drivetrain onto the dolley's. this is something I would consider if I was performing this work on more than just my own T1 Bay.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technic...d-68781601

Hope this helps. Bill.
Kent, I know your garage door/ceiling is a huge factor here, but??

[KentABQ]

Thanks Bill. That all makes perfect sense, and I'm going with your suggestion. The trans is caked with grease, and I found a torn CV boot today, so might as well get it all taken care of, right?

[williamM]

One thing I did when working alone on a 500# weight suspended from a floor jack was to run a safety rope from a pipe across the access panel in the floor to round the engine / trans seam- hoping if it fell it would stop short of trapping me with my cell phone 6 " out of reach[img] [/

]
_________________
some days I get up and just sit and think. Some days I just sit.

opinion untempered by fact is ignorance.

Don't step in any!

[KentABQ]

[williamM]

[rockerarm]

Hi.
Yeah, the logistics suck and will guarantee to elevate the stress level on an already stressful task for you. Other than utilizing a different location to perform the R&R you will need to work somewhat efficiently to not have a disabled vehicle be obvious to the HOA Nazi's. Ideally, if a local VW club had a tech/tune Saturday at a local shop you are able to handle the removal with the needed assistance from others.

As you plan this task out try and think thru a few key points here:
1- You're going to need an adequate jack as I previously stated. It should have a decent sized plate, as this is what will ultimately support the eng/trans assy's weight. Please recognize you have a lot of weight to the left and right of that smallish 5" plate.
2- If you decide to build a wood support apparatus it needs to be able to cover the length/width of the T4 assy. this would be ideal especially for someone doing this on their own and a newbie, as you identified yourself.
3- I have used quite successfully milk crates under the heater boxes that will "catch" the engine in the event it tips to the left/right. And this was on a T1 Bay.
4- Scrounge yourself up some sheets of cardboard or one of the popular blue tarps from HF. This is to protect the ground from oil or gas drippings/spillage.
5- Assure yourself of the disconnect procedures and the tools needed to accomplish this task.
6- You are probably gonna have to do some basic math here to determine how high the bus needs to be in order to slide the eng/trans assy out from the rear valance. Things like the low point of the jack plate, the wood support thickness, the height of the engine (sump plate to tin). This has to be factored into the jacks range (from bottom to max top).
Much of the above measurement info can be mitigated by this simple method.
If you use the moving dolly method to support/move the eng/trans assy, then this dolly arrangement is built up with wood supports for the eng/trans to sit on and allow the service jack to be pulled out from underneath it. Then with the service jack you would move it to the side of the bus and jack it up near the front trans mount area and this will allow the entire eng/trans assy to wheel out from under the rear valance. Once the eng/trans are out the bus can be lowered to the ground and is relatively easy to move around.
7- Most important thing is to have fun. Once you remove this behemoth out and reinstalled and subsequently driven you can pat yourself on the back. Others here will praise you for your tenacity and work ethics.
I began my, for pay, auto career the day after high school. It took about 2 years before I was able to R&R a bug engine. The end result was amazing, in my mind. I had achieved something I didn't think was gonna be successful. After that I was like a "crack whore" in skid row. The addiction included type 1, 2, 3, 4, 914, 912, and water-cooled. I volunteered to work Heavy Duty/Unit work when the old school Europeans were worn out.

[airschooled]

I would ABSOLUTELY recommend taking the engine and trans out together. I'm not a fan of doing them separately, as it complicates the balance and coordination of jacks and parts.

Let me know if you want a hand, I had a terribly cold weekend and could use some warm days soon If the days work out, I can bring my ATV jack which doubles nicely as a well-balanced work station and raises the engine a foot and a half off the found for easier FI fitmenr!

Robbie
_________________
Learn how your vintage VW works. And why it doesn't!
One-on-one tech help for your Volkswagen:
www.airschooled.com

[KentABQ]

If it's still warm here in a couple weeks, and you're available, c'mon over! There's a break between flips starting the beginning of February, so I'll have a couple/three weeks to work on getting Chloe on the road. Woo hoo!
_________________
-Kent-
1976 Riviera, 1.8l FI chrome yellow VAN - "Chloe"

"I must say, how can you be in a bad mood driving this vehicle full of vibrant color.
Cars of today are so bland in comparison. It's like driving a celebration!" ---WildIdea

Bus ownership via emoticons:
---williamM

[williamM]

A fellow line guy once told me about asking one of the old school german mechanics for help- and was amazed at how complete and informative the old guy was till he tried to flag the time and shop manager said the time had already been flagged. By guess who
_________________
some days I get up and just sit and think. Some days I just sit.

opinion untempered by fact is ignorance.

Don't step in any!

[KentABQ]

[KentABQ]

Some additional parts are still coming in. Yesterday I received the thermostat from Awesome Powdercoat...

The thing is a work of art. From my eye, I couldn't tell whether it was newly made or an original that has been sitting on a shelf for 40 years.

I've also taken Rockerarm's advice and bought a good, 3-ton low-profile floor jack. The two I have are smaller, and might have worked if I had more experience. But for my first time, I want the right tools.

With those items in my possession, I believe I am ready for the Big Pull. And work should finish in a week, so I'll have time to properly do the job. I'm very much looking forward to it.

Should I post pics? ...or have you guys seen enough pics of boring old drivetrains being removed and cleaned up?
_________________
-Kent-
1976 Riviera, 1.8l FI chrome yellow VAN - "Chloe"

"I must say, how can you be in a bad mood driving this vehicle full of vibrant color.
Cars of today are so bland in comparison. It's like driving a celebration!" ---WildIdea

Bus ownership via emoticons:
---williamM

[KentABQ]

The injectors just came back from WitchHunter...

So now it's just a matter of making time to do the switch. Work was due to slow down in Feb., but so far it hasn't happened. Maybe March? (Fingers crossed)
_________________
-Kent-
1976 Riviera, 1.8l FI chrome yellow VAN - "Chloe"

"I must say, how can you be in a bad mood driving this vehicle full of vibrant color.
Cars of today are so bland in comparison. It's like driving a celebration!" ---WildIdea

Bus ownership via emoticons:
---williamM