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Post by Wongai on Nov 28, 2017 14:18:30 GMT -8
Drag to be beat down by failing parts, but like you say, you gotta know when to fold em and move on.
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Post by Volktales on Nov 30, 2017 21:03:23 GMT -8
So back at it again... The injectors had been previously cleaned, but the metal bodies were looking kind of blah. So some nice black paint took care of that. The upper and lower seals are new as well. Next up was the distributor. Just a glance shows it will need some serious cleaning and maintenance. On the good side, the bearings and vacuum canister were in fine shape. This was offset by the lobes that operate the points being in absolutely terrible condition. In fact the worst I have ever seen. Unsurprisingly the points had closed up, and I am sure this VW ate points constantly. Something must be done about this... I initially hoped to do some part swapping with my spare distributors, so disassembly of this one continued. The breaker plate assembly was removed, and disassembled by undoing that screw in the picture. This releases that "cup" and ball. These parts must be cleaned and lubed. The breaker plate is a two piece assembly, and must be cleaned and re-greased. The two parts must slide smoothly against each-other for the vacuum advance to work correctly. This one was rustier then I would like to see... Now that the breaker plate is out of the way, we can deal with removing the centrifugal advance mechanism parts. The central piece where the advance weights attach, is held in place with a tiny ring inside the shaft that the rotor sits on. Getting this off is tricky. Prying below the lobes with pliers, while simultaneously spreading the ring with a small screwdriver is fun. Try to not launch the ring into orbit when it lets go... So I was intending on swapping the damaged parts with some from my spare distributors. The problem was, Reagh's distributor is automatic transmission specific, and my spares were for standard transmissions. The advance curves are quite different between the two distributors, and the parts I needed were specific to each version... Time for plan B... Continued...
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Post by Volktales on Nov 30, 2017 22:24:38 GMT -8
So I pressed on ahead with servicing this distributor... There was too much play between the drive dog and the distributor body. This is usually caused by the fibre washers breaking up. The only way to deal with it is to remove the pin securing the drive dog and removing it. While I was in there, I couldn't help myself and cleaned the main shaft up. Did you know there was a wick hiding in the bottom to lubricate the trigger points? Neither did I, and I can't see how you could lube it without disassembling everything. Needless to say it was lubed up. And here are those trigger points. Unlike ignition points, these last for decades. There only purpose is to send a signal to the computer as to when to fire the fuel injectors. These just need an occasional cleaning and are not adjustable. On cars that sit, the lobe that operates the points can get rusty, so make sure to check this if you car has been a "sitter"... So continuing on with the reassembly, I decided I did not like the excessive corrosion on the breaker plate assembly, and installed one in better shape from the parts distributor... In this picture I am re-installing the ring that holds the advance assembly in place. Pushing it down with a 1/4" nut driver worked easily. I had to reinstall the same damaged advance assembly, but this time had a cunning plan... Everything is back together and ready for installation of the new points. Oh wait, we can't do that because the lobes are too damaged... But what about electronic points? Yes it is time to see if we can do a Pertronix conversion... Pertronix makes these modules to fit in many different distributors without modification including most vintage VWs. But they don't list one for Type 3's. Now why is that??? TheSamba has some info on this, but was rather vague as to what modifications you need to do to make the Pertronix fit. So lets find out. I already had a spare module, so the first step was installing the adapter plate. Bolting the module on top of the adapter quickly revealed why this won't work on the Type 3 distributor. Note how high the module sits above the black magnetic ring that covers the original damaged lobes. Obviously the breaker plate assembly is mounted higher in the Type 3 distributor to clear the trigger points underneath. Can we make it work somehow??? A mock up reveals that if the module is attached directly to the breaker plate without the adapter, then it should be at the correct height. Time to mark some holes and start drilling... Drill a couple of holes with a 1/8" drill bit, then tap with a M4x.75 tool. This will allow you to screw the module directly to the base with some spare Bosch distributor screws. Next grind flush those two small protrusions. They are used to adjust the points, but you won't need them anymore and they interfere with the module to breaker plate fit. The metal part of the module base needs some careful grinding to allow clearance for that small metal lug that keeps the breaker plate assembly together. You must allow for free movement of the breaker plate around that lug as the vacuum advance works. It is also critical that the screws that you installed the module with do NOT stick out farther then the bottom of the breaker plate. This is to allow free movement for the advance to work without binding... Now back together, adjust the module to magnetic ring gap with the provided plastic gauge. There it is, job done. Is it going to work??? We will have to wait and see when the rest of the engine is ready for start up... Now onto dealing with the new fuel pump...
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Post by PICTUP on Dec 1, 2017 17:29:32 GMT -8
Some fine detailed work there Russ. Hope it works....something tells me it will
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Post by Volktales on Dec 3, 2017 22:39:58 GMT -8
So while waiting to figure out the new fuel pumps (more on this in a minute), I thought I would clean up the auxiliary air regulator and temperature sensor. These are two separate devices, but are both installed together in this application. Temperature sensor 1 is the electrical device shown at the top of the picture, and it basically is a temperature probe which also acts as a bolt to hold the auxiliary air regulator (AAR) in place. The temp sensor measures the temperature of the inside of the crankcase, and is one of two temperature inputs to the analogue computer. The other temp sensor (II) is not shown, but it measures cylinder head temperature, and also inputs the signal to the computer. The AAR is simply a temperature controlled variable orifice that allows extra air to bypass the closed throttle plate when the engine is cold. The bi-metallic coiled spring on the bottom of the device moves the centre shaft as the temperature changes. A slot in the other end varies the orifice size depending on temperature inside the crankcase. The AAR is also adjustable on this model, as can be seen. On Reagh's AAR, someone had adjusted it in the past which is very easy to do by loosening that small screw. Unfortunately they overtightened it, and stripped out the threads. When I attempted to readjust it back to the midpoint, that screw would not tighten at all... The easiest way around this, was to swap for one of several spares that I had. The reason is chose to do this is easy. The AAR is located in the hole in the crankcase where the fuel pump would be on a Beetle style engine. If that screw were to fall out, it would end up right in the distributor drive/crank gear area, and you know that would not end very well... Interestingly in later Type 3's, VW changed how both the temp sensor and AAR operated. The temp sensor was moved to the intake manifold instead of the crankcase (similar to much more modern cars), and the AAR unit was altered to be electrically heated. This was to make it more controlled and stable in its operation. As an aside, most other fuel injection designs that use any form of auxiliary air regulation including the later L-Jetronic as found on the bus engines, often raise the idle speed during warm up. In the Type 3 versions, just enough air was added to keep the idle speed stable under all temperature conditions, not a "fast idle" system like typical carburetors... Now onto the fuel pumps... Because I was not successful in finding an original type fuel pump that would actually work properly, I had to get a new one. I was able to get a "Spectra Premium" branded equivalent to the frequently mentioned Airtex Ranger pump from Lordco. The problem is this type of pump used "quick-connect" fittings in the Ranger application, whereas "barbed" fittings would be better. So I decided to order the "Universal MPI" pump from Spectra Premium, knowing it would have the correct fittings. Except when it arrived, it was a much smaller and much more cheapo looking pump then the ranger application. In reality it looked like your typical inside the tank mounted cheesy plastic pump with removable fittings. Wasn't that happy... Although hard to tell in this picture, the proper Ranger pump is much bigger, all metal, and came with better mounting insulation. I will modify it slightly before installation. The spigots on either end are smooth except for that ring which is designed to lock onto the "quick-connect" Ford style connectors. These rings have a sharper edge then I like, and will be filed a bit smoother before the fuel lines are installed. I will likely double clamp them as well... A trip out to Reagh's today, yielded a correct fuel tank in much better condition than his original. This was a bonus, so things are underway to hopefully attempt a first start soon!
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Post by Volktales on Dec 11, 2017 19:57:56 GMT -8
Sooo, back at it again... The new parts arrived from CIP, and the first thing to install was the new manifold to intake air distributor seals. These are the short rubber tubes that connect each manifold runner to the air distributor/throttle body assembly. Getting those tubes in the correct place, and bolting up the intake air distributor was a pain in the arse, and I still don't understand why anyone would have removed them in the first place... Including all necessary hoses, there are eleven different connection points to the air intake distributor! All of these hoses were changed for new ones as well. And I forgot to take a picture of this... I did remember to take a picture of the completed injector assemblies. The hoses are new, as are the clamps, upper and lower injector seals. The complete units were then installed,along with all new fuel lines in the engine compartment... The next thing I thought I would do was to see if the engine would start by spraying some gasoline directly into the throttle body. I do not have the fuel pump in yet, and the computer is not powered up at the moment. The ignition system in the Type 3 is completely independent of the computer and fuel injection system. Basically I wanted to verify that a spark was being generated by the distributor and coil; and if it worked correctly, then the engine should start on the "outside" fuel source. But it was not to be... The electronic module I installed into the distributor was used, free, and untested. It certainly failed to produce a signal to the coil, so that is that. These modules cannot be repaired, so a new one is going to be ordered. Meanwhile for testing purposes, I serviced and installed the best spare standard transmission distributor and tried that. Naturally it started right up and ran for a few seconds. So onto the next step... The next step was to get back onto the fuel pump, but I ran into a small problem first... As can be seen in the above picture, one wire broke off flush, in the connector that attaches to the trigger points in the distributor. Type 3's are known for their injection wiring harnesses to go brittle with age. And this one certainly did. So how to repair it??? First I found some terminals that would fit into the original plastic multi-plug. These were then removed and crimped to some sections of new wire. The plug was tested on a spare set of trigger points to make sure the connection would be good... Then the harness on the car was cut open to access the wires farther back were they were in decent condition. Note that all three wires are white. In reality EVERY wire inside the main harness is white! For reasons known only to VW, they did it this way, and each wire had very small printed numbers on either end to identify them. Dumb. Next, the wires are cut and joined one by one, making absolutely sure not to get them mixed up. Note the cuts and splices have been staggered to avoid the butt connectors being side by side. Each connector was covered in shrink tubing after this photo was taken. Once everything was taped up well (with my kid's hockey tape), you won't know anyone was in there before... Continued...
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Post by Volktales on Dec 11, 2017 20:11:59 GMT -8
Then back onto fiddling with the fuel pump situation. The old (bus?) pump was removed from the car, which was harder then you might think. Those cylindrical rubber mounts tear easily if the attaching nuts have seized to the stud. One came off without too much of a fight, but the other caused a bit of swearing. Once they finally came apart, the mounting brackets were all cleaned up and repainted. To make the new pump fit properly, the mountings have to be relocated slightly. Originally the pump bracket assembly, was clamped to the right side of the front axle beam. To use the new pump, this bracket assembly must be clamped to the centre part of the beam. This is to accommodate the fuel spigots being on both ends of the replacement pump, instead of all on one side, like the original design. This part should be straight forward... This won't be so easy however. This is the replacement tank. Despite appearances, is is WAY better then the original. I do want to changed the broken internal filter as seen in the picture. To do that, I will have to remove the spigot. Which naturally has a nice seized up fitting. Also of note is that tiny pit that the screwdriver is pointing towards. I suspect a pinhole might be there, so will try to do something about that before the tank sees any fuel again... Fun.
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Post by Volktales on Dec 17, 2017 21:20:22 GMT -8
Did get stuff done this weekend. Pics not ready yet...
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Post by Volktales on Dec 21, 2017 21:21:05 GMT -8
Sooo, back to gas tank fun. A bit of cleaning and poking confirmed that there were a couple of pinholes hiding in the bottom of the tank. So what to do? The easiest way was to clean things off well with sandpaper, and apply a little flux paste to the area. Then break out the mini torch and solder... It might not be the best looking repair in the world, but it will work. Getting the old spigot out was not fun. It was rusty looking at the bottom, and the internal screen was damage. Of course the alloy nut was seized tightly to the threads on the tank. A little heat soon had it moving, but these nuts are very prone to galling the threads. Which of course happened here. Once the nut was off with brute force, I had to pick the alloy thread remnants out of the steel fitting... Here are the new choices. The one on the left is the correct 8mm size outlet, but the bend is not the same. This should not be a problem at all. The right one is intended for stock carburetor applications in other models and is smaller diameter. The left is a nice quality CSP product from Europe with the correct alloy nut. The right is cheapo Brazilian quality with a steel nut and crappy flair on the pipe.... Meanwhile the fuel pump mount has been relocated to the centre of the front axle. The mounting plate is "pinched" to the flange on the axle. Because the centre opening is slightly larger then the right side, little extender pieces of metal were added to mount it securely. Although not shown yet, the pump is mounted and wired up. Checked to verify the two relays necessary to power up the pump worked, and they did. Will finish the final fuel lines once the tank is ready for re-installation. Continued...
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Post by Volktales on Dec 21, 2017 21:39:35 GMT -8
So time to deal with the fuel tank sender. This design always eventually fails, and it always seems to be for the same reason. The original grounding point for the circuit is via a rivet that presses the internal brass contact ring against the alloy body of the sender housing. The housing is grounded via the bolts holding the assembly in place. What happens is corrosion forms between the rivet, ring, and housing, and then continuity of the circuit is lost. It is not possible to drill out and clean and replace the rivet either, due to the design of the sender. So you have to make a new direct ground like shown. First drill a hole in the housing as shown above... Next pass a suitable wire through the hole. Later you will use a bit of fuel proof sealant to make sure no leaks are possible. Now solder the end of the wire directly to that brass ring as shown. This will allow the original rivet point to be bypassed. When installed, it will look like this. The ground point is now external, and will be simply attached to one of the securing bolts. The same procedure was done on the Fastback, and it worked just fine. There really is no other option at the moment, because the available CIP units are absolute crapola. What a surprise... I also found the alloy casting was quite warped where it bolted to the tank. I thought I would get smart and bolt it to the tank upside down with dimes wedged underneath. The theory was it would distort back into the original shape. Nice theory but didn't work... What did was squeezing each section in a vice with a nickel for support, and this did the job... And one more thing to deal with... I need to replace the short sections of hose that join the remote brake fluid reservoir to the master cylinder. On 1968 and later Beetles, Ghias, and Type 3s, the "blue" hose is what the factory used and I did not have any so I ordered some from CIP. So naturally they sent what looks like small diameter fuel hose instead... The blue stuff on the bottom is the original type that I later discovered was at the shop... Lets see what CIP's excuse is this time. Returning stuff to them is always painful...
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Post by PICTUP on Dec 25, 2017 11:39:08 GMT -8
I did that sender fix on my 70 Single Cab, but don't think I ever posted pics. Worked great. It seems as though the devil is in the details with this car Russ, you're doing a fine job. It'll be a real 'notch' in your belt when you get it back on the road.
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Post by tony on Dec 25, 2017 11:54:25 GMT -8
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!..................................................... ha
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Post by Volktales on Dec 25, 2017 22:37:20 GMT -8
Gonna need another notch in the belt after all the Christmas eatin is done...
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Post by Volktales on Dec 31, 2017 22:04:07 GMT -8
Going to attempt a full start up tomorrow. It better run...
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Post by Volktales on Jan 1, 2018 20:44:02 GMT -8
Back at it... Removed the original bushing from the steering arm that was worn right out. This bushing is where the steering damper attaches too. The old bushing basically fell out, but the new one needed some lube to help guide it in place. A pair of channel lock pliers worked fine for this. The steering damper had been replaced earlier in the car's life and was fit for reuse. The new master cylinder was prepared for installation. The brake light switches were transferred over. In the past new ones would have been used, but like so many parts nowadays, the currently available switches have been troublesome. The cylinder itself was painted as well... Here was a nasty little find... This is a section of the fluid pipe between the brake fluid reservoir and the master cylinder. The pipe was rusty in this area, and the hole appeared immediately while using the wire wheel. The quickest way around this was to cut off the bottom of the pipe and simply use a longer piece of hose to join the pipe and the master cylinder. Continued...
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