TheSamba.com :: View topic - A Black & Blue Su-BUS-aroo Build Thread...

Wed Apr 20, 2016 1:37 pm

I was told to expect the fans to come on at about 206F.

Sun May 01, 2016 10:39 am

Success!!
I made it the 1500 miles to Denver in one piece, with minimal issues... :D
Check out my instagram feed (link in my sig) for the full story.
...I stop at some amazing waterfalls
...I narrowly miss getting clobbered by a tornado
...there's a breakdown with LOTS of blue smoke
...there's a magician who fixes said smoke
...a blizzard
...and a road that ultimately defeats me
all in all a great trip. I found an apartment yesterday and should be able to move in tomorrow afternoon. Until then I'm dirtbagging it in the bus, in the snow and the slush and the rain.

Sun May 01, 2016 10:52 am

glad you got it fixed. I guess my p/m didn't go through :?

I was going to suggest your pcv routing was bad, and possible froze

Sun May 01, 2016 11:47 am

skills@eurocarsplus wrote: glad you got it fixed. I guess my p/m didn't go through :?

I was going to suggest your pcv routing was bad, and possible froze

Nope. PM didn't go thru. That's ok tho.
so... for those not in the know, I was on the freeway in Ohio doing 65 when I got a giant puff of blue smoke out the tailpipe. I immediately pulled to the shoulder, fire extinguisher in hand!! and looked things over. Dipstick had oil all the way to the top, which is odd since I'd changed the oil 300miles previously and hadn't had a problem.

How does the oil level rise that far that fast?

The blue smoke was gone 1/4 mile down the highway. Took the next turn off and gave everything a once over. Oil level was fine. No oil in the PCV line.

I kept driving.

Made it another 1000 miles without issue, then... in Kansas... I woke, took some pix in the state park and drove off. Oil light started flickering. I immediately pulled over. Oil level said it was 1.5 quarts low. Filled her up and just about fumigated the entire county! Blue smoke everywhere, and this time it wouldn't stop.

A soldier towed me to Walmart, where I changed the oil and poured a gallon of paint thinner in the removed exhaust to clean it out (half burned black oil was literally dripping out of the tailpipe) I then flushed it with 2 gallons of water so I didn't have a fireball on my hands. Wound up limping the bus to a foreign car repair guy who said the breather lines were run stupidly. As soon as he disconnected everything from manifold vacuum the smoking nearly stopped (there was still a ton of oil in the muffler being burned off)

So.

Previously the PCV valve coming out of the block was connected to manifold vac. In between this line there was a T which was connected to both valve cover breather vents. Basically, all 4 of these things were connected.

The solution was to separate these systems. Now I have the PCV connected to manifold vac. and on a completely separate line I have both valve cover vents going to the fresh air intake. 500 miles later, and I have no issue.

Apparently the increased vacuum coming from the manifold was enough to suck oil out of the valve covers and burn it. Only occasionally! But at tremendous rates when it did. I was SERIOUSLY concerned. And my engine builder-- to his credit-- was willing to pay to ship the bus back to buffalo and install a newly rebuilt engine in the bus all at his cost because he was worried about catastrophic problems based on the poor diagnostic information I was giving him (one of the plugs was fouled causing her to run on 3 cyl when it was nonstop smoking, and I had TREMENDOUS amounts of vacuum thru the oil filler neck).

Either way, he's been super helpful and I can't tell you what a relief it is to have a guy LITERALLY stand behind his work.

Sun May 01, 2016 5:35 pm

Hey Brother, Glad to hear you made it without much problems, Shame we never got together to compare Buses and have a beer.

Buffalo's loss is Colorado's gain :D

Sun May 01, 2016 7:10 pm

Welcome to Colorado!!!

Sun May 01, 2016 8:04 pm

richparker wrote: Welcome to Colorado!!!

Mon May 02, 2016 6:57 am

Oh thanks guys!
Sorry I ran out of time Helmut. I'll be back to visit. I still have family there

Mon May 02, 2016 6:35 pm

Nepenthe88 wrote: Oh thanks guys!
Sorry I ran out of time Helmut. I'll be back to visit. I still have family there
No Problem, I was following your thread and by the time I got my engine in I saw you stopped posting, so I knew you were cutting things close and had a lot to do.

Wed Jun 22, 2016 8:45 am

Everything going OK in your post-trip Colorado location?

Wed Jun 22, 2016 9:47 am

tristessa wrote: Everything going OK in your post-trip Colorado location?

All good. I've got 7750 miles on her now with no new problems, though I do have to readjust the rear brakes. So I've made trips to garden of the gods, rocky Mountain National Park a few times, red rocks, and a few trips thru Denver. Pics are up on my Instagram. Most are landscapes. There's a couple of the bus tho

Wed Jun 22, 2016 11:09 am

Great news, all. Now you need to change your samba location.

Wed Jun 22, 2016 11:34 am

pantone149 wrote: Great news, all. Now you need to change your samba location.

Done and done :wink:

Wed Jun 22, 2016 9:42 pm

Sounds like you're having no problem adapting to the Colorado lifestyle. Im hoping to meet up with you in the near future on one of my Denver trips. Glad your bus is doing well.

Wed Jun 22, 2016 10:12 pm

Nepenthe88 wrote: All good. I've got 7750 miles on her now with no new problems, though I do have to readjust the rear brakes.
Cool beans. You'd been kinda quiet on this thread for a while, started to wonder a bit...

Thu Jun 23, 2016 6:06 am

richparker wrote: Sounds like you're having no problem adapting to the Colorado lifestyle. Im hoping to meet up with you in the near future on one of my Denver trips. Glad your bus is doing well.

If they hadn't changed my schedule at the last minute, I would have road tripped to Gunnison and Mesa Verde today. When I do I'll look you up, unless you come this way first.

Thu Jan 12, 2017 5:54 pm

Hey guys. Long time... The bus is doing great out here in Colorado, and I figured it was time for an update.

I hit 11,000 miles on the conversion just the other day, with nothing major to report. I lost the drivers rear brake line coming over the mountains (looks like the line dropped and the cv wore a tiny hole thru it). I switched out the master cylinder since I was messing with brakes. Other than that, and adding some additional mounting points to the exhaust, and changing oil, I haven't really needed to do any work on her. Yay!

Anyway, I'm considering a transaxle overhaul and wanted to get people's opinions on a rebuild. Should I have it re-geared with a taller 3 /4 or stay stock? And if so, what size gears? Should I plan on replacing the Mainshaft? LSD? And who should I have do the work?

Thu Jan 12, 2017 6:36 pm

As a point of reference I am running a 002 built up with superdif and 4.57 new gleason ring and pinion, 091 bell-housing, and 091 input shaft. That way I run a Vanagon clutch. At 60 mph it's spinning about 3,000 RPM with very close to stock diameter tires (215-65-15).

Thu Jan 12, 2017 6:41 pm

pantone149 wrote: As a point of reference I am running a 002 built up with superdif and 4.57 new gleason ring and pinion, 091 bell-housing, and 091 input shaft. That way I run a Vanagon clutch. At 60 mph it's spinning about 3,000 RPM with very close to stock diameter tires (215-65-15).

Interesting. Mostly cause I'm at 3200rpm at 60, but with big tires. Makes me wonder if it's worth the expense

Thu Jan 12, 2017 7:22 pm

IIRC, Skillz said a built 091 and 009 are very different. Skillz very much likes the 091 he had built for his blue bus. I would give that thread a once over as he goes over it in detail.