No timing marks and carb woes

[Shallot Tzu]

hey i am here again with my question of the day. Well actually two questions. 1) I have just finished tuning my bus yet the carb is giving me trouble. I crank everything on the carb just right so it all seems good, put on the air cleaner and hit the road. Soon as I put my foot in the gas the bus just wilts, like almost dies and cuts out. If I let my foot off it comes back and I can ease into the acceleration and it works ok but without much snap. When I take the air cleaner off and drive, it drives like crazy. Picks up good, goes fast, zips down the road. When I put the cleaner back on, blah. No power, those weird near dying spells, like a sick horse. I cleaned the air cleaner in solvent and put in new oil etc. Is it that the carb is not adjusted to get enough air or do I have a funky air cleaner?
and the other question was-- Are there any tricks for figuring out degree pulley marks when you don't have a pulley with marks? I need to set my timing to 32 btdc or 5 btdc static cause I have a 009 but have no idea where this is on my pulley. My pulley has two little notches right next to each other but thats it. Any ideas? thanks in advance for all the help.

[JamesT]

Your carb may not need to be ajusted "by the book". The book tells you how to set it if all the parts are in good condition and the carbs are clean. Some debris in the line from the accelerator pump may require you to set it a little rich. I can't understand the aircleaner being a problem unless you tuned it by ear without the cleaner on. The best way to tune or time an old car is by ear. Don't bother with degrees before top dead center or anything of the sort, just get it close and set it to what sounds good.
-James T

[Rich]

I may have missed something, but I can't figure out what kind of bus or carb you have.

On my 72, there is a timing mark notch on the inside rim of the fan belt pully that is part of the cooling fan. Lots of people will add there own markings on the outside rim right where this notch is because it is then a little easier to see the pully timing mark, hence the two marks you have. I used a spot of white paint, although I hear that Whiteout works good.

This notch is used to indicate TDC. On my bus, there is a degree scale that is secured to the fan grill. It has numbers on it which indicate degrees before and after TDC. It also has the # 0. If the notch is lined up at "0" when timing the engine, it is at TDC.

I believe all the vendors sell the degree scales. It is easy to install.

Setting timing on the upright is a little different. I think you can static time it by using the center seam of the engine, but I am not sure. Most of the manuals cover this procedure, and I think the www.type2.com library has an article describing how to find the degrees using a sewing tape measure.

As for the carb, I always have to double check for vacuum leaks and air restrictions (choke closed?) every time I mess with it! Good luck!
Rich

[nothereanymore]

Sounds like there may be a problem with the air cleaner. You step on the gas and the engine bogs....too rich? No air cleaner...goes like stink. JamesT is corrcect about tuning by ear or feel, but it is still nice to have a proper reference point. Especially since timing, carbs, and distributors can vary from year to year. I have a 69 with the original engine and a 009 dist. Depending on the year of your engine you can time it a few different ways. Bob Hoover suggests one way here. In my case with a 69 type1 engine, I made mark ATDC an equal distance from the first timing mark from TDC. This is equal to 7.5 degrees ATDC, which is roughly where the 009 should be set on my engine at idle to allow the 28 degree total advance. I then road tune the engine after that. This is all done after the valves and carb have been adjusted of course.
As an aside, in my opinion, the 009 is not a good choice for a distributor for your average engine. They do not sense load, thus you have to keep the rev's a little higher, acceleration from a stop is sluggish, mileage decreases, and the engine doesn't idle as nice. I use the 009 because the vacuum unit on the old dist. broke. I will eventually get back to vacuum which is nicer for around town driving.

[Shallot Tzu]

Thanks for your help. My bus is a 71 westy with a 34 pict 3 and 009 which I have been told is a bad combo. Do you have any recomendations for a good vacuum distributor? What would constitue a bad air cleaner? One which has been hammered flat so it will fit in the engine compartment? Someone customized mine. If I get a new one do you reccomend another oil bath or a paper type? Thanks for all the help.... CG
Oh yeah what do you mean by road tune? Probably a dumb question but I am learning from scratch...

[JamesT]

THe Air cleaner you are supposed to have is the same as the one found on Later Karmann Ghias. They are simple cheap oil bath that sit off to the side of the engine and have a rubber tube about 2 inches in diameter that goes between the cleaner and the carb. YOu would have a small stand next to your engine (opposite side as Gas heater, if you still have one of those timebombs installed) made to hold the cleaner.
-JAmes T

[jeremysmithatshawdotca]

I think the oil bath for sure, you can do a serch here to find out why if you want. 34pict4 doesn't seem like such a problem to me, but maybe it'd be better with an extra spring. Chabanais posted on this recently, you ought to find that post too! Maybe a month ago about a 009 dist. and an extra spring. Jeremy

[nothereanymore]

Yeah. The oil bath is an excellent filter for a stock carb. Your carb is correct for that year I think. As for the distributor Jim from OldVolksHome says:

Bus & Pickup 1971 * 1600

Distributor: VW 211-905-205Q, Bosch 0231 167 055 or 211-905-205S, 0231 180 001 > 043-905-205D, 0231 176 033
Can Use: VW 043-905-205D, Bosch 0231 176 033, 113-905-205AH, 0231 167 053
Points: 01 011
Points Replacement Plate Assy: VW 311-905-227A, Bosch 1237 110 064
Condensor: 02 054
Rotor: 04 033
Note: 205S/001 Distributors originally equipped with 04 021 Speed Limiting Rotor (4500rpm)
Dust Cover: 039-905-241, Bosch 1230 500 139 > 1230 500 147
Cap: 03 010
Distributor Cap Clip: 034-905-265, Bosch 1231 251 033
Parts Kit (Shims, Washers & Hardware): 059-998-211, Bosch 1237 010 007
Coil: 00 015 (Blue Coil: 00 012)
Vacuum Can: 07 092
Ignition Wires: 09 001
Spark Plug: W8AC
Timing Set At:: 5deg ATDC @ 800-950rpm w/strobe, vacuum hose(s) connected
Advance/Retard Range: Vacuum: 2-5deg Adv, 11-13deg Ret; Centrifugal: 12-16deg @ 2200rpm, 22-25deg @ 3800rpm

Bla bla I know, but clear info is best. Good luck!