1970 Solex 30 Pict 3 issues/ one thing leads to another

[Dana Champion]

Edit-I started this thread thinking that I had an oil leak under my generator, atop the stand. Turns out to be something different. See my post dated Aug. 10th 2015

Looked through the threads for this, no luck.
Fired up my '70 Westfalia today ; stock single port 1600. As it was warming up, I noticed oily air bubbles coming out between the generator and the stand. It has obviously been leaking for a while, based on the oily mess.
It had been running for only a few minutes. I'm wondering if the baffle was impropperly installed? I think it's there. Or is the breather possibly clogged ?
Any experience with this? .....

Might be time to pull 'er out!

[1967250s]

Oil gasket under mount is done, or screw is loose, and/or the drain tube or breather hose is clogged. Either way, time to get it off.
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'72 Elm Green Deluxe

[SGKent]

if air pressure and oil are coming out between the stand and generator then it is likely cracked or eaten thru by corrosion, which both happen. I had one on my 1971 crack at high mileage.
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“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[Dana Champion]

It has been forever since I've had an engine apart. I just realized that the bottom of the generator stand is closed off, so I possiby have either a cracked stand, or the breather is leaking oil under the generator, filling up the top of the stand,and as it warms up, it creates a little pressure buildup in the form of bubbles.....? I know, sounds a bit odd. I think that I can pull the generator and fan out with the engine inplace.
Thanks for the input.

[SGKent]

[airschooled]

I've had good luck removing the fan nut, then pulling the gen/alt out as long as you can get a wrench on the 36mm nut to get it back on. If you're comfortable with and ABSOLUTELY know how to get it back together blind, go for it. If you're not sure, I would follow SGKent's advice and pull the engine out to observe how it all stacks up.

Once the gen is out, you might try rinsing the pedestal out in solvent, letting it dry completely, then putting it in an oven @250*. Oil will seep out of the cracks, and get all over the oven and make it stink. (Tin foil the oven accordingly...)

If no cracks, clean the surfaces 100% (and wipe AWAY from the case opening, please,) and get new gaskets in there with a good sealer. I like Curil T, but Permatex Aviation is an old standby favorite too. Make sure the baffles are in correctly, and the studs aren't stripped out. Some people on here like to replace the studs and just use nuts. DON'T. Magnesium is not designed to be screwed into. Studs are the proper way to attach to magnesium cases.

Let us know if you have any questions or concerns, and good luck!
Robbie
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[Dana Champion]

Thanks SGKent, and Robbie.

If I pull the motor, I know I will want to do several other things; clean everything, rebuild the carburetor, new electric choke, replace the oil cooler with offset/ doghouse shroud, which I have, just need the cooler. Check the flywheel, clutch and throwout bearing, and rear seal. Since the motor is out, I should look at the gas tank, the seal on the input shaft on the trans. Might as well replace the gear oil too.... plus, the items I can't think of right now and the ones that will show themselves upon removal. One thing leads to another!....
Switch to alternator.? Check all the engine seals.

I think before pulling the motor, I should clean it, look for other leaks, check the breather, and do a compression check ; a rebuild might be calling!... now I just need a bag of money!

Peace

[Dana Champion]

So I decided to clean some of the oil off of the engine to see where the leaks were coming from, at least the visible area shown in this photo. I used Castrol Superclean, an old toothbrush and minimal water spray from the hose.

After cleaning, I started the motor to let it dry after the rinse off. About five days later, I started it to find that the fuel hose on the outlet of the filter was leaking fuel, as well as the electromagnetic cutoff solenoid.

My carb is the stock Solex 30 PICT 3. I knew that the cutoff solenoid had been leaking a little, but after cleaning, I realized that it was leaking more After some research, It looks like there is no gasket or O ring used on this. Anyone use one here ?

My plan is to rebuild the carb. There might be a chance that the gasket between the halves is causing the drip off of the cutoff solenoid....? Any recommendations on a quality rebuild kit?

Fuel, lately,has wreaked havoc on fuel lines. I've been running the original cloth braided fuel line, with the filter Inline from the pump to the carb. I plan to eliminate the Inline filter and put it under the bus instead, after some research. I try to keep enough fuel line in the bus, to change it out as needed when I sniff, or see a hose leaking. Hose just doesn't hold up like it used to.

I hope my carb is not worn out !

[Tcash]

http://www.volkzbitz.com/

This carb kit will rebuild 28 pict carbs & 30 pict carbs with a round bowl.
http://vwparts.aircooled.net/Carburetor-Rebuild-Kit-Solex-Bocar-28-30-34-PICT-p/111-198-569zw.htm

Good luck
Tcash

[Dana Champion]

[Dana Champion]

So I pulled my Solex 30 PICT 3, today from my '70 Westfalia.Turns out that the electromagnetic cutoff has been leaking, more than I had suspected.
It was dripping onto the generator.

I took Tcash ' s advice and contacted Volkzbitz, a carburetor rebuilder. Emailed Tim. He got right back to me. He said that the cutoffs get hit, and it elongates the opening, causing it to leak. The solution is to reem the opening, and install a bushing, which he has the tools to do. I asked about a rebuild kit, he suggested Walker, available at Oreilly's, FYI

Over the 12 years that I've had this bus. It's the first time that I've pulled the carb. I knew something was not right wth the electric choke as well. Turns out the butterfly is fixed open, in one position. The bus ran ok, but not optimal. A little rich. The wire supplying 12v from the coil was held together by a thread. Poor connection.

Looks like the carb needs a total rebuild. I would like to keep the OEM unit. It looks like it will cost about the same as a new carb. Are these new carbs any good ?

I also have a 30 PICT 2 ; 68, and 69. A little different. Has an electromagnetic shutoff. Also needs work. Any thoughts ?

Thanks!

[busdaddy]

[Dana Champion]

[quote="busdaddy"]

[Tcash]

[busdaddy]

EMPI once (long ago) was a guaranteed win, lately it's become a name synonymous with fail, we won't get in to deep global economics regarding China's slow but steady and effective attack on the West through thier financial an industrial system but it's safe to say new isn't always the best choice.
The cost of the good rebuild service is likely real close to a new carb by the time the shipping and tax dust clears, the rebuild will bolt on and work and if it doesn't there's someone who will answer the phone and deal with it. The Chinacarb will require cleaning and likely rejetting before you can even bolt it on. There's also the possibility the float is made of something that melts when it's exposed to gas, the top cover may be so warped that it needed two gaskets from the factory to seal and the choke breaker diphragm may be ruptured right out of the box (that'll cause a vacuum leak that'll drive you nuts and make a smooth idle impossible to achieve). Or maybe the advance and progression holes are slightly misdrilled so even if it's jetted right it still goes Blahhhhhh when you stand on the gas. All those things have happened to me on customer cars when they chose those carbs, imagine what it'd be like getting someone responsible on the phone to deal with any of that decisively?
Or you can gamble on a used carb from the classifieds, it may be slightly less used and abused than yours but in the long run is it really much of an improvement?, it's like buying a scratchy ticket at the gas station, sometimes you win, more likely lose.
Spend the few bucks now and never look back
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[LivinInnaVWBus]

Buy from VolkzBitz and you are guaranteed not to have carb issues. I've put thousands of miles on one of his carbs in my daily driver.
IMO, the best Solex carbs that can be purchased at this time, far surpassing anything new.
You'd really be foolish not to buy from him.
Get the barbed fitting and use copper or brass nuts when mounting it to the manifold. They can be had easily at fastenal.

[SGKent]

[LivinInnaVWBus]

A testament to Tim's work. A cold start after sitting overnight, the first start up after I installed his carb didn't go too different than this.


Link


I'm a prior customer of Mark Harney's. Though Mark didn't specialize in Solexs, I'd say the quality of rebuild is similar. Better than new from the factory.

[Dana Champion]

.

I'm having a flashback.... Joe Vittone.... Reminds me of Darrell's " Inch Pincher "! cool stuff....
That takes me back to the days when Hot VW 's was printed on newsprint paper.


Thanks for all the input guys!

I pulled the carb apart today. Looked ok inside. Heck the only reason I pulled it was the leak. It ran ok, but just ok. I noticed that the choke butterfly is bent, and stuck open. That's why I had to keep my foot in it until it warmed up.

Here are a couple of pictures of two solenoids.

The one with the longer skinnier shaft came out of the carb in question 30 pict 3

The other one came out of a 30 pict 2 that have for sale.

I also took a picture of the Bently manual showing an exploded view of the 30 pict 3. The solenoid in the manual looks like the one that I took out of the 30 pict 2.

I threaded the 30 pict 2 solenoid into the carb, and it fits better, not sloppy.

I know that Tim will know which one to use when I get it to him.

Just throwing this out there.....

These are both A. Pierburg K G Neuss units

The threads look beefier on the solenoid out of the 30 pict 2, on the right.

I need to check the choke, not choke the chicken

[VolkzBitz]

You do have the cut-off solenoids in the correct carbs. The one from the 30PICT-2 has the smaller hole and is the idle jet also. The one in the 30PICT-3 has the larger hole, and is only a cut-off valve. You could even seal the hole in the 30PICT-3 where the cut-off goes with a short bolt. This eliminates the cut-off obviously, so you may get the engine running on a little when the ignition is switched off. Occasionally the cut-offs do wear oddly on the threads, this will also make them sloppy in the carb. The insert I mentioned is really the best solution, unless you need to get going asap, in which case some JBWeld may seal it, not tried it, so no guarantees.
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