We have a Ghia down.

Spent the day having fun with May.

Then she broke on the way home.

Luckily some friends were able to give me a tow home.

Not sure what broke, but I am pretty sure it is inside the motor. Breaking it apart later tonight.

Stay tuned to see what happened, same Ghia time, same Ghia channel...

I thought we could follow the oil trail but you did not oil down State Route 49.


Sorry

so sorry

That sucks! Keep us up to date with the progress.

Bummer Mateo! At least it didn't happen last weekend when you were 100 miles from home?

I hope it's not serious.

Uh-oh. Keep us posted.

So It looks like I might have just fouled the plugs in the 3 and 4 cylinders, they look pretty dark and not brown and dry like I believe they should. The 1 and 2 plugs look nice...

It must be those NGK plugs I am running.

Or the fact that I probably over carbureted her and did not lean her out enough before driving home.

I ended up dropping the motor and pulling the heads. They look good to me and you can still see the cross hatch on the inside of the jugs so I think the top end is cool.

Now the BAD news.

Oil in bell housing. Now this is an old issue left over from the PO. It was leaking from the front when I did the top end rebuild last year and only took it down to the short block.

I replaced the front seal then and it still looks brand new. So bummer, I was hoping I had fixed the issue. End play isn't great but it is within tolerance, barley.

The case bolts were loose when I dropped the motor last year after purchase and I was hoping torquing them down and replacing the front seal would stop the leaking but it didn't.

I am pretty sure the bearing is shot.

So I am splitting the case, checking tolerances on the crank and journals and hoping for the best, but I don't have my hopes up.

Maybe I will get lucky and the VW gods will throw me some good vibes.

I'll post some pics of the heads...

The NGk's help round out the engine to make it a true world car. So you have some German,Italian, Brazilian. Mexican, China and now Japanese made in America.


With the heads already done and the new jugs, bearings may be the answer. But tomorrow I will start the hunt for the rods, I am sure it is right next to the alternator.

So I just split the case. Not good.



The number 3 connecting rod has massive play on the crank. Probably no bearing left. I haven't removed the rod to look yet.

Case looks like it might be ok, but I don't really know how to tell that, yet.

I am bummed...

The chatter on the net for cranks looks like



CB Forged 1105 69mm 4140 Forged Chromoly Crank - VW Rod Journal $185.95

Or

DPR he goes to Bug o Rama

69mm "Stock" Stroke - Balanced, 8 Doweled $175.00 this is a cast crank

And I will start to look for my extra rods

Only a minor setback. Don't sweat it Matt. Just think of how good she'll run after you get 'er all fixed back up.

The heart transplant is loaded in the truck. We can save it, it will be faster, he will be smiling again.

Bosch plugs.

Jim Douglas Jr wrote:

Bosch plugs.

It was the power of the NGK plugs that did the damage and when we check the threads of the heads they were fine.

So I have the "donor", oh I meant "loaner" motor in May along with a nice set of dual DRLA carbs. We were able to get all that back in the car last night without passing out from heat exhaustion.

Running a little rough and hot.

The carbs are way out and I was lucky enough to get a bit of an education on their setup today. Been doing alot of research too. I will be the dual setup pro in no time. Patience.

So I have some homework tonight on linkage setup, basically the same setup as the Kads with a bit more attention to detail.

A big THANK YOU to all who are helping me keep May on the road!!!!

You guys are awesome.

YAY!! You deserved a reprieve from your bad streak. Hang in there.

Two days later I am now a self proclaimed master at setting up CB linkage for dual carbs.

I think I am going to write a FAQ.

Anyways, linkage adjusted and checked, oil temp sensor installed and checked, oil pressure relief piston and spring checked, 009 with electronic ignition installed and checked, timing set at 32 degrees and checked.

Runs much smoother but still a bit hot and a little popping out the exhaust.

Ran 250 degrees yesterday afternoon in the heat of the day up and down 49 and 220 degrees at about 10:00pm.

Today I am going to check the valves and fuel pressure. Possibly swap the exhaust header and rear tin to close up some holes. Might offset the deck lid if there is enough time.

Also plan on documenting the jet sizes and make sure they are in the ball park.

She is moving again, but just a little warm.

TRY BRING THE TIMING DOWN A HAIR TOO. 009 WITH ELECTRONIC IGNITIONS RUN AT FULL ADVANCE 28-32 BTDC. IF ITS AT 32 TRY 30. THATS WHERE MINE RUNS THE BEST.

Hi Mateo,

Your popping could be a few things:

Exhaust leaks.
Fuel dripping down the carb throat while running.
Partially plugged idle circuit.

Note: maximum fuel pressure on all Webers is 2.5-3#, even in race cars.
Also, check the electronic pickup to make sure that the lobes in the distributor do not strike at any one point, this will cause a mis-trigger and pop. You want it as close as you can get it without hitting. If it strikes, you can see it in a timing light as an additional flash.

With all due respect to Cliff's suggestion, before you back the timing down, check your idle jet size. If you have .50 or .55's, you should try .60's first, this should reduce the temperature. You will also need to readjust your idle mixture immediately after doing it. See me if you need help with it.

Remember that the idle circuit never stops working, it's not just at idle. It plays a huge part at cruising RPM. Bring your engine up to cruise RPM (2800), look down the throats and you'll notice that the main jets are not active yet. This is why the idle circuit is what you do for heating problems at cruise speeds.

The only downside to reducing the timing below 32 is that it starts to raise the temperature at the exhaust valve. Below 32 degrees you start running into incomplete combustion in the cylinder causing overheating of the exhaust valve.

HTH!

I know I have 55's and I will check for 60's

Thanks for the information guys!

I checked all of the idle jets, they are 60s already so that is good. I went ahead and hit them with the air compressor just to be sure.

I checked my fuel pressure and the old mechanical is pumping out 5lbs, so that is a problem.

The mixture adjustments did not seem too responsive so I am thinking this is due to the excessive fuel pressure. I will give it a go again after getting the pressure right.

I will pick up some fuel pump gaskets tomorrow along with some new exhaust clamps. I was checking out the header and the clamps could use some attention.

I would like to put the electric fuel pump in with the regulator, but that is a little more project than I want to do at the moment.

I didn't get a chance to check the distributor but I will give it a look tomorrow.

OH, I picked up my new door hinges, so hopefully I can get those swapped out soon too.

Baby steps...

So I found some jets

52
55
60

105
117
122
108 ?
130


180
190

I have more I just have to put my hands on them. Some of the jets may not be a standard size this is what was on a inventory sheet.

Dell

With all that Ray said I was wondering if you should also check your synchronization on the carbs. I found with mine it would run smooth at an idle but it would pop once I would throttle it up. I synced them and it was fine. Just a thought.

Good thought!

But I checked that, synced side to side and then checked front to back to make sure the carbs didn't have any internal issues. As far as synchronization goes I am cool...

It's all in the linkage and I am now a pro.

Focused on fuel pressure at the moment and I am covered in gas, so I am loosing the battle.

Don't go light a ciggie...

Still covered in gasoline.

I hate NPT fittings.