For those of you who don't know or remember me, I have been enduring endless problems with my poor 1800 '74 camper.
I bought it initially for the princely sum of $200, and it was worth every cent.
Since I bought it, it's been converted to manual transmission, had various mechanical failures, and a lot of things replaced.
It all went bad when it dropped a valve nearly 2 years ago.
So anyway, it dropped a valve. Wrecking a head, a piston and lightly damaging a barrel.
I replaced the pistons and the damaged head.
The deck height was wrong. I wrecked another head.
I had to move house interstate too.
I moved from QLD to VIC. During that time I rebuilt the topend again.
After I did that it ran better but not perfect. It wouldn't idle properly and was fairly gutless.
It was behaving almost exactly like it did before the last rebuild.
I moved again.
I started another batch of work on it.
This time around I found 2 more major problems.
One of my sparkplug connectors had actually burnt out hollow where the screw part anchors to the connector body.
I replaced that. Ran better but still badly.
It still wouldn't idle properly and ran badly.
I tried testing for vacuum leaks but the unsteady running made it impossible to tell.
On a hunch I pulled off the left hand carby. Both 3 and 4's manifold gaskets werew there. Problem was both were on 3.
Vacuum leak found. Runs better now.
The van still has the 'thwack' coming from the left hand side somewhere though. It's done that since about an hour after the first rebuild.
As near as I can tell, everything moves smoothly. The valves all function fine, there's no binding anywhere, and it doesn't seem to affect running.
It's also possible it's the exhaust. It has a nasty set of extractors on it that some previous owner put on.
There was one other issue. For some reason none of the tinware fit properly on the left of the engine after the last rebuild.
So, what on earth have I done now!
If at first you don't succeed. Build, build again.
Vehicle: 1975 Special order delivery walkthrough panel based LCA pop-top camper. Motor: Nippon 1.8L Single port Wasserboxer, Transmission: 3 rib 002.
Yikes, and I thought my PBB had had problems! :P Good luck with it all....
Hmmmm. sounds like a similar life I had with the bus for many years. After 8 years and many many failures, I had finally reconditioned and/ or replaced every single part of the motor and gearbox except the alternator. I was cautious about that alternator and so that was why I put the Suby in it. 🙂
Seriously though, it is a great feeling once you get it all right though. You feel confident that it will go almost forever. The bit that hurts is all the costs. :cry
What kind of a "thwack"? Is it the sort of sound you'd get if the head was not quite on tight enough so that a tiny gap opens and closes with each power stroke? I wonder if it might be something like this because maybe the dropped valve damage could have bent the barrel and/or stretched/pulled studs, so that the head doesn't quite seal on properly. I don't know if this is actually possible from a dropped valve, I'm just speculating here.
1959 red & white Beetle
1975 Kombi camper
hey general failure, good to see youve made it back to the forums and are making some progress with the bus. I cant quite get the sound of 'thwack' in my head so duno what we are dealing with but wat purple martin said sounds convincing... does it coincide with the firing/compression stroke of that cylinder?
Hey all.
I'd love to put a subie motor in, Helbus.
My S Beetle was really reliable, but not my poor van. It was ran into the ground when I got it. And it's gotten worse since.
The Thwack is.. Umm... I'll just go and have a listen.
Right, not much clearer. It sounds sort of like a tap and sort of like a quick 'chuff'.
Not like the squeak I was getting before I rebuily the engine though. The squeak was justified by a burnt head gasket and a cracked head.
The seal appears to be good between the head and barrels. They have excellent compression and are both dead even. I think they were 115psi. It's in another thread anyway.
I always recheck the head stud tension at least 4 times before I put the tinware on too, just incase the gaskets flatten a little. Call me paranoid, but I don't like leaks there.
I'm wondering if there's a bad leak between the head and the heat exchange. It's possible because I forgot the O gaskets... I think. I'm dreading pulling the heat exchanges off again.
The stupid extractors don't help either. I had to alter the towbar so it'd fit around the things.
Don't suppose anyone has a standard exhaust lying around? hehe.
If at first you don't succeed. Build, build again.
Vehicle: 1975 Special order delivery walkthrough panel based LCA pop-top camper. Motor: Nippon 1.8L Single port Wasserboxer, Transmission: 3 rib 002.
i actually have a set of stock heat exchangers i am willing to part with... they arent too pretty... . Sounds like your exhaust is most likely leaking but i got no idea on the sound. does the bus run now? Will reply a bit later after i have a look at the heat exchangers
My heat exchanges 'seem' to be okay. I may be pulling them off again next friday. I'm betting on an improper seal between the head and heat exchange.
A while back I did the blow through test. Ie, I covered one end with my hand and blew into the other end as hard as I could. Couldn't feel any pressure loss.
Doesn't mean they don't leak now though.
I really do need a replacement muffler/tailpipe assembly though. Mine is bent and mangled. Part of the pipe before the muffler is disfigured somewhat, even though I cut a large amount of metal off the towbar for clearance.
I actually modded it by welding the tongue onto the tongue mount, and cutting half of both of them off, to allow some clearance for the exhaust. It still has one bolt through it though for strength.
The bus has always ran, just not too great.
It's running better now. It still doesn't like starting and I need to wind it up a little before I release the clutch, but it's smoother now.
If I don't feel up to the job this week coming, I'm just going to finish rewiring the auxiliary battery and see if I can refit the replacement driving light and foglights to the bullbar. The trick is protecting them well enough. It's too easy to break accessories when using the van to bulldoze things, like posts, badly parked cars, etc etc.
So far I've scavenenged 3 of the O gaskets. I must have more around, I always do. I guess it's possible that at least one is already on the heads.
I still have a much larger problem. I have a torn axle boot. It's on the scary side. I swear the axle is too long or something. If I have the suspension hanging freely, I can just barely unhook the axle over the top of the transmission end.
My van is a compilation of mixed parts. Things never quite match up with the documentation. Especially the drivetrain. It was an auto. I had it converted to a manual with a 1600 tranny. I've been meaning to take advantage of the now unused park and neutral safety switch for an immobiliser.
It already has a weird setup where the interior light is linked to the horn as a kind of primitive alarm.
It's a strange van, modified by a camper conversion company that no-one has heard of.
If at first you don't succeed. Build, build again.
Vehicle: 1975 Special order delivery walkthrough panel based LCA pop-top camper. Motor: Nippon 1.8L Single port Wasserboxer, Transmission: 3 rib 002.
