It seems like there are 3 different things that all get changed around the same time by folks that mean well, but don't realize they're doing their air-cooled VW a disservice. Maybe they got misled by some flashy advertisement. Maybe they were talked into it by a mechanic that "used to race" so he knew what he was doing. Regardless, if you find one of these aftermarket modifications, the odds are very good that the other 2 have been made as well. This is part II of a 3 part series dedicated to the different AirCooled Aftermarket Axis of Evil modifications.
Evil Aftermarket Modification #2: 009 distributor (010 and 050 too)
Some folks still swear by them. I swear at them. John Muir said the mechanical advance distributor was better than the vacuum/mechanical because the introduction of the vacuum was really for lazy people. Well.... I'd have to disagree. If you have one of these distributors, you probably find that you have almost no power at the very bottom of the RPM range. Pulling away from a stop sign requires that you really goose the gas. If you've always had a mechanical-only advance distributor (009, 010, 050) you may not realize the this is not how a VW is supposed to run. The vacuum is needed because the mechanical advance is too slow at the beginning of the curve, causing the bog-down effect from a full stop.
How do I recognize this evil?
There will not be a vaccum can on the side. The vacuum can is a circular brass thing (looks almost like a hockey puck) stuck to the side of the distributor near the top where the cap clicks on. Its about 2 inches across and has a little hose coming out of it that connects to your carb or fuel injection somewhere. Some distributors have a vacuum retard as well so there may be more than one hose. The important part is that you have a hose going from the distributor to something else. A 009, 010, and 050 have no hose, just wires... and bad times.
How do I eradicate the evil-doer?
Simply, toss it in a box and get a distributor with a vacuum advance component. Don't sell it or the terrorists win! Your local steel recycler is your ally! There are aftermarket replacement distributors that have a vacuum component. For example, I got a SVDA (Single Vacuum Dual Advance) from aircooled.net for about $150. You can get the stock distributor, but I've found them to be more expensive. The stock part number is 021905271 with a letter on the end that differs depending on your model year. You can find these new at BusDepot or used at theBusCo, BustedBus or Bus-Boys. Installing a distributor isn't as hard as it sounds. Just get your engine to top-dead-center (TDC) - that's where your engine is ready to fire in cylinder #1. Remove the old distributor and put the new one in. The guys at AirCooled.net supplied many pages of instructions, so this was a short afternoon's work to get it into my bus and running right. If you go the stock distributor route, there are decent instructions in the Bentley service manual for installing it. I took this opportunity to switch from points to electronic ignition. It cost $70 for the kit and an additional $10 for the labor at AirCooled to put it into the SVDA, but I like the fact that I don't have to mess with points when I do a tune up. Besides, I think the electronic ignition gives a better spark.
How to set the timing once the distributor has been installed has been a topic of great debate. I have found that setting the timing just retarded from the spec for the engine code has been the best for me. Advance too far, and you overheat. Overheat, and you're walkin'. Every bus has a different combination of parts if you aren't strict-stock, so your timing may not be exactly by-the-book either. Static timing of an 009 is practically impossible, so by removing this evil, you're actually making your bus more owner-maintainable. I've carried my old 009 around in my parts bin (the big cabinet under the Westfalia rock-n-roll bed) for 2 years just in case I needed it. I don't need it anymore, but selling the 009 is spreading the wrong message (letting the terrorists win), so its going to the steel recycler. Maybe, though the wonders of recycling, it can become an instrument of freedom.
Next time.... Evil AfterMarket Modification #3
Monday, March 5, 2007
Friday, March 2, 2007
AirCooled Aftermarket Axis of Evil
Yesterday's posting about the Weber Progressive Carb in the Wintertime reminded me of my AirCooled Aftermarket Axis of Evil. What is this Axis of Evil? Well, its not Korea, Iran and Iraq. It is a collection of modifications performed on aircooled vehicles that are all done together for some reason. It seems like there are 3 different things that all get changed around the same time by folks that mean well, but don't realize they're doing their air-cooled VW a disservice. Maybe they got misled by some flashy advertisement. Maybe they were talked into it by a mechanic that "used to race" so "he knew what he was doing". Regardless, if you find one of these aftermarket modifications, the odds are very good that the other 2 have been made as well. Bear in mind, if the VW engineers could have left off a bolt, they would have saved the company a big ol' pile o' cash after producing millions of these engines.
I'll spend my next 3 posts on each of the different AirCooled Aftermarket Axil of Evil modifications. After yesterday's post about the Weber 32/36 progressive, we'll logically start there. Its not the worst of the Axis of Evil, but its not part of the Coalition of the Willing either.
Evil Aftermarket Modification #1: Weber Progressive 32/36 Carb.
I know fellow bus drivers that swear by these carbs. Usually it comes up in a conversation about why they only drive their bus in the Summertime. "Busses can't be used all year 'round," they say. "They don't like the cold." Ahh yes... good old balmy Germany... that's where my bus wants to drive. That's crazy talk. If you don't like driving your bus in the cold because it doesn't have heat, say so, and I'll happily help you fix it. Your bus likes the cold fine. Your centermount progressive carb doesn't. It really isn't the carb's fault, though, its the fault of the long intake that the carb sits on. After the fuel and air mix together, it travels down 15" or more of pipe to the intake port on your head. That pipe is out there in the elements, not heated by anything, so the fuel mixture gets all dorked up and by the time it hits the combustion chamber it doesn't burn right. This carb was designed to sit right on top of the Pinto engine, getting warmed by the engine block. No such luck on theVW, especially the pancake motor in 1972-1983 bus/vans.
How do I recognize this evil?
When you pop the rear engine door and look inside, there will be a silver squarish thing sitting right in the middle of everything. If it is exactly as it comes out of the box, it will have a chrome aircleaner on it. It is sitting on long silver tubes that look like electical conduit. "Aw.. but it looks so pretty," you say. Yeah, pretty, but grossly inefficient when the air temperature drops below 70F or gets near the dew point. Here in the Pacific NorthWest, its a rare day when its not near the dew point except in the Summer..... which, oddly enough, is when the local Weber drivers think is the only time to drive a bus. Coincidence? No, they've been confused by the evil-doers.
How do I eradicate the evil-doer?
There are a few options for reducing the negatives of the Weber (containment of the evil-doer), or you could toss it completely for the correct induction system for your make/model/year.
Option 1: you could add insult to injury by trying the GM Cavalier trick. The Cavalier had a similar problem with its induction system, so GM added a heated gasket to warm the system. Whaddaya know, it fits between a Weber and that ridiculous electrical conduit intake. I have not personally done this, but I have heard that this does actually work, but you need some kind of thermal sensor to tell it to turn itself off. Sounded dangerous and little like like nonscience, so I tried...
Option 2: find a source of warm air and route it into the aircleaner. This helps the carb work better down to the mid 40F's, and drivable into the mid 30F's. I went into more detail in yesterday's post about this. The best solution is replacing the whole thing with what was removed in the first place - either dual carbs or fuel injection. These are more expensive options, but doing it right isn't usually the less expensive way in the short term. It is usually the less expensive way in the long term, though.
Dual carbs and fuel injection are not harder to dial-in than the Weber, nor are they harder to routinely maintain. What's hard is finding what's wrong with the used parts you have. Run a Weber for 30 years, and see if you don't have a similar "what's wrong with it" head-scratching session. The Dual carbs and fuel injection that came with the bus have 30 years of millions of owners experience to draw on. Removing the evil-doer in this case is easy; its the establishment of a stable system after the fact that's the challenge. That's usually because you're doing the work with the parts you have, not the parts you wish you could have. Hmm.. that sounded eerily familiar.....
Next time... Evil Aftermarket Modification #2
I'll spend my next 3 posts on each of the different AirCooled Aftermarket Axil of Evil modifications. After yesterday's post about the Weber 32/36 progressive, we'll logically start there. Its not the worst of the Axis of Evil, but its not part of the Coalition of the Willing either.
Evil Aftermarket Modification #1: Weber Progressive 32/36 Carb.
I know fellow bus drivers that swear by these carbs. Usually it comes up in a conversation about why they only drive their bus in the Summertime. "Busses can't be used all year 'round," they say. "They don't like the cold." Ahh yes... good old balmy Germany... that's where my bus wants to drive. That's crazy talk. If you don't like driving your bus in the cold because it doesn't have heat, say so, and I'll happily help you fix it. Your bus likes the cold fine. Your centermount progressive carb doesn't. It really isn't the carb's fault, though, its the fault of the long intake that the carb sits on. After the fuel and air mix together, it travels down 15" or more of pipe to the intake port on your head. That pipe is out there in the elements, not heated by anything, so the fuel mixture gets all dorked up and by the time it hits the combustion chamber it doesn't burn right. This carb was designed to sit right on top of the Pinto engine, getting warmed by the engine block. No such luck on theVW, especially the pancake motor in 1972-1983 bus/vans.
How do I recognize this evil?
When you pop the rear engine door and look inside, there will be a silver squarish thing sitting right in the middle of everything. If it is exactly as it comes out of the box, it will have a chrome aircleaner on it. It is sitting on long silver tubes that look like electical conduit. "Aw.. but it looks so pretty," you say. Yeah, pretty, but grossly inefficient when the air temperature drops below 70F or gets near the dew point. Here in the Pacific NorthWest, its a rare day when its not near the dew point except in the Summer..... which, oddly enough, is when the local Weber drivers think is the only time to drive a bus. Coincidence? No, they've been confused by the evil-doers.
How do I eradicate the evil-doer?
There are a few options for reducing the negatives of the Weber (containment of the evil-doer), or you could toss it completely for the correct induction system for your make/model/year.
Option 1: you could add insult to injury by trying the GM Cavalier trick. The Cavalier had a similar problem with its induction system, so GM added a heated gasket to warm the system. Whaddaya know, it fits between a Weber and that ridiculous electrical conduit intake. I have not personally done this, but I have heard that this does actually work, but you need some kind of thermal sensor to tell it to turn itself off. Sounded dangerous and little like like nonscience, so I tried...
Option 2: find a source of warm air and route it into the aircleaner. This helps the carb work better down to the mid 40F's, and drivable into the mid 30F's. I went into more detail in yesterday's post about this. The best solution is replacing the whole thing with what was removed in the first place - either dual carbs or fuel injection. These are more expensive options, but doing it right isn't usually the less expensive way in the short term. It is usually the less expensive way in the long term, though.
Dual carbs and fuel injection are not harder to dial-in than the Weber, nor are they harder to routinely maintain. What's hard is finding what's wrong with the used parts you have. Run a Weber for 30 years, and see if you don't have a similar "what's wrong with it" head-scratching session. The Dual carbs and fuel injection that came with the bus have 30 years of millions of owners experience to draw on. Removing the evil-doer in this case is easy; its the establishment of a stable system after the fact that's the challenge. That's usually because you're doing the work with the parts you have, not the parts you wish you could have. Hmm.. that sounded eerily familiar.....
Next time... Evil Aftermarket Modification #2
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Cold Weather and the Dreaded Weber
The Pacific NorthWest has been experiencing its last throes of Winter these last few weeks. Ever since Puxatawney Phil didn't see his shadow, it seems like the weather gods have decided to prove him wrong: there will be more winter. Here in the Pacific NorthWest, we've had "wintery mix" which means rain, freezing rain, sleet, hail and snow shifting from one to the other throughout the day. Did I mention gusting wind? Oi. It makes driving a little more exciting, but traffic a real bear.
When the air gets this cold, it takes a long time for Hapy to warm up. When I first bought Hapy, he was missing a number of pieces that helped to keep him warm - making his warmup never complete in winter. I'll go into those part identification and installation adventures another day. Even after finding and installing all those parts, though, the non-stock Weber Progressive 32/36 carburator would not perform well in the cold. If the air temp fell below 50F degrees, he would buck and toss like when I first learned how to drive a clutch. If you're having the same experience, I'd suggest you try this:
First, find a snorkelled air cleaner that fits the top of the Weber 32/36. I bought a "Sprint" air cleaner from Pierce Manifolds for $15. This fits perfectly on top, and bolts down with the filister bolts you use on the chrome air cleaner the Weber came with. This will allow you to control warm and cold air entering the carb.
But where does the warm air come from? Look at the right side of the firewall when looking in through the access hatch (top or rear). Is there a steel elbow that points up that's maybe 2 inches across? No? Is there a square hole with 2 bolt holes on either side of it? Yes? Ok, you're missing 2 key pieces of tin for getting the warm air into your carb. Now, if you have a fuel injection (FI) firewall, you may not have either of these items, so you may have more tin to replace. Honestly, if you have to go that far, you may want to consider returning to FI. Anyway, the pieces are on this diagram, numbers 42 and 43. Number 42 is the elbow on the inside of the firewall and #43 is a longer elbow that bends around the fuel pump (if you have a mechanical fuel pump) and to the firewall. I got these 2 pieces from my man Ken at theBusCo.
Getting these pieces to align without dropping the engine is a challenge, especially if you have a mechanical fuel pump, as the longer elbow needs to fit between the fuel pump and some of the engine tin. You do have a hole in the tin where the long elbow comes down, right? No? Ok, you have newer tin so you can either buy a "new" piece or cut your old one. I cut mine and I now regret it as I have to plug the hole to put FI back on. All of the pieces do fit together, and it can be done by yourself, but its much easier if you can get a friend or a willing child to hold the small elbow in place as you thread the filister bolt through and tighten it down. When its raining, and you're working in your driveway (as I was), you really appreciate hot tea afterwards... and a long shower.
After the tin is in place, and the snorkel is attached, you've finished the hard part. You need a flexible air hose to connect the small elbow near the firewall to the lower part of the snorkel. I got a standard sized one at the local GI Joes. Route the air hose under the long intake runners so its out of the way and any residual heat will warm the runners a little.
To make use of the new equipment, lift the flapper on the snorkel all the way. This will bring just the warmed air up into the carb. In Summer, lower and click-shut the flapper so only cool air enters the carb. This is important as in the Summer using only warm air can overheat your engine. Also, you get better power with cold air entering the carb, so you may want to play with where you set the flapper. You should find that by using the snorkel, you can drive your bus down into the 30F temps before you have the bucking return.
This Winter, especially these last few weeks, I have driven my bus in 35F temps uphill on the interstate. I have had to stay in the right-hand lane, but I've been able to stay on the road. Two years ago, that would not have been possible. If you're having troubles with your Weber and either can't afford to get FI ($250) or don't want the hassle of working on a FI powered engine, you can get the tin, snorkel and the hose for under $50 and a couple hours work. Just try to find a dry place to do the work.
When the air gets this cold, it takes a long time for Hapy to warm up. When I first bought Hapy, he was missing a number of pieces that helped to keep him warm - making his warmup never complete in winter. I'll go into those part identification and installation adventures another day. Even after finding and installing all those parts, though, the non-stock Weber Progressive 32/36 carburator would not perform well in the cold. If the air temp fell below 50F degrees, he would buck and toss like when I first learned how to drive a clutch. If you're having the same experience, I'd suggest you try this:
First, find a snorkelled air cleaner that fits the top of the Weber 32/36. I bought a "Sprint" air cleaner from Pierce Manifolds for $15. This fits perfectly on top, and bolts down with the filister bolts you use on the chrome air cleaner the Weber came with. This will allow you to control warm and cold air entering the carb.
But where does the warm air come from? Look at the right side of the firewall when looking in through the access hatch (top or rear). Is there a steel elbow that points up that's maybe 2 inches across? No? Is there a square hole with 2 bolt holes on either side of it? Yes? Ok, you're missing 2 key pieces of tin for getting the warm air into your carb. Now, if you have a fuel injection (FI) firewall, you may not have either of these items, so you may have more tin to replace. Honestly, if you have to go that far, you may want to consider returning to FI. Anyway, the pieces are on this diagram, numbers 42 and 43. Number 42 is the elbow on the inside of the firewall and #43 is a longer elbow that bends around the fuel pump (if you have a mechanical fuel pump) and to the firewall. I got these 2 pieces from my man Ken at theBusCo.
Getting these pieces to align without dropping the engine is a challenge, especially if you have a mechanical fuel pump, as the longer elbow needs to fit between the fuel pump and some of the engine tin. You do have a hole in the tin where the long elbow comes down, right? No? Ok, you have newer tin so you can either buy a "new" piece or cut your old one. I cut mine and I now regret it as I have to plug the hole to put FI back on. All of the pieces do fit together, and it can be done by yourself, but its much easier if you can get a friend or a willing child to hold the small elbow in place as you thread the filister bolt through and tighten it down. When its raining, and you're working in your driveway (as I was), you really appreciate hot tea afterwards... and a long shower.
After the tin is in place, and the snorkel is attached, you've finished the hard part. You need a flexible air hose to connect the small elbow near the firewall to the lower part of the snorkel. I got a standard sized one at the local GI Joes. Route the air hose under the long intake runners so its out of the way and any residual heat will warm the runners a little.
To make use of the new equipment, lift the flapper on the snorkel all the way. This will bring just the warmed air up into the carb. In Summer, lower and click-shut the flapper so only cool air enters the carb. This is important as in the Summer using only warm air can overheat your engine. Also, you get better power with cold air entering the carb, so you may want to play with where you set the flapper. You should find that by using the snorkel, you can drive your bus down into the 30F temps before you have the bucking return.
This Winter, especially these last few weeks, I have driven my bus in 35F temps uphill on the interstate. I have had to stay in the right-hand lane, but I've been able to stay on the road. Two years ago, that would not have been possible. If you're having troubles with your Weber and either can't afford to get FI ($250) or don't want the hassle of working on a FI powered engine, you can get the tin, snorkel and the hose for under $50 and a couple hours work. Just try to find a dry place to do the work.
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