Hello! Log in or Register   |  Help  |  Donate  |  Buy Shirts See all banner ads | Advertise on TheSamba.com  
TheSamba.com
 
What problems have you had in VWs
Page: 1, 2, 3, 4  Next
Forum Index -> Stories Share: Facebook Twitter
Reply to topic
Print View
Quick sort: Show newest posts on top | Show oldest posts on top View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
jeremyrockjock
Samba Towbar Builder


Joined: January 01, 2002
Posts: 5008
Location: Richmond, Verjinya
jeremyrockjock is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Jan 05, 2004 1:29 pm    Post subject: What problems have you had in VWs Reply with quote

I know I just posted clutch probs but I always tell people about the learning process owning a VW is if your willing to stick with it. Here is some of the things that I have had happen.

1. Lost brakes and blew through a red light
2. Dropped a valve guide ruining a piston. (lead to my first rebuild)
3. Tranny wouldn't stay in 4th gear. (I had to hold it in gear)
4. Dash fire due to shorted wire
5. Lost wheel on a neighborhood test drive.(no damage)
6. Engine fire due to those pretty glass fuel filters
7. Cargo door fell off my brothers bus at a gas station when slider support broke. People looked at us if we were retarded. (I felt like it)
8. Clutch cables broken. Twice.
9. Bus fell of a jack, rolled out into the street. The door swung open and hit the car beside me and dust cover on front drum got all bent up.
10. Flat tire when I hit a huge boulder off roading.
11. Bent my monza exhaust backing into a rock.
12. Almost lost my engine when mustache bar hit a high curb.
13. Dropped a CV (buddy needed his elbow calibrated for 25 ft lbs)
14. Blew 2 pistons due to dual carbs out of sync.
15. burned a rod bearing due to high temp RTV (I used gasket shellac now)
16. locked a 40hp. (not sure why, it had oil)
17. Carb fell off manifold
18. Cooling fan came loose and did some damage (upright motor)
There is more.
All of this happened in the first 5 years of getting into VWs.
I don't have many problems anymore that I can't handle or prevent. I have learned alot from working on these puppies.

What have you guy been through?
_________________
Why buy what you can build.
Step away from the fiberglass and no one gets hurt!!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Gallery Classifieds Feedback
auslander
Samba Member


Joined: January 07, 2003
Posts: 1831
Location: Heart Of Dixie
auslander is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Jan 05, 2004 2:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here's what I've experienced
1. Ball joint break while turning a corner
2. Blown a motor(no oil)
3. Bug caught fire
4. Steering coupler come apart while leaving my driveway
5. Clutch Pedal and cable break at the same time (convenient)
6. Header get ripped off jtubes when I hit a dip
7. Single quiet pack fall off on highway
8. Drove a bug (without knowing) in reverse
Unbelievably I was not hurt in any of these incidents
_________________
Zombie
Wandering...Have you found what your looking for?

66 POS Bus
69 Class 11 Beetle
71 Cat-Look Beetle
64 Old Skool Baja
74 "Swamp" Thing

!!! F**k Cancer !!!
Time's Tide will Smother You
"You can't throw a rock in Long Beach without hitting a tweaker" Steve Tucci
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Gallery Classifieds Feedback
UncleBob
Grease Midget


Joined: August 21, 2002
Posts: 2862
Location: Northeast Florida
UncleBob is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Jan 05, 2004 2:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

When I was 3 (or 4, can't remember for sure, it was a long time ago), I got a chicken bone stuck in my throat and my parents rushed me to the hospital in the back of our '68. I remember sittin in the back, chokin' and gaggin.
_________________
OG JHC

don't worry, the ciggaret is fake.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
NorCalWeekender
Samba Member


Joined: April 13, 2000
Posts: 6531
Location: East Bay, CA
NorCalWeekender is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Jan 05, 2004 2:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

LOL@Bob! That technically counts. Smile Worst thing I've dealt with has been the brake hose fraying and locking up the fronts to the point they're smoking! Shocked

Never fun,
-Taylor
_________________
9th Owner of a 1971 Tintop Westy

"Eventually, we sold to a guy for $500 who towed it away to live in it in his parents' driveway. We didn't think it would ever avoid the junk heap on that day." -The 3rd Owner, 1995
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Gallery Classifieds Feedback
type877
Samba Haiku Masta


Joined: March 12, 2003
Posts: 738
Location: SL,UT
type877 is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Jan 05, 2004 2:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here's my breakdown...
1. engine fire in my bug while driving. Put that out in a few seconds with the trusty fire extinguisher
2. right rear tire and wheel of my notch came off while on the freeway. The shop that put my new drum on had cross-threaded the axle nut.
3. the metal bracket that the gas pedal hinges on in my bus came loose from the floor. Had to drive my bus with a long stick for a gas pedal for awhile.
4. broken accelerator cable. Used vise grips to get home.
5. sucked a valve in the 40-horse my bug came with, a month after I bought it. Still friends with the guy.

that's the worst of it, not too bad overall.

auslander, how the hell do you drive a bug in reverse without knowing it? Laughing
_________________
Ken
JHC
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Gallery Classifieds Feedback
auslander
Samba Member


Joined: January 07, 2003
Posts: 1831
Location: Heart Of Dixie
auslander is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Jan 05, 2004 3:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Heres my overall worst expierience in a vw, my coworker who was seperated from her husband wanted me to help her move the husbands 61 beetle, so i go over there on a saturday with my little girl. She dosent have the keys to the bug and wants to push it up the incline in her driveway, and Im like screw that so I hotwire it get it started and back it up the driveway I go to hit the brakes to slow down and they go straight to the floor, so i swerve hard not to hit the neighbor accross the street that is mowing his lawn, so now Im going in reverse down a hill with no brakes, so i hit grab the ebrake and pull up on it and there is nothing there. At this point im shi#$ing my pants and my little girl is running down the street after me, so I open the door and think about jumping out of the car but i slam it into gear and get it stall and roll down the sidewalk to a stop. I learned alot of lessons that day
_________________
Zombie
Wandering...Have you found what your looking for?

66 POS Bus
69 Class 11 Beetle
71 Cat-Look Beetle
64 Old Skool Baja
74 "Swamp" Thing

!!! F**k Cancer !!!
Time's Tide will Smother You
"You can't throw a rock in Long Beach without hitting a tweaker" Steve Tucci
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Gallery Classifieds Feedback
type877
Samba Haiku Masta


Joined: March 12, 2003
Posts: 738
Location: SL,UT
type877 is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Jan 05, 2004 4:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

OMG! That's a great story! Laughing Glad you're ok.
_________________
Ken
JHC
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Gallery Classifieds Feedback
Major Woody
Samba Enigma


Joined: December 04, 2002
Posts: 9010
Location: Portland, OR
Major Woody is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Jan 05, 2004 5:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Too bad this isn't a Fiat website. All through college I drove a 1976 Fiat 128 3P. What a horrible car, broke down constantly and always at the worst possible times.

I had an engine fire in my 64 once. Loose fitting on the fuel pump. Locked up a 40 hp--rod bearing old.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
VW Addict Premium Member
Samba Salesman


Joined: January 09, 2003
Posts: 3920

VW Addict is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Jan 05, 2004 5:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Had a engine fire - 2001 in a 1969 baja...and almost lost my garage too ebcuase of it!
I also lost my automatic tranny fluid pump vaccuum comming home form a show in 2002.
I also Lost a piston in that same car with the auto tranny...it was a 1970 Vert.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
Andrew
Samba Member


Joined: October 27, 2000
Posts: 5865
Location: Who in the what now?
Andrew is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Jan 05, 2004 10:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jeremy, how did a carb fall off the manifold?!?

As for me, here's the breakdown.
1. Overheated a motor and it spun a rod bearing (happened 4 years ago, motor's still apart in my garage)
2. Engine fire in my bus (wonderful little, loose brass fitting in the carb)
3. The fuel filter inside the tank clogged after 37 years
4. Shift coupler tore in half (in the parking lot of the VW Parts store, minutes after I had just bought a new one, replaced it using their lift)
5. Distributor stopped advancing (I now carry a spare one with me)
6. Pin holding the internals of the fuel pump in place came out, so the fuel pump internals fell apart (rebuilt it on the side of the road)

Probably a few other things, but that's it so far.
_________________
-Andrew
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Gallery Classifieds Feedback
jeremyrockjock
Samba Towbar Builder


Joined: January 01, 2002
Posts: 5008
Location: Richmond, Verjinya
jeremyrockjock is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Jan 06, 2004 5:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Andrew wrote:
Jeremy, how did a carb fall off the manifold?!?


When I bought my first bus it had dual baby Dellortos. We were on our way back from a bad day snowboarding at Boreal near Donner lake in Ca when the bus started loosing power. We pulled over and I found the nuts had vibrated off the studs and the carb was laying off the side of the manifold held up by the linkage. I bolted it back on and we made it home with no other problems.
More problems
19. shelled fuel pump
20. points cam follower melting
21. points bushing melting cause them to stick open.
22. throttle sticking while cruising down the highway.
23. front wheel bearing locking up (had to press the drum off in a hyd press)
24. Spark plug shot out of the head (not stripped)
_________________
Why buy what you can build.
Step away from the fiberglass and no one gets hurt!!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Gallery Classifieds Feedback
nik
Samba Member


Joined: February 13, 2003
Posts: 849
Location: 1 block away
nik is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Jan 06, 2004 6:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lets see if I can name a few:
-wheelbearing seizing onto the spindle
-Carbs quitten on me
-Right after I got new ones on, my tranny gernaded
-Towed my buggy home from Oregon cause the dustributor clamp broke on a sunday night.(no parts store opened)
-numerous fuel line leaks
-P.O. stuffed newpaper into the cooling fan ducts and it made my engine overheat
-Went to take the oil presure sensor out and it broke off inside

That's all that I want to think about right now Mad
nik
_________________
It ain't easy being cheesy
Analyze this, Biotch!
WTD: Early "Wrap Around" dash pad
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
twoguns
Samba Member


Joined: December 30, 2003
Posts: 31
Location: mid north coast, australia.
twoguns is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Jan 06, 2004 6:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

this does make me laugh.i thought i had such rotten luck but it seems cool when i read all yours....

it took me a while to get into the groove of vws..
-ive blown five motors. three consecutive. just used to push too hard. and they either overheated or in two cases simply disintegrated.

-had brake failure more than i care to remember. but two good ones were first in my 66 beetle. it failed in sydney at about 11 one night. i had 70klm to travel to get home, of which 45 was expressway. so i thought buggar it and of i went. drove straight to mymechanic where i recked the front bumper of his brick wall. second was in the splitty and came down a step hill into town. the rear cylinder packed it and left me brakeless. my bus dont have seatbelts which made it more interesting. anyway we cleaned up the side of this guys wagon. tore skins of his door and front guard and rear ended a saab. he was cool about it. had a soft spotfor classics.

-ive had several clutch cables and accelerator cables go.
-numerous fuel blockages.
-steerng wheel come off at 50klm/h. wasnt fitted properly by mechanic.
-front beam split top and bottom all bar about an inch. just fortunate taht i was at a mates place and we were comparing details when we noticed it. did look cool how it was sitting about two inches lower.
-engine lid fell off on expressway.
-been stung by a bee that flew in thru the safari. theyre a bitch.
-passenger door on kombi used to fly open every now and then. have almost lost a few friends.
-numerous gear box problems.
-had wipers stop working. seems to happen when its raining.
-elctrical shorts that stop the indicators and headlights working sporatically.
-had a stereo/amps that would flatten the battery in one trip to work, about 50klms. had put up with this for three days before we worked out why.
-dont know how many starter motors i have replaced. the buggy 's is playing up now.
-plus the usual leaks of oil, water into the cabins and unidentified sqeaks and smells.

but as said, this is the character and joy of driving classic vw's. jsutsome of us might be more crazy than others when you have a forty year old car as your daily trans Very Happy port.
_________________
simply cruizin'.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Classifieds Feedback
jeremyrockjock
Samba Towbar Builder


Joined: January 01, 2002
Posts: 5008
Location: Richmond, Verjinya
jeremyrockjock is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Jan 06, 2004 7:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

twoguns wrote:
-steerng wheel come off at 50klm/h. wasnt fitted properly by mechanic.


Shocked
_________________
Why buy what you can build.
Step away from the fiberglass and no one gets hurt!!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Gallery Classifieds Feedback
1973 1303S
Samba Member


Joined: July 14, 2003
Posts: 550
Location: Sheffield, England
1973 1303S is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Jan 06, 2004 10:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

twoguns wrote:
-steerng wheel come off at 50klm/h. wasnt fitted properly by mechanic.
that's happened on my bike so i think i'm doomed!

well i've not been on the road in my bug yet but i'm sure the list will get a lot longer!...

1 - was trying to figure out why engine wasn't firing up so leant through the window & turned the key forgetting it was in gear!
2 - misjudged how close i was to my dad's new white gate & ended up leaving two black circles & a rubber tread mark!
3 - went to wind the left side window up (it ain't half stiff!) & the handle snapped (the last time i buy a cheap handle!)
4 - locked the door with the keys in the ignition luckily i had a spare!
5 - almost reversed into my mum when i didn't check my mirrors before reversing Embarassed
6 - wresting my arm on the spinning alternator thing (ouch!)
7 - let a dippy electrition fit my cd player & speakers
_________________
don't forget to flash & wave! ( . )( . )


Last edited by 1973 1303S on Tue Jan 27, 2004 1:34 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website MSN Messenger Gallery Classifieds Feedback
NorCalWeekender
Samba Member


Joined: April 13, 2000
Posts: 6531
Location: East Bay, CA
NorCalWeekender is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Jan 06, 2004 11:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I feel so blessed that I haven't had an engine fire or something that kind of major. Doesn't mean I don't carry my extinguisher, though.

One time, however, in a Bug...I was driving home and got out on the freeway. Got distracted somehow and never shifted into 4th. I was almost home when the car suddenly felt sluggish...dropped from 65 to 60mph. I glanced down and freaked out when I saw I was still in 3rd!! Totally cooked the motor. It did at least get me to the freeway off ramp, and then it was dead and smoke everywhere! Crying or Very sad

-Taylor
_________________
9th Owner of a 1971 Tintop Westy

"Eventually, we sold to a guy for $500 who towed it away to live in it in his parents' driveway. We didn't think it would ever avoid the junk heap on that day." -The 3rd Owner, 1995
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Gallery Classifieds Feedback
Andrew
Samba Member


Joined: October 27, 2000
Posts: 5865
Location: Who in the what now?
Andrew is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Jan 06, 2004 12:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I had my wiper linkage just fall apart on the way to a buddies how to go to a show one day (it was pouring rain). Needless to say, I just rode with him.

There was a couple times when i was really tired that I tried to shift into 5th gear... Took off from a stop sign/light, and was shifting up through the gears, when I got to top in 4th (60/65 mph), I tried to shift into what would have been 5th (of course, it was third). Started to let off the clutch, but realized what I was doing after it started to slow down real quick.

Drove a bus I used to own for quite a while with a 4th that wouldn't stay in gear (had to hold it in).


Quote:
-engine lid fell off on expressway.
-been stung by a bee that flew in thru the safari. theyre a bitch.


Those two were pretty funny. Laughing
_________________
-Andrew
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Gallery Classifieds Feedback
jeremyrockjock
Samba Towbar Builder


Joined: January 01, 2002
Posts: 5008
Location: Richmond, Verjinya
jeremyrockjock is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Jan 06, 2004 1:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Speaking off parts falling off I had the sticker "honk if anything falls off" on my bus and no one ever honked when I lost hub caps. I used to go to San Fransisco way of 37 which goes through the sloughs outside of Vallejo and for fun I would ride on the grooves that wake sleepy drivers. Every trip I would be missing a hub cap. I finally made the connection one day when I did it and saw a hub cap go sailing off into the sloughs. I never did that again after that. There must be at least 5 of them there from me.

I can imagine seeing a deck lid tumbling down the freeway and cars skidding to avoid it. After a 20 car pile up the cops knock on your door and ask "is this yours?" as he holds up a battered deck lid with your plates still attached. Too fun.
_________________
Why buy what you can build.
Step away from the fiberglass and no one gets hurt!!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Gallery Classifieds Feedback
1973 1303S
Samba Member


Joined: July 14, 2003
Posts: 550
Location: Sheffield, England
1973 1303S is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Jan 06, 2004 1:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

[email protected] wrote:
Speaking off parts falling off I had the sticker "honk if anything falls off" on my bus and no one ever honked when I lost hub caps
i want that sticker!! i also want one that says 'choking hazard' for the engine lid Cool
_________________
don't forget to flash & wave! ( . )( . )
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website MSN Messenger Gallery Classifieds Feedback
vwjosh6070
Driveway Camper


Joined: August 24, 2003
Posts: 2802
Location: not camping...
vwjosh6070 is offline 

PostPosted: Sun Jan 18, 2004 12:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

the problems i have/are having with my vw are,

1) cylinder heads are fukked
2) generator is most likely garbage
3) split my right ring finger open while wiring my speedo
4) split my thumb in half ( today ) working with metal parts of engine
5) had a bolt break off in bumper mount, had to drill it out
6) it doesnt run........
...
...
.... come to think of it... what the hell did i get myself in to?!?!?!
_________________
josh, AKA "the infamous josh"

1973 Transporter "Floyd"

****Wheres my old bus?! 1967 Montgomery Ward Camper****

KI4MXO
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message MSN Messenger Gallery Classifieds Feedback
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Forum Index -> Stories All times are Mountain Standard Time/Pacific Daylight Savings Time
Page: 1, 2, 3, 4  Next
Page 1 of 4

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum

About | Help! | Advertise | Donate | Premium Membership | Privacy/Terms of Use | Contact Us | Site Map
Copyright © 1996-2023, Everett Barnes. All Rights Reserved.
Not affiliated with or sponsored by Volkswagen of America | Forum powered by phpBB
Links to eBay or other vendor sites may be affiliate links where the site receives compensation.