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mechanicjay Samba Member
Joined: November 26, 2014 Posts: 63 Location: Seattle
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Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2016 1:43 pm Post subject: Re: Almost have a Bus -- My Story |
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I'm confused, are you guys implying this is a swap from a 411/412 rather than an original bus motor?
If so, how can you tell just by a visual?
If so, what does that mean in the grand scheme of things?
--Jason |
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jefflewis Samba Member
Joined: January 04, 2015 Posts: 91 Location: Spokane wa.
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Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2016 4:07 pm Post subject: Re: Almost have a Bus -- My Story |
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Look for the engine code on the case. |
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busdaddy Samba Member
Joined: February 12, 2004 Posts: 51156 Location: Surrey B.C. Canada, but thinking of Ukraine
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Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2016 4:16 pm Post subject: Re: Almost have a Bus -- My Story |
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The oil filler is a big clue, but the code on the case is the final answer, if it's what I think it is the code will be stamped on top of the case on an angle near the bellhousing on the left 1/2.
It's not a "bad thing", but if it still has domed pistons you'll have to treat it differently. _________________ Rust NEVER sleeps and stock never goes out of style.
Please don't PM technical questions, ask your problem in public so everyone can play along. If you think it's too stupid post it here
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!
Слава Україні! |
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Tcash Samba Member
Joined: July 20, 2011 Posts: 12844 Location: San Jose, California, USA
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mechanicjay Samba Member
Joined: November 26, 2014 Posts: 63 Location: Seattle
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Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2016 11:03 pm Post subject: It's Mine! |
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The stars aligned and I was actually able to pick-up the Bus TODAY rather than having to wait until tomorrow. I can't tell you how stoked I am. It turned out, that getting home was not without adventure.
I made it 1/10th of a mile out of the seller's driveway before the bus sputtered and died.
That has to be some kind record. It's also either a very auspicious start to Bus ownership, or good luck -- time will tell.
As I pulled off the road in front of a neighbours house and popped the decklid, I could hear the fuel pump clicking away, but there was just air in the in-line filters. I figured, either a blockage, the pump was bad, or it was just out of gas. I called Spencer back, he came up the road to help. The neighbor, Dexter came out to help. We pushed it into Dexter's Driveway. Yes, I was pushing my new bus after only 1/10 of a mile and 15 minutes of ownership.
Dexter dumped about 3/4ish of a gallon in and "Sunshine Daydream" fired right up, stumbled a couple times and settled down into a steady idle.
With my first Bus Breakdown out of the way, I was off and headed towards the gas station, where she took just a tick over 14 gallons.
We avoided the freeway on the way home, instead sticking to state hi-ways and local roads, just in case of further incident. We headed towards Snohomish for dinner on the way South to Seattle and I discovered something:
Bus be slow. An uphill on-ramp onto Hiway 2 was like some kind of slow torture.
I will say though, that after a little while on the hiway at 55 mph, she felt a lot better. Maybe we're starting to get to know each other.
When we did stop for dinner, I discovered something else:
Bus leak oil! The plume of blue smoke from oil burning off the exhaust when I parked was somewhat embarrassing. Oh well. Dinner was good.
We continued on home, where I made my third great discovery of Bus Ownership coming down hiway 9. An extended uphill pull at 45 mph just didn't want to happen. It felt like the engine was spinning too fast to cruise it at that speed in 3rd and I was just out of the powerband in 4th. Rather grossly exceed the speed limit, I did a leisurely pull up the hill in 3rd at 40 mph.
Overall though I had blast just driving it home, it's really astounding how easy these things are to drive. I did feel that at times, the engine was working a hell of lot harder than others to move down the road. The seller warned me of a dragging right rear break, which could certainly explain that.
We made it home with no incidents. I parked the Bus and smoked my neighbour out with another giant plume of blue smoke off the exhaust.
Exhausted now and headed to bed.
Good night all and lets give a warm welcome to "Sunshine Daydream". |
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Stuartzickefoose Samba Post Whore
Joined: February 07, 2008 Posts: 10350 Location: SoCal for now...
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2016 7:07 am Post subject: Re: Almost have a Bus -- My Story |
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Congrats man!!!
I believe the rear brakes shoes were just about done but nothing majorly obvious pointing to the wheel locking up, except possible soft lines. Happy to chat about it too if I can help I will. _________________ Stuart Zickefoose
2011 Jetta Sportwagen TDi 6 speed manual
206-841-7324
[email protected] |
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mechanicjay Samba Member
Joined: November 26, 2014 Posts: 63 Location: Seattle
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2016 9:54 am Post subject: Re: Almost have a Bus -- My Story |
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I did some poking and prodding this morning before work and discovered a few more things.
1) There was almost no oil showing on the dipstick when I pulled it...yipes!
2)The left side carb is dripping raw fuel all over the place. I feel lucky she didn't burn up on me on the way home yesterday!
As such, I think I just down graded my bus from "Driver" to "Runs and drives".
The carbs are dual solex. No vacuum ports to be seen for either the timing retard or central idle circuit.
Anyway, do I rebuild these Solex carbs, or just go for a new setup with the right vacuum stuff to help emissions and economy?
Decisions.... |
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RONIN10 Samba Member
Joined: April 30, 2007 Posts: 594 Location: Seattle, WA
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2016 10:20 am Post subject: Re: Almost have a Bus -- My Story |
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mechanicjay wrote: |
Anyway, do I rebuild these Solex carbs, or just go for a new setup with the right vacuum stuff to help emissions and economy?
Decisions.... |
I learned the hard way that sticking to stock is best when it comes to the engine, but that's what worked for me, your mileage may vary. I still have those stock carbs for you if want them, it's not a full dual carb setup, but will get you a lot of the way there. I'll bet Ken at The Bus Co. In Duvall could get together whatever it's missing.
I also have a full set of dual Weber IDFs that have been sitting on the shelf, I wouldn't mind parting with, but that would be a sale. I used to run them in my yellow 76 and they worked fine there. _________________ Andrew
Oscar: 1976 Westfalia Deluxe Camper, 2.0L FI, Manual Transaxle |
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mechanicjay Samba Member
Joined: November 26, 2014 Posts: 63 Location: Seattle
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2016 10:50 am Post subject: Re: Almost have a Bus -- My Story |
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RONIN10 wrote: |
I learned the hard way that sticking to stock is best when it comes to the engine, but that's what worked for me, your mileage may vary. I still have those stock carbs for you if want them, it's not a full dual carb setup, but will get you a lot of the way there. I'll bet Ken at The Bus Co. In Duvall could get together whatever it's missing.
I also have a full set of dual Weber IDFs that have been sitting on the shelf, I wouldn't mind parting with, but that would be a sale. I used to run them in my yellow 76 and they worked fine there. |
Um, yeah if you have a set of stock carbs for this you're willing to part with, that'd be amazing!
If I can cobble together a stock setup for not much $$, I'd be a very happy camper. I had other plans for the first $500 other than a new set of carbs. I realize I could rebuild for far less, but I think that would only be a temporary solution. |
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Stuartzickefoose Samba Post Whore
Joined: February 07, 2008 Posts: 10350 Location: SoCal for now...
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2016 1:00 pm Post subject: Re: Almost have a Bus -- My Story |
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The ones you got ran incredibly smooth, figure out where the leak is and keep using them for now. Trust me they shouldn't need replacement for a few months at the very minimum unless something drastically changed. _________________ Stuart Zickefoose
2011 Jetta Sportwagen TDi 6 speed manual
206-841-7324
[email protected] |
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mechanicjay Samba Member
Joined: November 26, 2014 Posts: 63 Location: Seattle
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2016 9:23 pm Post subject: Re: Almost have a Bus -- My Story |
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Stuartzickefoose wrote: |
The ones you got ran incredibly smooth, figure out where the leak is and keep using them for now. Trust me they shouldn't need replacement for a few months at the very minimum unless something drastically changed. |
The leak is coming from the top of the fuel bowl. Probably needs a new gasket. I have an idea to drill and tap the carb for vacuum advance while I have it off....
I decided I needed to do something small to start progress on this project so I started on some of the dash electrical.
I was able to get the dash lights working. Not hard, had to hook up the feed wire, plug a couple sockets in and make a new ground wire to tie it all together. I do, however need 2 light sockets for the cluster. 1 is missing and 1 is fubar and won't stay in the socket. I also need a dome light for this thing and all the cab lighting will be functional (though I haven't checked the door switched yet).
I also cleaned up the various hanging loose live wires that were sparking and blowing fuses....
I pulled the placebo radio out of the dash, as it wasn't hooked up and I have other plans anyway.
All-in-all a successful 90 minutes! _________________ 1973 VW Riviera Camper - "Sunshine Daydream"
1981 Ford F100 - In family since new!
1983 Rx-7 - The Sports car.
2006 Jeep Wrangler LJ - The wife and kid mobile. |
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Tcash Samba Member
Joined: July 20, 2011 Posts: 12844 Location: San Jose, California, USA
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2016 9:35 pm Post subject: Re: Almost have a Bus -- My Story |
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Quote: |
The leak is coming from the top of the fuel bowl. Probably needs a new gasket. I have an idea to drill and tap the carb for vacuum advance while I have it off.... |
Maybe the carb needle and seat are dirty.
Hi
Carburetor needle and seat cleaning
As suggested if your oil smells like gas, change your oil.
Start it up and pinch the fuel hose that goes to the carb. When it starts to falter release the fuel pressure.
This most times will wash any debris off the float needle and seat.
Good Luck
Tcash |
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porky79 Samba Member
Joined: October 11, 2015 Posts: 56 Location: Fresno
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2016 11:34 pm Post subject: Re: Almost have a Bus -- My Story |
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busdaddy wrote: |
worry about the scratches and rips later. |
I second the motion ! _________________
Wasted youth wrote: |
While this is unpleasant, it is a great learning experience, so I hope I can contribute something useful for next guy. |
itskyle wrote: |
"It's ugly, but it gets you there." Nuff said. Kyle |
"The Precious" 79 CA Bay Window BUS runnin hot @ 75 or 80
Vincent ~ 84 Vanagon GL 95% Original |
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Hikelite Samba Member
Joined: August 31, 2012 Posts: 557 Location: Colville, WA
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Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2016 9:29 am Post subject: Re: Almost have a Bus -- My Story |
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Great Bus. Great Story. Great Community.
I love this place _________________ ~Kevin
My 1968 Campmobile |
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mechanicjay Samba Member
Joined: November 26, 2014 Posts: 63 Location: Seattle
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Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2016 8:43 pm Post subject: Re: Almost have a Bus -- My Story |
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They let us go from work early today so I was able to put a few hours in on the Bus.
1) Removed a bundle of rotten wires that were cut off at the engine compartment and at the nose of the cab.
2) Ran a tach signal wire forward to the tachometer in the dash. I was pleased to find that it works.
3) Managed to remove the Driver's seat which was pretty well rusted in place. Added a pop-rivet to the lever for the slider, so that works. Cleaned and greased the track. PB Blastered the hell out of the seat back adjuster and managed to get that working. The Driver's seat is now fully adjustable, such as it is.
4) Added 1/2 quart of oil, need another 1/2 quart.
5) topped up the brake fluid, the Res. was scary low.
Now for the bad.
1) Checked the fuel leak at the left carb. Put a screwdriver to the screws on the top plate and got about a 1/2 turn each without much pressure. Decided to check the right carb, 1/2 the screws in the top plate were very lose (could tighten with finger) and one was missing. Oddly this one is not leaking. I wiped them down ran it for a bit and the left is still seeping. I tried the pinch it off trick above to no avail. I think it's time for a quick and dirty rebuild on these carbs.
2) I tried to find the oil leak. Aside from it coming from everywhere, it looks like maybe the bottom front corner of the right side valve cover gasket is leaking. (I just scored a $1.00 set of gaskets on close-out from RockAuto)
The majority of the leak looks like it's coming down from the oil cooler area. The is what I was able to tell by popping the bottom cooling tins off. I didn't have time to pop the top tin to get a better look at the oil cooler.
3) Found a nice hole in the muffler/tailpipe which explains some of the noise.
4) I messed around with the Rock-N-Roll bed only to find that the new floor that the previous owner put in is going to be the next thing to come out. The Bed frame is bolted to a plywood floor, which is not secure to the floor of the Bus. This ultimately means that the seat isn't actually secure to the vehicle. Also, due to the floor lift, the whole thing comes forward too far, causing the seat back to fall down....not an effective bed
EDIT: Or is it a Z-bed? Or is it a Riviera specific version of these things?
5) I tried to check the timing, but there are really no numbers left on the timing scale, and I was only able to find one timing mark on the fan. This showed a static timing of 8ish degrees ATDC, which pretty much means its the wrong mark. This requires further investigation. _________________ 1973 VW Riviera Camper - "Sunshine Daydream"
1981 Ford F100 - In family since new!
1983 Rx-7 - The Sports car.
2006 Jeep Wrangler LJ - The wife and kid mobile. |
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mechanicjay Samba Member
Joined: November 26, 2014 Posts: 63 Location: Seattle
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Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2016 10:21 pm Post subject: Re: Almost have a Bus -- My Story |
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Oh yeah, the other thing, the engine number starts EA. So definitely not originally a bus motor as suspected.
The other major thing I noted, is that the upper left engien/trans bolt (the one by the engine number stamp) is missig.
Does anyone have a reference handy for size and thread pitch for that bad boy? _________________ 1973 VW Riviera Camper - "Sunshine Daydream"
1981 Ford F100 - In family since new!
1983 Rx-7 - The Sports car.
2006 Jeep Wrangler LJ - The wife and kid mobile. |
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Tcash Samba Member
Joined: July 20, 2011 Posts: 12844 Location: San Jose, California, USA
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mechanicjay Samba Member
Joined: November 26, 2014 Posts: 63 Location: Seattle
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Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2016 11:54 pm Post subject: Re: Almost have a Bus -- My Story |
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Awesome! Thank you! _________________ 1973 VW Riviera Camper - "Sunshine Daydream"
1981 Ford F100 - In family since new!
1983 Rx-7 - The Sports car.
2006 Jeep Wrangler LJ - The wife and kid mobile. |
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FullFender Samba Member
Joined: October 25, 2014 Posts: 647
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2016 4:00 pm Post subject: Re: Almost have a Bus -- My Story |
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Great looking bus...your kids will have a ton of fun and so will you! Maybe I will see ya around when we're up and cruising. |
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whenhoboesfly Samba Member
Joined: April 06, 2008 Posts: 134
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Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2016 1:39 pm Post subject: Re: Almost have a Bus -- My Story |
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Congrats! Post some pics when you get a chance. _________________ '77 Transporter 2L FI |
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