Getting your Bug to Run Again

[1968BUGMAN]

I know that there are other threads like this, but I feel like starting another one. This thread is so that everybody who had a VW that seemed impossible to run, but got it to run, can share everything that they did to the engine before it ran again. This should help people who have purchased a VW that doesn't run be able to fix the car. Please share EVERYTHING that you did, even if it didn't fix or help the problem, we want to know what worked, what didn't, what made the problem worse, and what didn't work but probably helped a little bit.

Now for the story of my impossible Volkswagen, a 1968 Bug that I picked up from a guy in the desert (you will see where this location comes into play later) for $1300 dollars. On Craiglist the guy said it ran, but when I called him he said it didn't run anymore (the car had only been listed for around a month). I realize now that the car probably hadn't run for a lot longer than that. When we showed up it was fairly apparent that the guy hadn't kept VW's before because he didn't know too much. This probably meant that the car hadn't ran since he bought it. Upon opening up the deck lid to see if there was an obvious problem we saw that the coil was unplugged, an obvious reason why it wouldn't start. So we plugged it in, and it kind of started and would run if you constantly revved it. We checked for rust, didn't find anything significant, and we finally bought the car.

Luckily, I had brought a tow bar with me so that I could tow the car for 3 hours back to my house. Once I got it home I went to my local auto parts store and picked up 4 spark plugs because it probably needed new ones. When I pulled the old ones out it seemed like they weren't that bad, but replaced them anyways. Then I went to JBugs.com and ordered some parts like spark plug wires, a few wheel lugs, and some assorted others (like fuses). Once I got the parts I put them in, and the car still wouldn't run.

I then assumed that maybe it was timing so I statically timed it, and it still didn't work, although it was better. I read around on the internet that it could be the carb,. The fact that I bought the car from the desert meant that everything was covered in sand, so even a few weeks of the car sitting there (and maybe running without an air filter) could have meant that there was dirt in the carb. So I went to my local auto parts store and bought some carb cleaner. I sprayed it in the carbs, and got it to kind of start. From there I adjusted the carb until it ran better. I then got a idle cut off solenoid for the carb (34 pict 3) hoping that this could also probably be the problem. At this point, when the choke was on the car would run great. However, once the choke turned off there was an awful dead spot that made the car shutter and shake. The only way to make this not as bad would be to rev the car higher than you should before you let off of the clutch.

Even with this problem I was able to get to the DMV and register the car. After that I went to the local VW parts store to ask them what the problem might be. They said that with a 009 distributor (which I had) and the 34 pict3 carb, and the preheat tubes removed the car would have a flat spot. This natural flat spot combined with a slight flat spot from a dirty carb meant that the carb was definitely the source of my problem. I asked if he had any other carbs for sale, and he said no. But as I was walking out of the store a man ran after me and asked if I would like to buy the carbs that he was selling. When I asked him what they were he said that the were Weber 44 idf’s. He would sell them to me for $250. So bought them from him and when I was picking them up he gave me some assorted others including an exhaust which was rusted but would be better than what I had.

I eventually got the dual 44s on the car, and it still didn’t run. So I bought a rebuild kit for it and installed them. Low and behold the car finally ran. It still ran terribly though so I bought a sync tool to adjust them. I can into linkage problems and the throttle wouldn’t return all of the way, but I got in more or less in sync. Unfortunately, I it wouldn’t actually hold an idle until it was really hot, but I decided to leave it. For now at least I had a car that I could drive every day. Eventually I figured that I should rejet it with 115 mains and 45 idles. Once I put the jets in it didn’t work at all. I readjusted it and I finally got my timing light to work so I could proberly time it, but it didn’t work. It would stumble under power and I could adjust it enough to make it work. However, I got it to hold and idle and I finally had fixed the linkages. So, I decided to leave in the idle jets and replace my mains with the original 135s. It worked amazingly, for one drive. The next day when I got in the car it wouldn’t run right even when warm, and the idle kept getting wayyy too high. Also, since my sync tool broke (which sucks because I only used it once) it would backfire more than it should. This is where I am at right now, so I am going to buy another sync tool and then adjust it to idle at a good speed and then work on adjusting the accelerator pump. Honestly, while I love the sound of 4 barrels, it sucks to adjust them and I would recommend to either get a stock carb, a proggy, or maybe dual 34s for a stock engine.

If I had to do it again I would first replace the gas tank, or just clean it out. When you do this run all of the gas through the fuel filter as you drain it. Then, throw away the fuel filter and replace it. The gas should be clean now so you can clean/replace the tank and then put the gas back in (this will keep the carb from clogging). Then either rebuild the carb you have or buy a new one. If you buy one used it most likely needs to be rebuild. Then time the car, get a distributor tune up kit, replace the spark plugs (maybe even the wires). Finally you can dile in the carb and hope it runs well! I hope this will help anybody who needs to get their car running.
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[Murmsk]

Look for an air leak

S
_________________
1970 Convertible
1972 super
1946 Willys Jeep

[1968BUGMAN]

Yeah I've pullet of the carbs a few times without replacing the gaskets. But I think syncing them would help a lot. I guess I could spray some wd-40 at the base of the carbs.
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[Murmsk]

Never dealt with duals but vw’s in general are very sensitive to air leaks .

S
_________________
1970 Convertible
1972 super
1946 Willys Jeep

[1968BUGMAN]

Alright, that kind of sucks because I dont want to pull of the carbs, but I guess I will have to.
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[1968BUGMAN]

Just figured out that I can sync the carbs with feeler gauges so I might try that first. You just measure the opening on the butterflies and make sure that they are the same.
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[1968BUGMAN]

Well it has been running but not well. After it failed to start I got a new battery and purchased dual 34 solex carbs from CB Performance. I also plan on cleaning off the spark plugs and hopefully this will fix all of the problems that I have had with the car.
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[VW_Jimbo]

[1968BUGMAN]

Okay, so the fuel filter is new and so is the gas tank and I see no dirt in the filter indicating that the lines are clear. The car did run so the fuel pump works. I have adjusted the valves and replaced the car, rotor, condenser, and properly gaped the points. There is no vacuum because it is a mechanical 009 unit. Every problem so far has been fixed with carb adjustment so I hope that is all it is. If this doesn't fix it then maybe it is the distributor and I need to just replace it.
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[VW_Jimbo]

Oh, and if you have a 2000 and something size engine, what size venturis are in the carbs?

What size are the valves? That will determine venture sizing, along with the cam and engine size.
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Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[1968BUGMAN]

It is a 1600 engine I think. The block is a D so it was a 1300, but it is deffinately bigger than that so I'm not quite sure what it is.
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[VW_Jimbo]

[1968BUGMAN]

I will check on that. I am hoping that they are relatively easy to tune, but I don't have them yet so I will post once I get them on the car.
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[andk5591]

Weber 44s were way to big to start with. What you need to do as Jimbo suggested is go through each step for proper tuning. Valve adjustments, set the timing correctly (stiill 009? Max advance around 3000 or so RPMS set at around 30-32 degrees). How are your points? What is the dwell? Do you have the correct coil? Just replaced a coil on a car that was burning out the points. Condensor OK? TEST for vacuum leaks - I use small shots of starter fluid at every junction between the carbs and the heads. Look for any vac ports that have hoses or rubber caps - these are notorious leaks. WD-40 isnt very flamable anymore, Not sure how well it works for leak testing.

Fuel pressure is VERY important - measure it - you want around 3 lbs or less, but for some reason I seem to remember that IDFs will take a little higher. This can cause all kind of problems. Have seen fuel pumps putting out over 9 lbs or less that 1.

And stop just throwing parts at it. I think your new carb choice is a better idea, but you still need to work through the basics.
_________________
D-Dubya Manx clone - 63 Short pan,1914.
Rosie 65 bug - My mostly stock daily driver.
Woodie 69 VW woodie (Hot VWs 7/12).
"John's car" 64 VW woodie - The first ever
Maxine 61 Cal-look bug - Cindy's daily driver.
Max - 73 standard Beetle hearse project - For sale
66 bug project - Real patina & Suby conversion
There's more, but not keeping them...

[1968BUGMAN]

I am replacing those Weber's. I have timed it but I don't know how to check the dwell. The coil is just a regular blue coil.
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[VW_Jimbo]

[andk5591]

Assuming you have points. I dont think you said. ....yeah you NEED to check dwell if points ...THEN reset your timing.

But as mentioned, go through proper tune up. Points, condensor, cap rotor plugs....Verify distributor is correct as I said - any of these things can cause all kinds of issues.

Some stuff I have seen just this year:
broken center contact in distributor cap.
Coil with 1.4 ohms and burned points
bad condensor - poor spark
Weak coil - poor spark
a multitude of vacuum leaks
Loose spark plugs
tight valves
fouled plugs (wrong plugs as well)
Timing set wrong.....at least 50% of the cars
_________________
D-Dubya Manx clone - 63 Short pan,1914.
Rosie 65 bug - My mostly stock daily driver.
Woodie 69 VW woodie (Hot VWs 7/12).
"John's car" 64 VW woodie - The first ever
Maxine 61 Cal-look bug - Cindy's daily driver.
Max - 73 standard Beetle hearse project - For sale
66 bug project - Real patina & Suby conversion
There's more, but not keeping them...

[1968BUGMAN]

Okay, so I recieved the 34 Solex carbs last week, and they were faulty. The throttle would get stuck on one and the choke opened different amounts even after adjusting it. So thankfully I never put them on the car and I was able to return them. I ended up getting Weber 34 ICT's instead. Which arrived two days ago. I then put them onto the car and got them set up. After a while of making sure everything was right I started cranking over the car and eventually it fired up. It had a fast idle but it ran better than the car ever did. I ended up lowering the idle speed, but it might still be a little fast. So now I will wait for it to be warm and then I will do the mixture adjustment and then work on the idle speed a little bit more. I guess if you have a bug that doesn't run you should probably try timing, the condensor, points, spark plugs, and most importantly the carb (and fuel filter).
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[VW_Jimbo]

So dual carbs! You will need to synch them to achieve the best drivability. To set basic idle, timing and mixture, be sure to disconnect the linkage from both carbs after you think you got it, just to be sure the linkage is not holding one side open a hair more than the other side. If it does, run back through ALL of it! Repeat till perfect!

Dual carbs are WAY MORE FUN!!!!!!
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Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[1968BUGMAN]

It seems much slower wide open than it used to be though. Maybe mixture adjustment would help? Any thoughts? I am kind of sad to lose the sound of dual 44 idfs though.
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