Hello! Log in or Register   |  Help  |  Donate  |  Buy Shirts See all banner ads | Advertise on TheSamba.com  
TheSamba.com
 
1997 Mexican Water Cooled Bus
Page: Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5  Next
Forum Index -> Bay Window Bus 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
pawleyk
Samba Member


Joined: January 29, 2017
Posts: 32
Location: PanAm Highway
pawleyk is offline 

PostPosted: Sun Feb 05, 2017 7:04 pm    Post subject: Re: 1997 Mexican Water Cooled Bus Reply with quote

pittwagen wrote:
Just to confuse you a bit it appears that the ACB could have had the throttle body FI, the fuel rail type or the 2E carb. From what you say it looks like the manifold has the water inlet port in question above the intake ports in the 3/4 cylinder area. That port provides coolant to a heater that sits under the throttle plate area. If it runs ok now without it fine. If they get in a colder climate maybe not. Just make sure the new head matches the intake manifold and the block and that there are appropriate gaskets.

The port may be leaking because there is a separate gasket and an o ring that seals the manifold to the head.

Are your friends sure they want to drive that bus all they way to Alaska. I would rather be driving my 76 Dodge B200 with its untouched motor, trans, rear end etc.

Keep us posted.


We have the gasket and even the new o-ring. Still major leakage, but we're assuming that's because we can't get the bolts tight enough, since they keep stripping. The book calls for 18 ft/lbs and they won't even take that.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
pawleyk
Samba Member


Joined: January 29, 2017
Posts: 32
Location: PanAm Highway
pawleyk is offline 

PostPosted: Sun Feb 05, 2017 7:06 pm    Post subject: Re: 1997 Mexican Water Cooled Bus Reply with quote

[/quote]
Is that a Fiat Ducato van with German plates? I think I saw that rig in Florence, OR back in August...[/quote]


Yes. Yes it is.

It's owned by a very nice Swiss couple. They're taking a year to drive around North America with their 14 year old boy. They camped out on the street with us for two days.

What a small world we live in. They moved pretty fast through Oregon...
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
tristessa
Samba Member


Joined: April 07, 2004
Posts: 3992
Location: Portland, OR
tristessa is offline 

PostPosted: Sun Feb 05, 2017 8:49 pm    Post subject: Re: 1997 Mexican Water Cooled Bus Reply with quote

pawleyk wrote:
It's owned by a very nice Swiss couple. They're taking a year to drive around North America with their 14 year old boy. They camped out on the street with us for two days.
What a small world we live in. They moved pretty fast through Oregon...

Small world indeed. We were out for a camping weekend in our '75 Bus, saw their rig parked on a side-street near downtown Florence. It jumped out at me partly because it's a Fiat van (first one I'd seen since Midsummer 2014 in Helsinki), and partly because it wasn't one of the 50+ Broncos running around town that weekend. Laughing Also saw a big MAN expedition camper heading inland from Waldport on our way.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
pawleyk
Samba Member


Joined: January 29, 2017
Posts: 32
Location: PanAm Highway
pawleyk is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 12:54 pm    Post subject: Re: 1997 Mexican Water Cooled Bus Reply with quote

So we finally got the "new" head, complete with a brazed in repair where it looks like they broke a lot more than just the stud.

The repair actually looks pretty good and this head is still in a lot better shape than the old one, so we cleaned up the sharp edges and installed it anyway.

After a brief episode where we got the timing 180 off, the van lives!

Sort of.

When we fired it up after replacing the head gasket the first time we noticed the oil pressure light blinking. Because the thing started spewing coolant we shut it down right away and just sorta hoped in the back of our minds that the light was due to the ridiculously terrible wiring.

Well, the new head's installed and we don't seem to be spewing any fluids. The hydraulic lifters are making the expected racket but instead of quieting down after a couple minutes they seem to be just as loud. We're thinking the ominous blinking light is probably functioning the way it should after all.

Peter says the light was definitely not blinking on our last drive up the mountain, but it appears that we have insufficient oil pressure since blowing the head gasket or since starting the work.

We had the pan off and cleaned it out really well. The pump looked good to me, but I suppose our next step is to drain the fresh oil and pull the pan again to get a closer look at it.

Any suggestions on how to double check that our oil pressure is low or on what could cause it? It must be related to the blown head gasket or the work that followed because it would seem like too much a coincidence otherwise.

Sorry to keep coming up with even more questions. I was really hoping to share a triumphant post about making a drive to check/adjust the timing (and get more beer!).
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
pittwagen
Samba Member


Joined: November 08, 2005
Posts: 763
Location: North of the 49th parallel
pittwagen is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 1:51 pm    Post subject: Re: 1997 Mexican Water Cooled Bus Reply with quote

Whoa. Before you pull the pan you need to check the oil pressure. Go into the Autozone and buy a cheap mechanical pressure gauge. Remove the pressure switch that should be on the front of the head - opposite end to the cam belt and screw in the fitting. Should be M10. Min 6-8 psi at idle and 28 or so at 2000 rpm with fairly light oil. What weight oil are you using?

Are you absolutely sure you have the right head gasket? I would be removing the valve cover to see if there was any oil getting up there first before I removed the pan. There may also be a M10 plug at the top of the oil filter housing. Pull that and see if oil is flowing there.

Oh and are you absolutely sure you have the cam belt properly oriented?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
j.l.godoy
Samba Member


Joined: November 18, 2010
Posts: 12
Location: Souther California
j.l.godoy is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 2:07 pm    Post subject: Re: 1997 Mexican Water Cooled Bus Reply with quote

best guess.. torque head to 90lb... adj valves to .004 timie it to 4 BTC and watch it when filling wradiator,,, is treacky and make sure is full.., happy camping
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
pawleyk
Samba Member


Joined: January 29, 2017
Posts: 32
Location: PanAm Highway
pawleyk is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 2:21 pm    Post subject: Re: 1997 Mexican Water Cooled Bus Reply with quote

We're as sure as we can be that the gasket is correct. I've seen three of them now and they all looked the same. The holes all line up and the word "top" faces up. We can even see it installed. It would be pretty difficult to install it incorrectly, not that it would be impossible. But almost.

We pulled the valve cover immediately and the cam is basically dry. There is not nearly enough oil getting up there. At least that's the way it looks to me. You can run a finger over the cam lobes and it only comes back a little dirty, not wet with oil the way it should.

This head actually doesn't have the pressure sensor installed in the port on the rear, it's just plugged for this application (I guess). We had to pull the plug from our old head and put it into the port on the new one.

I'm 98% sure the valve timing is correct. The marks on the new pulley are even more ambiguous than the old ones so we did the same thing we did before- Turn the cam until both #1 lobes are facing up and align that with the TDC marks on the flywheel and drive pulley.

We always run it by hand, then with the starter to make sure nothing binds up and that all our marks align before trying to start the engine. We lined up the lobes and TDC, did our test runs and tried to start it. No joy, so I turned the cam pulley 180 deg, did our tests, then fired it right up. There is a little pink line on the pulley that now lines up perfectly with the mark on the timing cover when the flywheel and drive pulley are at TDC.

If we are off, it couldn't be more than a tooth, but looking at the marks I'd be surprised if that were the case. The engine starts and runs pretty well, it just doesn't appear to be getting any oil.

Even if we had the valve timing a bit off, it wouldn't cause low oil pressure would it? We haven't been able to do any sort of road test yet to check timing further than just start and run.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
pawleyk
Samba Member


Joined: January 29, 2017
Posts: 32
Location: PanAm Highway
pawleyk is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 2:28 pm    Post subject: Re: 1997 Mexican Water Cooled Bus Reply with quote

Oh, and we're running Mobil 5w30 oil and a fram filter.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
timvw7476
Samba Member


Joined: June 03, 2013
Posts: 2181
Location: seattle
timvw7476 is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 4:26 pm    Post subject: Re: 1997 Mexican Water Cooled Bus Reply with quote

1.8 is a little famous for failing to prime after oil pump remove/install....
I've seen them fail to prime over a hasty oil drain/change with too hot oil.
Spooky but true. If you've got Vaseline, well, pack a little in the gears.
Sorry I did not mention this quirk in an earlier post. : l
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
pittwagen
Samba Member


Joined: November 08, 2005
Posts: 763
Location: North of the 49th parallel
pittwagen is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 4:38 pm    Post subject: Re: 1997 Mexican Water Cooled Bus Reply with quote

Good point on the vaseline. Other question - did you have the intermediate shaft pulley off for any reason? And the pump shaft is engaging with the intermediate shaft? Worth checking when you are packing the gears with lube. Just turn the engine by hand plugs out.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
pittwagen
Samba Member


Joined: November 08, 2005
Posts: 763
Location: North of the 49th parallel
pittwagen is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 5:02 pm    Post subject: Re: 1997 Mexican Water Cooled Bus Reply with quote

Oh and while you are in there check the specs on the pump. Backlash on the gears - .008 max and axial play with straight edge over the gears - .006 max. Pickup tube not blocked and o ring between pickup tube and pump body good?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
pawleyk
Samba Member


Joined: January 29, 2017
Posts: 32
Location: PanAm Highway
pawleyk is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 5:46 pm    Post subject: Re: 1997 Mexican Water Cooled Bus Reply with quote

timvw7476 wrote:
1.8 is a little famous for failing to prime after oil pump remove/install....
I've seen them fail to prime over a hasty oil drain/change with too hot oil.
Spooky but true. If you've got Vaseline, well, pack a little in the gears.
Sorry I did not mention this quirk in an earlier post. : l


It was this. We pulled the pan, cleaned up the pump and looked at all the internals. Everything looked good, so we coated the inside with oil and put it back in. We pulled the dist. so we could turn it manually with a drill and sucked oil directly from a bottle.

Oil! Lots of it and a whole bunch of nasty stuff from the gasket blowing so we know it hadn't pumped any oil since the first oil change the first time. It's pumping lots of oil now and the light has gone off.

Now all we've got to do is time the engine (it dies with a little throttle) but that seems a whole lot less dire than no oil pressure, catastrophic coolant leaks, and blown head gaskets..
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
pawleyk
Samba Member


Joined: January 29, 2017
Posts: 32
Location: PanAm Highway
pawleyk is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 6:45 pm    Post subject: Re: 1997 Mexican Water Cooled Bus Reply with quote

Ok,

We were off a tooth. Got it timed pretty ok, but we haven't been able to road test it.

Now that it has lots of healthy oil pressure, the new awesome head we bought can't seem to hold that oil in.

The camshaft seal is leaking pretty profusely. Like, a lot.

Awesome.

This is the project from hell.

I swear I'm not making this stuff up.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
vwwestyman
Samba Member


Joined: April 24, 2004
Posts: 5680
Location: Manhattan, Kansas, USA
vwwestyman is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 7:00 pm    Post subject: Re: 1997 Mexican Water Cooled Bus Reply with quote

Yikes, that must be frustrating!

At least, I guess, it isn't all that difficult to change that seal. If you mark one tooth on each sprocket and the belt with something like fingernail polish, you won't have to worry too much about resetting the timing.

If you're careful and a little lucky and don't let the belt loose of the lowest sprocket you don't even have to undo all that.

Pop the valve cover off (you're super sure that isn't the leaking gasket??), remove the sprocket, and carefully loosen the camshaft caps so that it comes free-you don't have to go far! Then slide the old seal off and pop the new one on.

As they say, installation from there is reverse of removal.
_________________
Dave Cook

President, Wild Westerner Club

1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Gallery Classifieds Feedback
timvw7476
Samba Member


Joined: June 03, 2013
Posts: 2181
Location: seattle
timvw7476 is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 7:12 pm    Post subject: Re: 1997 Mexican Water Cooled Bus Reply with quote

Look at it this way:
You are one camshaft seal swap away from mobility & you're a 1.8 mechanic
as well.
Happy Travels Down There Mexico Way....
I just made a snowman in the driveway. : (
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
pittwagen
Samba Member


Joined: November 08, 2005
Posts: 763
Location: North of the 49th parallel
pittwagen is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 7:33 pm    Post subject: Re: 1997 Mexican Water Cooled Bus Reply with quote

I'm maybe 130 miles north of Seattle as the crow flies. And a half hour drive north of busdaddy.

No time for snowmen. Took 3 hrs to clean the f--@ing driveway off. Another big dump tomorrow night. Massive tree limbs broken off in the front yard. Bus is covered in ice. Up the valley from here snow is up to a persons waiste and they are using snowplows to get ambulances through. And the previous 1000 days we had no measureable snow.

It is supposed to rain here. I didn't sign up for this. Having withdrawl. Can't or choose not to drive the bus. This time last year I was installing the BN4 outside in the driveway.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
pawleyk
Samba Member


Joined: January 29, 2017
Posts: 32
Location: PanAm Highway
pawleyk is offline 

PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 5:38 pm    Post subject: Re: 1997 Mexican Water Cooled Bus Reply with quote

We actually flew home to Oregon for the holidays and were pretty stoked to spend some time in the snow. It was a bit of a shock to go from snorkeling to driving in freezing rain, but we'd been in Mexico for a few months so it was nice to be home.

I can't believe how much snow you guys are getting, I actually love the snow so it's no surprise the weather waited until we were on our big trip.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
pawleyk
Samba Member


Joined: January 29, 2017
Posts: 32
Location: PanAm Highway
pawleyk is offline 

PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 6:02 pm    Post subject: Re: 1997 Mexican Water Cooled Bus Reply with quote

Ok,

So here's the latest-

The seal was definitely leaking so we replaced it. Like you guys said, it was a really easy job, especially for someone who has pulled the damn valve cover off a dozen times in the last few days.

So we replaced the camshaft oil seal and also replaced the super clapped out original distributor that was in the van.

We somehow got the dist. 180 deg off (seems like a theme) but got it figured out and tuned up.

Now the van actually runs!!!

No (catastrophic) oil leaks and it runs much smoother than it did before with the newer valves and brand new distributor. We still haven't road tested it because the gasket we got for the valve cover appears to be wrong. It's also leaking from near the camshaft seal (I know this sounds suspicious, but trust me, the seal was leaking. It was practically hemorrhaging oil. We could even see it running out from between the shaft and seal. Now we're just trickling oil from the corners of the valve cover)

Thanks again for all the help and awesome suggestions on this thread. It would have been way tougher without you guys. We had tons of factors working against us; lack of experience, working and living from our cars, and generally trying to get parts and assistance in Mexico. Not to mention communicating mechanical terms among three different languages.

You guys helped push things a little more in our favor.

Here's the video we made after we got it running..

https://www.facebook.com/kp.pawley/videos/10211637396307740/

Thanks again for everything!

-KP
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
vwwestyman
Samba Member


Joined: April 24, 2004
Posts: 5680
Location: Manhattan, Kansas, USA
vwwestyman is offline 

PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 9:06 pm    Post subject: Re: 1997 Mexican Water Cooled Bus Reply with quote

It is generally regarded as a good idea to put a little RTV sealant on the "corners" where the valve cover gasket goes up and over the little hump over the camshaft seal cap. Also, I believe there is a D shaped chunk of rubber on the opposite end of the camshaft. Put a little RTV in those "corners" too.

It probably wouldn't hurt anything to just put a smear along the whole gasket, but even if you prefer not to do that, still get the corners.
_________________
Dave Cook

President, Wild Westerner Club

1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Gallery Classifieds Feedback
tristessa
Samba Member


Joined: April 07, 2004
Posts: 3992
Location: Portland, OR
tristessa is offline 

PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 9:14 pm    Post subject: Re: 1997 Mexican Water Cooled Bus Reply with quote

Applause Huzzah!

On the off chance they might head north at some point, let them know that the VW Bus people in the Portland area would be more than happy to show some hospitality, meet the travelers and check out their vehicle. Some of us even know stuff about the straight-4 watercooled lumps... Laughing
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Forum Index -> Bay Window Bus All times are Mountain Standard Time/Pacific Daylight Savings Time
Page: Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5  Next
Page 3 of 5

 
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.