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mcdonaldneal
Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2013
Posts: 2648
Location: Gullane, Scotland
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mcdonaldneal
Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2013
Posts: 2648
Location: Gullane, Scotland
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mcdonaldneal
Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2013
Posts: 2648
Location: Gullane, Scotland
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 Posted: Sat May 02, 2015 2:06 pm Post subject: |
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We had travelled about an hour South and I realised that the steering was judderingly alarmingly (worse than the day before  ) especially when we got to about 45mph. Tyres are new and balanced with good pressures, so when we stopped for a coffee I fished out the idiot book to see if it agreed with me that it might be the wheel bearings.
I followed the procedure to check the bearings, jack up the front corner and give the wheels a waggle, and both sides had significant play at 12/6 o'clock and worse at 3/9.
Oh dear!
I wasn't sure if I could adjust them myself, so we visited about four garages, and rang about eight but, being Saturday at midday, no one was able to help. 
Nothing for it, but to get out the tool bag and try and sort it myself! Hubcaps off and then spent ages thing to knock off the grease cap from the hub with a tyre iron, which was the heaviest thing I had. Eventually asked at the garage that had last refused us and the chap obliged with a heavy screwdriver.
Then, faced with a 6mm allen lock nut, I cursed the fact that I hadn't included any Allen keys in the toolkit!  it's always the thing you don't have that you need!
Until..
By some miracle, I DID have one Allen key, 6mm! It was in my bag for adjusting the alternator belt in the Kombi, yippee!
Got the bearing nuts adjusted, but there was still a bit of play at 9 and 3. We packed up and carried on...
Better, but still a fair bit of juddering, especially at 40-50mph?? 
We stopped for lunch, and I consulted the idiot book again...
Reassuringly, after a couple of diagnostic twiddles of the steering wheel, it seems likely that the steering damper is buggered! Didn't sound too serious to me, so we set off South again with a smile! Long drive through the rain, a few navigational mishaps, adding to the distance again and again until FINALLY we arrived at our hotel, about 11miles from the show. hallelujah!
We had averaged about 65-70mph (while we were moving!  ) and are getting 25mpg imperial at the moment.
Parked up next to a gorgeous beetle, and went to find dinner! 
_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper
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mcdonaldneal
Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2013
Posts: 2648
Location: Gullane, Scotland
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| Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 10:58 am Post subject: |
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Had a great day today at the Stanford Hall VW show. Didn't start very promisingly, as it was hosing down with rain, and just opening the car door would dump pints of water on the seats, not the best! The drive there also seemed to involve lots of travelling up muddy country lanes, so the wheel wells and the underneath got a pretty good coating of cowshit etc!
It's a beautiful setting though, and the historic VW's display in front of the house looked magnificent!
The Karmann Ghia owners club had turned out in force, and managed to reach exactly 60 Ghias to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the marque!
There were loads of beautiful cars on display, mostly at the stock end of the spectrum, and not all VW's! Rather than list them, I'll show a few choice photos...
Finally, as the day brightened up considerably, it gave us a chance to get some pretty pictures of our own car, and enjoy the attentions of everyone who stopped by and asked us about her and soak up some compliments!
_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper
Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery! |
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Bleyseng
Samba Member
Joined: July 03, 2005
Posts: 4752
Location: Seattle
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| Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 12:56 pm Post subject: |
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Nice, even a VoPo!
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70 Ghia Black convert-9/69 build date-stock w/133k 1600 SP-barn find now with a rebuilt tranny and engine
77 Westy 2.0L w/Ljet, Camper Special engine-95hp and with LSD!(sold)
76 Porsche 914 2.1L L20c, 120hp Djet (sold)
87 Syncro Westy Titan Red 2.1L 2 knob 100k miles |
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mcdonaldneal
Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2013
Posts: 2648
Location: Gullane, Scotland
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mcdonaldneal
Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2013
Posts: 2648
Location: Gullane, Scotland
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Duck58
Samba Member
Joined: October 10, 2010
Posts: 43
Location: North East England
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| Posted: Mon May 04, 2015 2:08 am Post subject: |
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Met you briefly at the show yesterday (with my head under your deck lid enquiring about the valve I have missing on my fire wall....)
Beautiful car and certainly something to aim for with my 71.
Mark |
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Bleyseng
Samba Member
Joined: July 03, 2005
Posts: 4752
Location: Seattle
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| Posted: Mon May 04, 2015 6:14 am Post subject: |
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That's Ravenna Green not lime green, Haha they are fun to drive and good to see some at the show.
_________________
70 Ghia Black convert-9/69 build date-stock w/133k 1600 SP-barn find now with a rebuilt tranny and engine
77 Westy 2.0L w/Ljet, Camper Special engine-95hp and with LSD!(sold)
76 Porsche 914 2.1L L20c, 120hp Djet (sold)
87 Syncro Westy Titan Red 2.1L 2 knob 100k miles |
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John Moxon 
Samba Moderator
Joined: March 07, 2004
Posts: 13952
Location: Southampton U.K.
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mcdonaldneal
Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2013
Posts: 2648
Location: Gullane, Scotland
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| Posted: Mon May 04, 2015 11:57 am Post subject: |
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| Duck58 wrote: |
Met you briefly at the show yesterday (with my head under your deck lid enquiring about the valve I have missing on my fire wall....)
Beautiful car and certainly something to aim for with my 71.
Mark |
Good to meet you Mark, and it was great to meet a few folk who knew me (ie the car!) from the Samba!
You can be sure that even if they stay below the radar, there are plenty of fellow Sambanistas in the UK!
We're home now after a 320 mile drive, in glorious sunshine this time!
I think the keys to a comfy long drive are:
Stop frequently
Lumbar support pad
Ear plugs!
Keep it relaxed at 65-70mph!
Hosed the mud off the underside, and put the car to bed...
_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper
Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery! |
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mcdonaldneal
Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2013
Posts: 2648
Location: Gullane, Scotland
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| Posted: Mon May 04, 2015 11:59 pm Post subject: |
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I've just had a look at the petrol receipts for the weekend away. 
750 miles altogether, mostly motorway driving at 65-70 mph on the speedo, although lots of very long stretches of roadworks, which were 50mph!  Well packed car, with two passengers.
Overall fuel consumption, using supermarket, low octane unleaded was just over 35 mpg imperial (29.5 US), with one fill up working out at 37.7 mpg (31.4 US).
I was interested to see what it would be after I had rejetted the carbs for a lean mix at light cruise, and I'm pretty pleased with that. With an AFR of 15.5 at 50mph the engine didn't run hot at all, warm to touch, and the 'save my bug' dipstick was nowhere near the hot temp contact point, all good! 
While we were away, the new jets arrived to try and get the mixture just right, which might improve things even more? The only downside I noticed was that it did tend to stall at idle when the engine was cold, until it reached normal temp. Might just need the idle mix checked?
_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper
Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery! |
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mcdonaldneal
Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2013
Posts: 2648
Location: Gullane, Scotland
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| Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 1:21 pm Post subject: |
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I had a bit of trouble getting the decklid release adjusted last week, but over the weekend it became a two man job to get it open. So, the catch releases, but it doesn't 'pop up' and so if you let go of the release it locks again!
I can't make the top peg on the lid shorter, or it won't lock at all. My thought is maybe to lengthen the spring a little, so it does the 'pop'. Thoughts welcome!
In the meantime I'm very glad of the emergency release hole I drilled (from above) last year, which allows a tiny screwdriver through to operate the catch (where the control wire attaches).
I took a pic in case anyone needs to drill a hole blindly from below to rescue a stuck lid! You can see where it is in relation to the catch bolts. Bottom of the pic is the rear of the car. Hole is just left of centre between the top two bolts.
I also ordered a new, German, steering damper today, as well as a new oil pressure switch, which you can see is leaking a little. No sign of a crack to the case, which can happen if they are overtightened. They degrade with time, so I figure it is best to replace, although maybe I should try tightening? (Actually with my record on stripped bolts and pulled studs, I don't think I'll bother! )
I don't know if it's original, but you can see it is a Bosch switch that is there
_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper
Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery! |
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carl4x4
Samba Member
Joined: March 20, 2012
Posts: 679
Location: United Kingdom
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mcdonaldneal
Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2013
Posts: 2648
Location: Gullane, Scotland
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carl4x4
Samba Member
Joined: March 20, 2012
Posts: 679
Location: United Kingdom
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| Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 5:31 am Post subject: |
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I was impressed by the shininess of your convertible, didn't know it was yours on the day. Just read through your wheel bearing incident, if it wobbles more in the 3+9 o'clock directions then you may have some play in the track rod ends.
Agree that the steering damper can make a big difference to vibrations coming through the wheel.
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1969 UK Karmann Ghia build http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=518789&highlight= |
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wcfvw69
Samba Purist
Joined: June 10, 2004
Posts: 13389
Location: Arizona
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| Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 9:39 am Post subject: |
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| carl4x4 wrote: |
I was impressed by the shininess of your convertible, didn't know it was yours on the day. Just read through your wheel bearing incident, if it wobbles more in the 3+9 o'clock directions then you may have some play in the track rod ends.
Agree that the steering damper can make a big difference to vibrations coming through the wheel. |
It would also be a good idea to get your front tires balanced. Vibrations while driving straight ahead at 35-50, especially a shimmy is from the tires being out of balance..
_________________
Contact me at [email protected]
Follow me on instagram @sparxwerksllc
Decades of VW and VW parts restoration experience.
The Samba member since 2004.
**Now rebuilding throttle bodies for VW's and Porsche's**
**Restored German Bosch distributors for sale or I can restore yours**
**Restored German Pierburg fuel pumps for sale or I can restore yours**
**Restored Porsche fuel pumps or I can restore yours**
**Restored Porsche distributors or I can restore yours** |
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mcdonaldneal
Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2013
Posts: 2648
Location: Gullane, Scotland
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| Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 11:12 am Post subject: |
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One shiny new 'Boge' steering damper has arrived, so I thought I'd see how easy it was to fit with the fuel tank still in place!
Jacked up the front end and put axle stands in place.
Tried to take off the wheels but they wouldn't budge! (Yes the nuts are off! )
Whacked with a mallet, sprayed penetrating oil around the lug nut holes and kept on bashing! Eventually needed to hammer an old screwdriver between the wheel and the flat part of the hub and they came free.
Access to the damper nuts is fairly easy, although I wouldn't recommend doing it in a garage that's only 3' wider than the car!
The driver's side of the damper passes through a rubber bush. I couldn't work out how to get it out, so although I had a replacement, I took photos and decided it was good enough to leave!
Plenty of squirming later and the new damper was in!
The old one felt ok to extend, but there was a leak of oil from around the seal, so the whole thing was a good call!
Wheel balancing next, while they're off.
I tugged away at the tie rods. There is a little play and they rotate very easily, but I think they can wait just now and I'll see about ordering new ones along with a ball joint separator. There's still a fair bit of lateral play at the front wheels, so it may be that the steering box will need replacement, but one thing at a time!
_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper
Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery! |
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Bleyseng
Samba Member
Joined: July 03, 2005
Posts: 4752
Location: Seattle
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| Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 5:31 pm Post subject: |
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Try adjusting the steering box first before replacing it. It probably could use it to take out some of the slop in the steering.
_________________
70 Ghia Black convert-9/69 build date-stock w/133k 1600 SP-barn find now with a rebuilt tranny and engine
77 Westy 2.0L w/Ljet, Camper Special engine-95hp and with LSD!(sold)
76 Porsche 914 2.1L L20c, 120hp Djet (sold)
87 Syncro Westy Titan Red 2.1L 2 knob 100k miles |
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mcdonaldneal
Samba Member
Joined: June 13, 2013
Posts: 2648
Location: Gullane, Scotland
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| Posted: Sun May 10, 2015 10:55 am Post subject: |
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Thought I'd try a job that would give Shona and I some quality time together today!
Trunk liner repair.
I had got hold of low viscosity (wicking) cyanoacrylate adhesive, and 'kicker' to speed up the set.
Started off by using two pieces of wood, covered in Sellotape (so the glue doesn't stick to them, thanks 'LastTriumph' ) By clamping the delaminated sections, wicking the glue in, and setting it with the kicker you get a nice neat repair.
Some sections you can't get into to clamp, so either your glamorous assistant holds them together, or you can use a Sellotape covered roll to smooth things out as the glue sets, then use the kicker. Here's a horribly delaminated corner.
I started off lining up and glueing the rips and tears on the visible side, then turning over and wicking glue into the backside of the tears.
I discovered that this kind of glue gets very hot as it cures, and also that it gives off noxious vapour (probably cyanide, now I think on it! )
Once all the cracks were glued, I used flexible, waterproof tape for wetsuit repair to strengthen the underside of the rips.
A lot of effort, but hopefully I have a strong, more intact, original liner to go back in the car! I plan to use little powerful rare earth magnets to hold it in place, rather than the metal tabs, which do a good job of tearing the cardboard!
Before and after...
_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper
Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery! |
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