TheSamba.com :: View topic - Driving our Kombi through mexico, central america and beyond

Mon Dec 29, 2014 12:19 pm

Stuartzickefoose wrote: Quick check if you have a stuffy nose is a lighter to the dipstick BRIEFLY. if gas is in it, it will flash into flame, if not, the oil takes much longer to ignite.

Safety and smarts suggest taking the dipstick a few feet away from the bus first...

a similar technique can be used to check if there is oil in the gas tank :)

Thu Feb 05, 2015 2:52 pm

Hi guys.

After 3 years of nobody being able to tell us why we keep having this issue of going back to only 2 cylinders time and time again... ive had 2 guys in the last 2 days independently come up what the idea that something inside our distributor might be loose.

Actually sounds logical/feasible to me, but i thought id check in.

Figure for the money to buy a new distributor... it cant hurt to give it a shot.
Would be pretty funny if after all this time it was something that stupid simple/cheap! :shock:

Thu Feb 05, 2015 3:16 pm

Worth a try I suppose. If nothing else it will provide you with a spare distributor for future travels.

Thu Feb 12, 2015 10:05 pm

cdennisg wrote: Worth a try I suppose. If nothing else it will provide you with a spare distributor for future travels.

so i finally got around to pulling the distributor... we've been running horribly the last two days since entering the states. ironically, i think we might have gotten a bad tank of gas here after having good fuel throughout mexico and central america :shock:

anyway...the shaft on the bottom of the distributor wiggles a good deal...at least an 1/8" or more. I'm guessing that's not great, regardless of whether it might cause our timing/firing issue.

Can i pick up a spare 009 distributor at any napa/auto parts store or do i need to find a place with classic vw parts here in the san diego/oceanside area?

also...assuming i find one, can i just set timing using the static light approach the first time it's installed?

thanks for any thoughts!

Thu Feb 12, 2015 10:41 pm

I'm not an expert so keep that in mind. You don't want play in the distributor, they make washers specifically to take up the slack.

http://www.busdepot.com/111105235a

I would think you could get a distributor from most of the parts stores. Best to call ahead as they can get it quickly if not in stock. It would be good to have a spare distributor.

Remember, a lot of the parts stores will rent tools for free. You pay deposit and get it back when you return tool. They may even just let you use it in the parking lot without the deposit.

There are some videos on YouTube about how to install it. It needs to be oriented a certain way.

Fri Feb 13, 2015 9:41 am

dangerbus wrote: ...the shaft on the bottom of the distributor wiggles a good deal...at least an 1/8" or more.

Is the actual little shaft moving that far or the cog driving dog moving that far? The driving dog is supposed to have about 1/8" lateral movement for self centering.

Fri Feb 13, 2015 4:05 pm

BarryL wrote: dangerbus wrote: ...the shaft on the bottom of the distributor wiggles a good deal...at least an 1/8" or more.

Is the actual little shaft moving that far or the cog driving dog moving that far? The driving dog is supposed to have about 1/8" lateral movement for self centering.

The shaft itself wiggles.
I picked up a new one and installed it this morning. It also had a little wiggle right out of the box, so maybe ours isnt as bad as i thought. Regardless...even after we're still running really weird and it seems like we indeed got some bad fuel. Only mexican gas for us from now on. =) As it is now, I have to turn the carbs up about 3-4 turns just to keep the engine running at a decent idle. Even then without me touching it, the idle goes from super high revs to almost choking to a halt from low idle (and back again). Odd even for us...especially since we've been running smoothly and strongly almost all the way home the last 3 months.

Turns out that's the least of our concerns...
Our rear wheel seized up a few times over the last few days, so we took it in to get the brakes worked on yesterday.
All seemed fine, but we only got 20min up the freeway today before it locked up again. If i bleed the line behind the wheel it frees up, but once the brakes are hit 4or5 times it seizes solid again. Swollen/Blocked brake line? :?

Deep sighs... we decide to turn around and have the guy we already paid once fix the problem for real. We start south again down the freeway attempting to drive through SoCal traffic without brakes. FUN!

Made it a few exits before 1000 brake lights, and as i try downshifting the clutch drops to the floor loose. Of course.
I decided it was worth hitting the brakes! :shock:

Anyway...we are goona try replacing the clutch cable (even though it seems to still be connected at both ends), and see about getting a new brake line in hopes that will keep her spinning freely.

Maybe the bus just doesn't want to return to the rain back home... yikes.

Fri Feb 13, 2015 5:50 pm

If it is not the cable then an arm of the clutch fork/lever may have broken off. Requires engine pull to repair. Add some welding to the new clutch fork before install if you can.
Single center mount carb works just fine, no need for dual carbs in a split bus, especially not in remote areas. Keep it simple. Now take your dual carbs apart and clean them again...
Probably the flexible brake line at the rear wheel is swollen up inside. You can disable rear brake with vise grips to get you home.
If you can make it to Stockton/Sacramento area there is lots of VW help here.

Mon Feb 23, 2015 10:36 am

ARGH! Say it ain't so! =\

I don't know what to say...seems like our bus hates it in the states.

We had the clutch replaced in San Diego, got our brakes in working order (turned out to just be a swollen brake line, but a good excuse to replace the pads etc...

Yesterday the bus started spitting oil. Seems like from the breather tube.

End of yesterday and this morning we lost power in 4th gear. 1,2,3 we're fine fine 4th just seemed like it had no power. We've been driving into a strong head wind, so I wondered I it's just stronger than I thought as it seems like we're driving uphill.

Now we're sitting in willows, CA off I-5 and the engine sounds BAD. I think this is what the book might describe as one of those "expensive noises" but I'm hoping not. Engines running fine but sounds like it did when we had a bad muffler (except from the engine)... And there oil everywhere. Our oil light still isn't on and the dipstick still shows just above the bottom line but the ceiling above the engine is dripping, the front and side walls covered etc.

Were oil red, it would look like a bad horror flick just finished filming.

So. Anybody live in willows or Chico or know a good shop?
Latenight aircooled??
I think we're going to try and get a tow to Chico as I don't want to risk anything and it seems the closest/best option.

Seriously!? Only like 500 miles to home.
You got to be kidding.

Mon Feb 23, 2015 10:39 am

I don't know about the power loss, but was the engine oil just changed? Was it possibly overfilled? If too much oil is in there it will find a way out, and that way is out from behind the crankshaft pulley, flinging oil everywhere and producing exactly what you are describing.

Mon Feb 23, 2015 10:48 am

Can you do a compression check? Bad rings could pressurize the case and cause oil to escape from every vent point.

Mon Feb 23, 2015 11:06 am

coolerthanelvis wrote: Can you do a compression check? Bad rings could pressurize the case and cause oil to escape from every vent point.

It was low this am (presumably from the spitting) so I topped it off with 1/2 bottle... So there's a chance I overfilled.
That wouldn't cause the noises now though, right?

I have no way here to check compression...but I'm not planning on goin anywhere with it the way it sounds...so I can have a shop
do so.
Frankly, I'd tow it all the way to PDX right now just so we could call the journey complete and I could schedule a nice long "spa day" at the local shop. That ironically was the plan (the bus spa day, not the tow) for later this week :/

Mon Feb 23, 2015 1:02 pm

Bust.

Sounds like we blew a rod and we're gonna need a rebuild.
I guess now we decide whether to go large (1776) again or go back to stock 1600 with single carb and sell the old one for parts.

Almost afraid to ask...but...
Thoughts??

Mon Feb 23, 2015 1:26 pm

Bummer!

Whatever you decide, I think this time it is important to build it yourself. You need to learn the ins and outs of these machines, especially when you're literally out in the middle of nowhere! Be your own mechanic.

As for size, what's your budget?

Mon Feb 23, 2015 1:53 pm

sure sounds like the van is mad at you for leaving it down thereso long.agreed with learning to rebuilt it your self.who ever does it ask if you can be there to learn.

Mon Feb 23, 2015 2:33 pm

rcook52459 wrote: sure sounds like the van is mad at you for leaving it down thereso long.agreed with learning to rebuilt it your self.who ever does it ask if you can be there to learn.

Yeah. I kinda had the feeling the engine was on its last leg. Was just hoping to make it home so we could take our time and figure out what we wanted to do next. If we were in PDX id probably try to find some over the shoudler help and rebuild myself...but since were on the road i think i might be the one looking over the shoulder instead.

As always...we seem to have broken down in at least a decent spot as chico has one of (apparently) the most respected aircooled mechanics around. Its no beach in mexico, but it could have been worse. :wink:

I think im gonna go with stock (single carb 1600) as i was thinking of going that route soon anyway. It also should save us major coin on the credit card and we can possibly sell the webers after the fact.

Mon Feb 23, 2015 3:26 pm

dangerbus wrote: rcook52459 wrote: sure sounds like the van is mad at you for leaving it down thereso long.agreed with learning to rebuilt it your self.who ever does it ask if you can be there to learn.

Yeah. I kinda had the feeling the engine was on its last leg. Was just hoping to make it home so we could take our time and figure out what we wanted to do next. If we were in PDX id probably try to find some over the shoudler help and rebuild myself...but since were on the road i think i might be the one looking over the shoulder instead.

As always...we seem to have broken down in at least a decent spot as chico has one of (apparently) the most respected aircooled mechanics around. Its no beach in mexico, but it could have been worse. :wink:

I think im gonna go with stock (single carb 1600) as i was thinking of going that route soon anyway. It also should save us major coin on the credit card and we can possibly sell the webers after the fact.

Good plan, smart and simple and you can get parts anywhere. Sell the webers and enjoy simplicity for a while.

Wed Feb 25, 2015 5:53 am

decided to go with a stock 1600 single carb...as it seems like should have always been. pretty easy decision for us actually.

we ended up at latenight aircooled and feel lucky we did. they happened to be the closest shop to us... but bryan and the guys here are simply amazing.

they had a rebuilt long block sitting in the doorway as though they knew we were coming. basically dropped everything for us, dismantled our engine, reused almost everything and were literally breathing life into the "new" engine in less than a day. unreal.
they weren't kidding about that "latenight" thing!

we spent today driving around chico putting miles on it and working out the kinks. things are looking and sounding better than ever! :D