New (to me) 1965 1500 Variant S(!)

[sjbartnik]

Did some light maintenance today, I was due for a valve adjustment so I took care of that. Also checked dwell and found it at 52 degrees (points gap had closed up noticeably), so adjusted points and timing.

Got to try out a new toy; hazetguy came through for me on the VW 691 tool for syncing the dual carbs at above-idle engine speed.

At the same time he asked me if I wanted the VW 660 tool he had. For the price he was asking, I said sure.

Tool 660 is a tool for setting ignition timing; it clips onto the timing lug on the fan housing and puts a straight edge down through the timing hole right to the timing marks on the pulley. With that and a light it makes it so much easier to get the timing set properly.

You can do it without the tool (hell I have been this whole time) by eyeballing it but the tool makes it so much faster.

Here it is in action:

One of those things that makes life easier - you don't need it but it sure is a pleasure to do the job when you have it.
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1965 Volkswagen 1500 Variant S
2000 Kawasaki W650

[sjbartnik]

So I'm getting gear oil leaking from the front of the transmission and it seems to be coming from where the shift rod enters the transmission.

While it's keeping my shift coupler cover plate rust-free, it's probably not so good for the rubber in the shift coupler to have gear oil all over it. And sometimes I catch a whiff of that gear oil smell inside the car during highway driving - I guess the air flow under the car at speed is pushing the smell in through the frame tunnel.

I'd like to address this issue if possible. Is there an oil seal where the shift rod enters the transmission and is it replaceable with the transmission installed? (we're talking about the swing axle transmission here)

Looking at the parts book it's hard to tell but it appears there's a "sealing ring" part number 131 301 225A where the shift lever enters the trans.

Anybody have any advice about this? I know already from installing that old Bosch accessory reverse light switch on the shift rod that working in that area with the transmission installed would be really really tight.
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1965 Volkswagen 1500 Variant S
2000 Kawasaki W650

[glutenfree]

[sjbartnik]

[Erik G]

funny, I tried to buy that tool when it was posted and was given another story. oh well, glad it went to good use
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[Erik G]

as for the seal in the nose cone, I'm sure that is a pull the nose cone job
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[Bobnotch]

[sjbartnik]

So I guess I might as well just pull the trans out then.

I have also recently noticed some gear oil seeping out of the right side axle boot. That plus I need to do the rear axle seals on the left rear wheel, guess I might as well pull everything and make a project of it. Could be a good winter project. While I'm in there...gotta replace that rattly shift rod bushing, might as well do the side cover gaskets....

Mission creep...
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1965 Volkswagen 1500 Variant S
2000 Kawasaki W650

[Bobnotch]

[Erik G]

[sjbartnik]

Took the Squareback down to Virginia Beach from Brooklyn to visit the parents for Thanksgiving. This trip is about 400 miles each way. Before heading out I gave the car a once-over. Valve adjustment was due so I took care of that before the trip. Found that the (good) Bosch points I had put in about 1000 miles ago had closed up the gap a bit and dwell was a bit high. Re-adjusted points and set timing.

I noticed that the points are beginning to form a tit already after about 1000 miles. Is that a bit early? Makes me wonder about my condensor.

The Square ran great throughout the whole trip down and back. Only weird thing was when I got to the bottom of the NJ Turnpike my fuel gauge was still pegged full. Clearly that wasn't right, so I suspected the float in the sender had gotten stuck at the top of its travel. When I pulled over for breakfast I thumped the top of the tank and sure enough, that fixed it.

I tracked gas mileage at each fill-up and the results were kind of interesting. The car was lightly loaded, just me and my luggage for 3 days plus my tool roll, fire extinguisher, etc. I don't carry 300 lbs. worth of tools in the trunk like some do.

The first leg was NJ Turnpike from Brooklyn down into Delaware on DE Route 1. Both of these roads are nice 65-mph roads so I held it to 70 all the way.

(I did find, thanks to those handy radar signs on the side of the road, that my speedometer is dead-nuts accurate at highway speeds).

On that segment I only got 24.63 mpg.

Next segment was U.S. 113 to U.S. 13 all the way to Virginia Beach. This is a 55-mph highway. Managed 32.94 mpg on that segment!

I thought that was because of the difference in speed but then on my way back today the results were reversed!

I had a wicked headwind all the way up the southern leg of the trip so that no doubt hurt my mileage. Got 27.66 mpg on the southern portion. But on the faster northern leg I got 32.00 mpg! (the wind died down more the farther north I got.)

So I don't really know what to make of that. Variables include whatever differences there are in the gas formulation between New York, Delaware, and Virginia.

Didn't burn any significant amount of oil on the way down; haven't checked it yet since I got home.

The Square ran great; purrs right along at 70 all day. Would probably be just as happy to do 75 but she starts to get a little squirrelly at those speeds. May have to get my alignment checked out just to rule that out.

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1965 Volkswagen 1500 Variant S
2000 Kawasaki W650

[neena]

[sjbartnik]

OK so after another trip from NYC to Virginia Beach and back for the holidays, the rattling shifter has annoyed me enough to take action.

The job seems to be pretty straightforward but having never done one before I figured I'd check in.

I'll replace the bushing and snap ring at the shifter but I will probably also do the shift coupler at the same time. Last time I was under there when I bought the car the rubber wasn't looking so hot so I can imagine it's not much better almost two years later.

I remember reading that the Type 3 shift coupler is different than the Type 1 even though all the ones sold now purport to be for both cars. So is the recommended course of action to buy the Bugpack urethane shift coupler and just pop out the urethane bushings to use on the existing Type 3 cage?
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1965 Volkswagen 1500 Variant S
2000 Kawasaki W650

[KTPhil]

For the bushing, check my recent thread, and follow the advice to test fit the new bushing/clip before installing, and probably loosen up the clip.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=662961

For the coupler, check your old one before tossing it. I still have my original after 45 years. Also, the urethane does not cushion as much, which is the reason for the thing in the first place. Hard rubber or urethane will make more rattling than soft rubber.

[sjbartnik]

[sjbartnik]

Hey guys,
I think I found the source of my shifter rattle:

This is how it was when I pulled it out of the car. Most of the bushing seems to have evaporated, or turned into solidified goo on the rod. There were a couple chunks in the tunnel but mainly just what you see here.

I strongly suspect that was the original bushing.

I got the shift rod cleaned up, scraped off most of the hardened bushing/grease gunk, and hit that area with some 1000 grit to make it smooth again.

Luckily the mounting hole for the bushing appeared not to be egged out so I'm glad I fixed it when I did.

I had a better look at the shift coupler while doing this job, again I suspect this is the original shift coupler. Why? Because it has the pin & clip type of through-bolt which Bentley says was replaced with the expanding sleeve type beginning with November 1965 production. My car is September 1964 production and this is my coupler:

As you can see the rubber doesn't look so hot anymore. I've ordered a replacement coupler. The original cage seems to be in great condition so I will likely just put the new rubber inserts into the existing cage.

I haven't gone for a spin yet due to the salt on the roads but given that there was essentially no bushing in place, I'm pretty confident that this will do the trick.
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1965 Volkswagen 1500 Variant S
2000 Kawasaki W650

[EverettB]

Yes, those look shot.

Yes, use the original cage if possible, I've seen some reproduction cages that were made wrong.
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[notchboy]

Dude you need to clean your rod for sure.

Sand it down and lube it up.




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[sjbartnik]

[sjbartnik]

Last week I put in a new shift rod bushing and found that the rubber inserts in my shift coupler were pretty well shot.

I was able to locate a good used German shift coupler from Bugcity. It came in this week and I installed it today. The rubber inserts were in really nice shape and fit very snugly in the cage. It is also the later style with the expanding sleeve that goes through the inserts rather than what I had before which is the early style with pin & clip.

Got that installed and wow! Shifting is of course even more smooth and positive now. Amazing how much difference a little play here and a little play there adds up to.
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1965 Volkswagen 1500 Variant S
2000 Kawasaki W650