I'm the PO - Re-Restoring a Restoration

[_Bach]

Been Reading the post, impressive quality of work in relative short time, i took 6 years doing a bug, and got myself a bus last years which i haven’t really gotten around to start on, this post might just inspire me to get to work.
Keep up the good vwork, looking forward to follow along.
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Viking from Denmark 🇩🇰

1972 super Beetle - finished project
1975 Bay Window - ongoing resto

[Shonandb]

Clatter. Haven't seen any posts from you in a bit. Hopefully you are busy catching some of that recent storm swell.
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76 Westy with a 2.5L Subaru SOHC + Vanagon (010) Automatic Transaxle
Build & Trip Thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=758760
Previous 1973 Panel Bus:
Click to view image

[Clatter]

Got a bit burned out on the Bus and putting it aside for a bit.
Can only struggle with outdoor painting and endless sanding for so long.
Painting in the cold/wind is like pissing into a fan.

Doing a project with my two boys for a bit here,
And once the weather (and my attitude) warms up a bit we’ll get back to sanding and painting a bus.

Sometimes you have to take a break and get your enthusiasm back again.

Long as it’s not permanent…
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Bus Motor Build

What’s That Noise?!?

[SGKent]

[Clatter]

OK, little something happened.
Working on transaxle because the weather is cold.

The last guy obviously glued on the pinion nut!

Was going to cut/chisel it off,
But then started worrying about ruining the pinion bearing or even the case.

Made up a pinion socket retainer bar,
As shown to us by the great Paul Guard.

Wailed on it with my feeble impact wrench but no dice.
Taking it to my local 4x4 shop for a more serious impacting on Monday.

Progress is progress, right?
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Bus Motor Build

What’s That Noise?!?

[Xevin]

Clatter is a proud dad. The youngest porting heads for is new to him car

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Keep on Busin'

[Clatter]

Having my youngest start into the car hobby has made me happy to be sure.
Hopefully it won't ruin his life!

Went to the local 4x4 shop and used their big impact to no avail.
Finally, just had to slice the nut with a small cutoff in a Dremel,
Then cracked it off with a chisel.
Made a grit mess in the trans, so it had to come 100% apart for cleaning.

Really fun to be into this box myself instead of other people.
Since I've gotten all of the factory VW bus trans tools,
Operations like this make me want to do it again just for fun!

Years and years ago i put short tires on to improve highway handling.
Was tired of getting blown around on the highway in places like Palm Springs.
This required a re-gear, and since there were no taller ring n' pinions,
bought all four aftermarket race gears in order to get the ratios right.
Came out to 3.33/1.93/1.14/.82 - gets me basically back to stock, save a few revs on the highway.
Had tried a .77 4th but the motor just wouldn't pull it.
Anyways, i never had those gears in my little paws before and they really are glorious to behold.
Check out the tooth profile and the finish, plus drilled for lightening.
Fast like lightning!

After holding the gears against my cheek and going MMmmmm for a few hours...

Started evaluating the case for pinion bore tightness.
Done enough of these boxes now to get a feel for pinion bore dimensions during heating with these big paint lights.
These are 500W bulbs, and leaving them against the case like this gets some serious heat in.
Loading just the pinion stack cold into a hot case will tell a lot by how it feels going in.
Rigging it up like this for removal - so it will drop with a push or tap from a mallet - tells yet again how tight.
You can measure six ways from Sunday, but what really matters in the end is the fit of the pinion bearing into the case at temp, and the feel doesn't lie.

Since this case does have a relatively tight pinion bore, I'm in a conundrum.
There's this sleeved case and Weddle aluminum gear carrier all jig bored as a unit sitting here i showed earlier.
But, for this particular bus, I'm not so sure that's the right call.
Because i have a mild type 4 and not some 6-cylinder turbo SVX, why run it?
Same with the diff - I have the weak 'A' diff cover that VW decided to update.
Rich Roberts has a few of those Vanagon 4-spider diffs for sale.
There's also the thrust plate for the mainshaft bearing, steel-caged rollers, etc.
The sky's the limit building one of these boxes.
All of that stuff is for increasing shock load strength.
Good for drag racing on slicks, or a desert car flying through the air on the rev limiter.
But on a lowered street bus that won't even climb to a remote camp spot?
Not so much...

One thing that will get improved is oiling for 4th gear.
'runaway heat' is how Paul Guard describes the issue.
Had a 4th gall when using cheap oil before.
Now that my motor is built a bit, i tend to put my foot down for hours on the highway.
Especially in the heat...
Fortunately, this box didn't show symptoms these when torn down.
Thank you Swepco 201. Will run this oil forever.

Probably going to track down some South African splash plates,
Put in a fresh small main shaft bearing,
And try to figure out an oil channel or two to promote flow to mainshaft bearings.

These coarse-tooth race gears are a bit noisy.
1-2-3 it doesn't really bother, but 4th singing for hours on end gets old once you're aware of it.
Plan is to install one of Paul Guard's gears in 4th.
These are still balls-badass race strength but have slightly finer teeth for quiet running.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2041168

Got one of his gears here and it's just magnificent to behold.
Such a shame to hide it in a gearbox.
Should be put in a glass display case!

Comparison to a Weddle race gear:

Anyhow,
A real lesson tearing this box down!
After ripping down a dozen crappy junkyard gearboxes,
They constantly have pitted bearings, rounded teeth, loose pinion bores.
Many of them are 100% junk.
Tearing down my own box here,
Even with 15-20-odd years of hard running,
It's all like new inside.
Not going to need even carrier bearings. They're like new!
There was no reason to tear this box down.
It could have easily gone on for many, many more years.
And the reason is the OIL!
USE GOOD OIL IN YOUR TRANSAXLE
And everything will last a very long time.

Again, I like Swepco 201. Very Much.
Yes, it's like $85 per gallon,
But it's cheaper than a rebuild.

Thanks for looking.
Learned a lot tearing this down and wanted to share.
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Bus Motor Build

What’s That Noise?!?

[Clatter]

[notchboy]

[Clatter]

Thanks for the thoughts my man.
The hole is deep, and i just keep digging!

I'll try to keep the write-up more attainable and limit babble.
Once you get into gearboxes it gets for than a little esoteric.

Buses have two spider gears in the differential.
Vanagon Synchros have four.
VW decided that, because of their off-road use, this strength mod was in order.
In drag racing, the aftermarket makes a 4-spider diff - called a 'super diff'.
Spider gears breaking is the known weakness in the VW diff.
Since it's a cast part it can crack.
Not that I'm going to be drag-racing my bus here,
But,
Since I'm in..
Many Synchro heads put in a locker or TBD diff, so the stock diffs come up for sale relatively cheap.
You can get a race super diff for 091 from Weddle for about the same $300 as these used Vanagon diffs,
But by the time you buy new gears and all the price climbs.
Plus, the factory parts are more precise and have worn in to match.
If you use two sets of sider gears from different boxes, they won't be exactly the same size, and two will be just going along for the ride.
If that makes any sense...

Also, the first generation of diff covers were weak and known to break.
These are noted by the letter A at the end of the part number.
Like many VW parts, the later version is B and more robust.
Oddly enough, these late Synchro 4-spider diffs had an A cover.

Had to pull it apart for inspection and cleaning.
An odd factory disassembly procedure in the Vanagon Bentley with a ball?
Big thanks to Xevin for digging this pic up.

Not having a 17mm ball lying about,
Another shaft works just as well.

Anyone rebuilding these boxes will likely do new carrier (a.k.a. inner wheel or diff) bearings.
Watch out that they have a correct inner chamfer.

If not, they won't seat all the way home.

So now we're waiting on more parts..

Also,
My pic last time was of a type1 GT .82 4th gear.
Here is the actual 094/091 GT .082 4th,
Next to my old Weddle race .82.
Oh, this gearset is so lovely.
I want to post up dozens of pics but will restrain myself.
Can't wait to enjoy some quieter highway miles with this thing...

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Bus Motor Build

What’s That Noise?!?

[Clatter]

Oh, and, waiting on parts the weather warmed up enough for some wetsanding.

God, i hate wetsanding...

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Bus Motor Build

What’s That Noise?!?

[Clatter]

Couple more days of this doodoo.

Nose and roof have enough paint that it's not burning through.

Not fun... But should make for a nice difference once it's all done.

You know they regularly buff airplanes, right?
Pays for itself in fuel savings,
Plus, increased cruising speed.

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Bus Motor Build

What’s That Noise?!?

[notchboy]

I have one of those condoms for the front if you want it?
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[airschooled]

Forget the condoms, I want to know about your missing ball.

The axles are installed, what, as some kind of reinforcement for the axle race?

I don't have 17mm balls either.
Robbie
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Learn how your vintage VW works. And why it doesn't!
One-on-one tech help for your Volkswagen:
www.airschooled.com

[wcfvw69]

[orwell84]

That paint looks amazeballs.

Burning through just sucks.

I’ll take wet sanding over sandblasting any day.

[Clatter]

Thanks for following along gentlemen.
Nice to not have to suffer alone.

Can't wait to cover this nose in dead bugs one day.
It seems such this far-off impossible dream...

The "17mm ball" thing mother VW did with the 4-spider Synchro diff is beguiling.
They were making sure to support the center block to keep it straight during pressing?
Keeping the housing from deforming?
Ensuring alignment of the washers?
Hard to know.
Maybe they have 17mm balls lying about, but no old spider pins?
Maybe the ball takes up less room in a guy's toolbox?
The mystery remains...
Either way, I'll have another spider pin in my tool collection for -if- i ever push together another Vanagon diff before i die.

I'll take sandblasting over wetsanding.
Blasting, while it sucks and blows to be sure, at least is done in a couple tries at most.
This wetsanding thing, - one burn-thru and it's 'start over'.
And over,
And over,
And over.

The reason we paint things is to protect them from rust.
If you sand the paint off,
Then,
Um,
Wait, what happened here?





Anyone hear from Steve Kent?
He hasn't been on the site for over a dozen days(!)
Not like him.
Someone want to go up to his house and check for his body?
Unless we do it, not sure anyone will.
Careful, though.. If he's still alive you might get shot at.
Of course, it's always very possible an angry mob of hippy liberals surrounded his house with pitchforks and torches and carried him off.
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Bus Motor Build

What’s That Noise?!?

[orwell84]

Just sharing this to say thanks for all the paint and buffing tips. They helped a lot. Now doing trim. 30 hand peened solid aluminum rivets to hold the floor rails on. Still way easier than a bus.

[Clatter]

Yep,
Once you get bitten…

Sing it with me:
Oh my ree-ten-tiv-it-tee
It just will not let me be!

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Bus Motor Build

What’s That Noise?!?

[Clatter]

And the fight continues...

1200 takes for -ever- to take the orange peel out,
But it's better than burning thru.

Sanding 1200 at an angle helps make those scratches show at that angle.
You can see them in this pic kinda/maybe?

2000 goes longways.
Once all of the 1200 angled scratches are gone and it's only these longways scratches left it's time to buff.

Vapor blast guy came by and dropped off a trans case.

Eventually something will get bolted together around here one day.
Eventually...
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Bus Motor Build

What’s That Noise?!?