Wolfsburg Elder
I never said, I could write or spell
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posted on May 2nd, 2008 at 10:32 PM
just try adjusting the timing up a bit at a time, then road testing it ,if it improves it could be a worn cam or loose cam gear, once a cam lobe goes
it wears away pretty quick.if the cam gear is loose you could lose upto 10degress in advance in the timing.or take it to a different repairer.
car forums. where a lot of peoples good intentions end up taking a good old car off the road forever never ever to see the road again.
General_Failure
A.k.a.: Tristan
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posted on May 2nd, 2008 at 10:35 PM
Helbus, I agree.
Compression: I haven't tested it in a while but it was after the last topend rebuild and the beggining of the problem. IIRC they were all roughly
110PSI. I'll test them again if necessary. I had to buy a compression tester to do that.the last time.
Ignition:
I have another coil and distributor which I can substitute. The dissy was retired due to excessive end float. Ie when I hit a big bump the dissy would
disengage and the van would grind to a halt. Still works fine though if I don't go anywhere. I also have the fully functional bosch coil I pulled to
put in the GT40. Depending on funds I plan to replace the sparkplugs this week too.
I believe I tried substituting the distributor in the past with no change but I can always try it again.
SOmething dawned on me today. The fact that the van is all torque and no action. It can still spin the wheels but barely move. I did a static timing
today after I discovered the van was out of go juice, and I'll do it with the strobe tomorrow after a fresh can is tipped in. I have however done the
timing only a couple of months ago. I did do the points today so I need to do it anyway.
Fuel:
I don't like my chances of finding a cheap pair of carbs. I have however considered fabricating a bodgey single carb manifold thing to bolt on to
the top of the dual carb manifolds. Well, you get the picture. If it produces more hp than a victa I'd know I was on the right track.
Fuel pump: I was running a mitsubishi electric diaphragm pump supposedly out of a subie. I used it to drain the tank into a jerry can this week too.
Then I switched back to the mechanical pump which I had stopped using because of a bit of a drip. No change.
My vacuum gauge is also a fuel pressure gauge, so I might as well check it, but flow does seem good.
Power. Power is most definitely getting to the coil, and if I disconnect a sparkplug lead I really notice it. Not so much on #4 as teh others but I
have been suspecting borderline plugs so it doesn't concern me much. 3 and 4 were really sooty but I'm not surprised. I had discovered that the
initial mixture on the left hand carb was set way too rich, and on the right it was hard closed. After rectifying idle was a lot smoother.
Miscellaneous point. No smoke at any time unless I plug the intake of the idle carb throat, which is no surprise because it would just be sucking
fuel.
My mechanic would constantly have to adjust the carbies and timing for some reason. I know there were also some teething problems after it went from
an auto to a manual 1600 transmission it needed some tweaking. It was also going over 1000km a week over horrible roads so things tended to work
loose.
It hasn't been to a VW mech here. Apparently there is one here somewhere, but it seems to be a well guarded secret. And from previous experiences I
am not trusting another volksie with a 'normal' mechanic. In Melbourne it was only a few weeks before I moved that I discovered there was VW
mechanic and wrecker no more than two residential blocks away from my house. I was a little annoyed. Still, they provided me with a weight and size
matched piston to replace the mashed one so I could go back to VW pistons from Porsche ones.
Just thought I'd add the oil is fine. It's still honey coloured because I changed it after the rebuild. Thankfully because it is a type4 motor it
also has a filter along with a strainer.
I'm hoping tomorrow after I put some more fuel in the problem will be gone, but I doubt it severely. After trying the other dissy and coil, the only
avenue I'll be able to pursue is carburettors. What fun.
To be honest I woudn't mind an EJ20. By the way, could someone clarify something for me? I recall seeing in a thread recently someone asking about
using a subie transmission with reduction boxes and a picture of a beetle pan with an unfamiliar box that I can only assume is a subaru transmission.
Is this right? and if so is its diff flippable like a VW one? I find the thought of using a subaru diff and motor appealing. But probably not worth
the effort.
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.
General_Failure
A.k.a.: Tristan
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posted on May 3rd, 2008 at 11:18 AM
I just don't know anymore. I dumped some fuel in, got it started and checked the timing. Nothing wrong there. Also vac and mech advance seem to be
working fine. Spark is very strong and steady. Found that out by accident while usingthe strobe. It's one of the cheapies and I have to connect it by
going distributor -> strobe -> sparkplug lead -> sparkplug. It ended up arcing in the join between the strobe and the sparkplug lead onto the
fan housing. I could get a steady, thick spark up to about 8mm gap.
While I was at it I renewed the vacuum hose bits. They were okay before but I figured it couldn't hurt. The vacuum is still just as low though. The
only thing I haven't tried yet is blocking off the balance and idle tube, and measuring the vacuum with just the brake booster attached. I have
already learned that the brake booster line isn't the culprit.
I'm just going around in circles. You can all see why I'm sick of the motor though, right? I have wasted an insane amount of time chasing the
problem.
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.
