My 1978 Big Sage Green Giant Westy Build! Lots of Pictures!

[smitty1976bus]

Hell yea man, thank you sparky892. Mother Nature hasn't been the kindest this winter. In Mass. we haven't received much snow, but there's been so many wind storms lately, and while I can turn the propane heater up in the cold, I hate the wind. I had a tree fall (well, a big ass branch) fall on one of tent garage things before, and now I'm terrified to be inside that thing when the wind howls.
sparky892 Wrote:

[smitty1976bus]

I can't seem to locate an affordable 1972-74 lower tin piece, so I decided to alter the 1975-78 tin which I do have. I know it's not an ideal situation, but I just can't drop $150+ on a used piece of metal. Besides, they're not that different

Here's what I do have, the tin that goes below the push rod tubes, designed for 1975-78 exhaust systems:

I need to alter it to fit with the exhaust I have, which means all that needs to be done is some cutting and bending:

Then a small piece of new metal welded on to close up the hump which 1975-78 exhaust systems run next to:

Spray some high temp spray paint on it and viola, a perfectly function tin piece!

And it fits perfectly... well, maybe a 'B' grade:

I did the same with the other side:

I made another piece to connect this side to the upper engine tin, piece #33 in the diagram:

It didn't come out very pretty, so I don't want to post a picture of it. I think I'm going to do that piece over

I think it came out ok; but then again, I'm not sure what it's supposed to look like, or what its function is. Does it deflect road debris away from the push rod tubes, or does it aid in cooling? The tin leaves a large open area towards the rear of the bus, so I'm hoping it supposed to be that way....

-Smitty

[smitty1976bus]

Today is the first day of Spring, and while it doesn't feel like it where I live, it will very soon. So I want to make sure my bus is ready for the warm days which lie ahead. But everything seems to fight me on this project, two steps forward and one behind..... in this case two behind.

I haven't had my engine up to running temperature yet, so I wanted to do that this weekend. I went to check my oil and it smelled of gas. Strange. I can't remember the last time I changed it, so it could have been back when I was trying to get the engine to run right, and had fuel build up in the plenum one time...urgggg..... I drained it and it was very murky, almost like water was in it, but not as milk-shakey. Hard to explain, wish I took a picture. But I bought some more oil and flushed it out a few times. I left oil in the engine over night and checked it today when i got home from work. It didn't smell of gas.. which is a good sign. I started the engine and ran it for about 10-15 minutes. I check the smell of the dipstick periodically, just to make sure the color was good, and no gassy smells. All looked good.

I put a meat thermometer in the head fins, to get a reading on temp, and it was at 234 F when I turned the engine off

I then drained a sample of oil, to check it out. I used a small paint cup to check it, since it's the only clean thing I had:

This is the oil which came out:

It's kinda dirty for being run in an engine for only 15 minutes.... But, I have no idea if it's good or bad. I also couldn't tell if it smelled of gas or not. I'm using SAE 30 oil, just a singe weight oil. The user manual calls for this grade oil, so I used. Maybe this grade oil does this, I have no idea. This is what the oil looks like new:

So why would my oil smell of gas? Why is the oil this color? What oil should I use?

Damn, this is stumping me, and to add even more problems... my thermostat isn't working The head temp was 234 F, but my thermostat didn't move the cooling flaps at all. I used my iPhone to take a time-lapse video, and the cable didn't move at all:

So, now my thermostat may need to be replaced:

Is there anyway to test a thermostat? If not, I may need to buy another one, and the only company I can find who sells them is Awesome Powdercoat:

http://www.awesomepowdercoat.com/thermostat_new_used_rebuilt.html

So many new problems!!!

[smitty1976bus]

Alrighty.... I did some more troubleshooting on the ol' engine, and started with the thermostat. The only way to know if it's truly defective is to remove it and inspect it visually. Just looking at it while still on the engine, you can see that it looks fully expanded:

I took it off and right away it doesn't look normal..

And then I found it:

Yep. She's no good Which I guess is good, because I know for sure that the thermostat is to blame. So I'll save up some coin and buy a new one from Awesome PowderCoat.

As for the gas in the oil problems, I did some research here on the Samba and found some good threads regarding this subject on 2.0L FI engine:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=564407&highlight=gas+oil

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=632879&highlight=gas+oil

And there are a bunch of possibilities for this issue. I know I have good fuel pressure, and the fuel pump pumps well; and the fuel injectors are brand new, so their seals should be good. Other possible suspects are the head temp sensor, which I'm not sure how to test, but since I haven't had the engine up to operating temp yet, I doubt that's the cause. Then there is the Cold Start Valve (CSV), and that it cold be leaky... then I did some research on the CSV and how it can fail and how it has caused so many engine fires.... then I began to freak out a little bit... The CSV seems to cause more trouble than it solves, so now I'm wondering if I should even use one. Also that and I need to buy some type of fire suppression system, because I don't have any luck at all, so I need to cover all possible scenarios. So I think I'll be investing in a BlazeCut Fire Suppression System:

https://jogrusa.com/products/blazecut-fire-suppression-system

But now I'm getting ahead of myself, this bus hasn't even driven on the road yet. I need to figure out this gas in oil problem, if it even is a problem anymore, because I've done about 6 oil changes in the past 3 days, and haven't really smelled any strong gas odor from the oil. So, I'm going to let it sit for a couple days and see what happens. Sorry for rambling on in this post, haha.

-Smitty

[Abscate]

Save that old thermostat. Worth fixing one day when Buzzards Bayis too rough to sail. They are loaded with isopropyl alcohol, the hard kart is soldering them while stopping the alcohol from boiling off.

Oil will get dirty in minutes in an ACVW. There is a lot of blowby in the pistons and cylinders compared to a watercooled car. I don't think your oil looks bad enough for action.
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.ssS!

[smitty1976bus]

I think I'll stick to the land, Abscate, haha. Haven't had much luck with boats, any types of em, lol

Abscate

[smitty1976bus]

I'm hoping that winter is finally done up here in New England; we just had one last (I hope) snow storm, and now the forecast is for warm weather

Once my thermostat comes in, I can buy insurance and put the bus on the road.... fingers crossed. In the mean time, I started to work on the dual battery set up, AC/DC conversion and 120v set up. Since I have never worked on 120v systems, the last week has been interesting. So here's my plan/setup:

-Optima Yellow top as Bus battery
-Autocraft Platinum AGM as House battery
-Connect the two via starting solenoid
-----Fused with 100 amp fuse
-Run 4 Gauge Cable into Bus
----Control flow with starting solenoid
----Fused with 100 amp fuse
-Connect power to Battery Charger
-Connect power to DC/AC Converter via starting solenoid
-Run AC (from converter) into Bus/House AC
-Install new 120v socket in spare tire well

If that makes any sense at all. First up was making the controll box underneath the Z bed. I cut out a small wooden area and screwed down the DC/AC converter, Battery Charger, and a solenoid:

Then I wired all the 120 volt electronics together; the outside 120v hookup, the AC/DC converter output, the battery charger, the bus circuit breaker box, and the new outlet:

The wires are starting to add up Ok, from that packed 120v junction box, wires went to:
1. the Bus's original circuit breaker box. Of which I opened up, and cleaned out, and replaced all the original wires.

2. Out to power the battery charger, which is activated with a light switch.
3. The input power from the DC/AC converter, which I isolated using a common lightswitch, since I do not want anyone to hookup outside power while the converter is on. That would not be good.
4. The new outlet in the spare tire well, which is activated by a fused lightswitch.

All the light switches would be on top of the control box, easily accessible:

The new light switch wired up nice and easy as well:

I plan on have a TV stored in here, which can fold out for easy viewing pleasure

[smitty1976bus]

At this point, I have tools and junk everywhere!

I cleaned up a bit then moved onto the engine bay, and the wiring of the 12v DC power. I ran about 7 16-gauge cables, and 1 4-gauge power cable from the cabin to the engine bay. Then 1 6-gauge ground wire to the chassis. I connected the power wire to a solenoid, then to the house battery. And all the little wires are going to be the triggers for the solenoids, and a status indicator, letting me know that the solenoid is indeed on.

Once it was all wire up, I connect the wires to switches and indicator lights, on my control box:

And after wiring a couple solenoids backwards and destroying them, haha, I finally had it all done right.... Well, so far so good . The switches work, the indicator lights work, the converter works, I'm not sure if the charger works because the battery is topped off at the moment, but it does light up. So I think this might just work.

I cleaned it all up and made it look somewhat presentable:

^^^The solenoid connecting the 2 batteries

As for the control box, my cutting was a little crooked, so all the switches were crooked. I tried to clean it up a bit:

I still have some more to do with it though, I have some volt meters coming in, as well as a label maker, so I know what switches I'm flipping after indulging in some cocktails I wish I knew computers, so I could just make a sleek looking control panel, and use my smart phone to turn on everything, lol. Instead I'm stuck with this mechanical, old radio looking thing, all it needs is some vacuum tubes and condensers haha.

Oh, I found a secret about my bus too... Back when I bought it, it had no keys, so I had to buy a new ignition and door locks. But when I was running wires, I noticed something strange in the engine compartment:

Oh boy......

Wish I found that a earlier Haha, oh well

Smitty

[smitty1976bus]

I tried to clean up the top of my little control box the best I could... and it came out alright, I guess:

It's easy to read and follow, and everything works (sort of). That's all I set out to achieve, so mission accomplished. Ha. All the switches turn on the appropriote solenoids, and the indicator lights work as well. The picture below is a good example; the 'house battery' and 'dc/ac converter' switches are flipped:

I also hooked up a nice little 12v voltmeter gauge to measure how much juice is each one of the batteries, easily activated by the flip of a switch:

And when the 'dual battery' switch is flipped, the solenoid connecting the two batteries is activated, and the volts of the two batteries equalize. So awesome:

The only thing I'll have to troubleshoot is that when the dc/ac converter solenoid switch is flipped, the voltmeter gauges die out. I'm thinking it's a grounding issue, I'll have to check it out. But I'm happy with the way it all came out I even have room to install a solar power setup, which I can hopefully install sometime down the road.

-Smitty

[Spike0180]

I agree with you, not the cleanest setup ever. But looks alright and seems very functional. Good job getting it done!
_________________
Brutis Patches Izabich: 1970 VW Transporter - 1776cc DP
Current State: Projects never truly end...
Location: Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Other cars: 2003 F150, 2003 Jetta GLI vr6-6sp

Sambastic: adj; the quality of being nit picky, elitist, expecting everyone to do things the way they believe is best with no regard to situation, "sambastic"

[smitty1976bus]

This bus just keeps on fighting.... on this episode... the new thermostat..

Ok, I received the new thermostat in the mail from awesomepowdercoat, and installed it. Nice and simple. I ran the thermostat cable up to the cooling flaps, but didn't connect the wire. I wanted to warm the engine up, then connect the wire while the thermostat was fully enlarged. So I started up the engine and let it run for about 15-20 minutes. Hoping that would bring the motor up to temperature. According to my handy BBQ temp sensors, the head temps were around 216 F and I put another probe right next to the thermostat, and that read 183 F, while the engine was running.

Then when the engine turned off, the heads went up to 288 F and the area next to the thermostat was 194 F.

According to RatWell.com (http://www.ratwell.com/technical/Thermostats.html), the thermostat expands at 185-194 F. Only problem is that my thermostat never expanded....:

Why?!??!! I waited 2 1/2 weeks for this thing to come in the mail....

Sorry, very frustrated. This thermostat should have expanded right?? Or does it need some tension on it to expand? Also... What's the normal operating temperature of Type 4 heads? I cant find any info on the web, it's all about oil temp.... Urgggg......

[smitty1976bus]

I did some research and found that Type 4 cylinder heads run at about 350 degrees F. So I may not have heated my engine up enough to open up the thermostat. Buuuuut, I still had to make sure, so I decided to test it by putting it in a ziplock bag, then dunking it into a pot of water, then proceeded to heat that water to 100 Degrees Celsius. The thermostat should open up sometime between 85-95 degrees..... it should

When I started, a cool 29C

And I heated it up to 98C, and the thermostat operated succesfully

I made a time lapse video of it happening, for added satisfaction:


Link


So this is good news. I must not have the engine hot enough for the thermostat to ever open. I'll have to adjust the thermostat cable the best I can, and then when i get it up to temperature, I'll re-adjust it.

[Spike0180]

Just move the flaps closed, and make sure the wire is tightly secured when the thermostat is closed, then when it opens it will for sure let them open. I'd think it would be more fiddling and hotter to set the thermostat while it is hot. If the cable weren't tight enough it wouldn't close it all the way, and they you would have to redo the whole thing. I'd do it cold, just clamp down the flaps/cross bar and get the wire good and tight.
_________________
Brutis Patches Izabich: 1970 VW Transporter - 1776cc DP
Current State: Projects never truly end...
Location: Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Other cars: 2003 F150, 2003 Jetta GLI vr6-6sp

Sambastic: adj; the quality of being nit picky, elitist, expecting everyone to do things the way they believe is best with no regard to situation, "sambastic"

[smitty1976bus]

Spike0180 Wrote:

[smitty1976bus]

Welp..... The bus was just about finished... I purchased insurance and went out and registered it. Was going to take it out for a test drive, so I put some gas into it.... Then fuel started pouring out of the bottom of the bus. Great...

Decided to investigate where it was coming from, so I took off the little port hole thing in the engine bay, and saw that there was a stream of fuel running from, what looked to be either the filler neck or the fuel overflow line. I went to remove the ECM to get a better look... This is where i f#%ked up.... I didn't disconnect the ground from the battery, and accidentally tapped the + terminal on the battery..... Zap, short, spark, fuel, fire..... super. Luckily I had my extinguisher next to me, so gave a quick squeeze and put the fire out with out making a huge mess. God I hope my ECM is ok....Anyways, here the aftermath:

After that, I took a peek inside the fuel tank area, and saw that the leak was coming from the overflow line:

But why? The tank was, maybe, half full. Why is there enough fuel in this line to pour out of it??? I know it's all hooked up correctly, here's a picture of when I installed the tank back at the beginning of this journey:

I can't remember if I used new rubber to connect the lines.... But even if the lines are old, why would there be fuel in the lines??? Does anyone know how this evap, or overflow, or whatever it's called, system works???

**********Not Happy with this Bus**********

[white74westy]

Don't despair!!! You've come a long way. This stuff is not such a big deal.

Some reading on the fuel system: http://ratwell.com/technical/FuelHoses.html

Take your time. Don't rush through the last few steps. Make sure you check everything thoroughly! You know, silly things like "stopping is more important thank going", brakes, fuel lines timing, etc.

I hope things are ok with the FI stuff.

Good luck. Let us know how things turn out!

[Spike0180]

Glad to hear that wasn't worse. I hope you get the time to fix it. Remember to vacuum up the fire extinguisher residue up, I hear it is corrosive and doesn't play well with water? (do a little research, but that is what I have read)
_________________
Brutis Patches Izabich: 1970 VW Transporter - 1776cc DP
Current State: Projects never truly end...
Location: Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Other cars: 2003 F150, 2003 Jetta GLI vr6-6sp

Sambastic: adj; the quality of being nit picky, elitist, expecting everyone to do things the way they believe is best with no regard to situation, "sambastic"

[smitty1976bus]

Thanks everyone, thankfully this was just a slight set back. Ended up taking a 1/2 day off from work to fix/clean it all up, just because it was driving me crazy.

I ended up having to pull the gas tank access panel, which was a pain in the butt. I did reveal all the leaky areas though.

The I replaced some of the rubber hoses, but not all, when I originally put in the tank, error on my part... So new hoses went in. I also saw that there was gas leaking from the sending unit... urr.. fuel gauge unit. So I had to cut a hole in the top of the gas tank area, or had to re-cut a hole. When I first got the bus, there was an access hole there, but I welded it closed. Now I know why it was there in the first place; there is no way I'm pulling that entire tank out again.

I ended up pulling out the fuel gauge unit, and found out that the tank was 110% full.. Fuel poured out everywhere. Oh man.. Why is there this much fuel in there??? Answer: my roommate needed my 5 gallon fuel tank, and ended up pouring what was left in it into the bus's tank. I didn't know that, and poured another 5 gallons into the bus, well, tried to. Either was, the gauge unit shouldn't be leaking. I ended up putting some gasket maker around the original o-ring, and put it back on:

After all this was done, it seems that all leaks were contained. So re-assembly was next. And to prevent any more engine fires, more severe fires, I installed the BlazeCut fire suppression setup:

Thankfully the ECM wasn't damaged when I shot electricity through it's housing, and the bus fired right up! No fuel leaks! Well, we'll find out the next time I cram too much fuel into it's tank. It's looking pretty:

And, I finally took it out on it's maiden voyage Well, I made it about a 1/2 mile. Got some good feedback though. The engine bucks and/or stutters when under a load, at about 1500-2200 rpm. Not sure what it could be, I'm thinking maybe it's the fuel pump or could be a timing issue.... hmmm...

Smitty

[KentABQ]

Woo hooOOOooo!!!

It's always great to read about a good ending to a potentially traumatic issue. And good choice for the Blazecut. I bought the longer one, and it wraps around the top about 2 1/2 times, and interferes with accessing the engine from the top.

When I got Chloe back together, her initial bucking and stuttering was due to the TSII not seating correctly. So that's another easy possibility to check.
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-Kent-
1976 Riviera, 1.8l FI chrome yellow VAN - "Chloe"

"I must say, how can you be in a bad mood driving this vehicle full of vibrant color.
Cars of today are so bland in comparison. It's like driving a celebration!" ---WildIdea

Bus ownership via emoticons:
---williamM

[Abscate]

I love that colour.

WOO HOO!!
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.ssS!