first road trip

Friday after Thanksgiving, we loaded up the van and drove, all four of us, to Chincoteague, Virginia for Thanksgiving Round II with some friemds who have a place on the island. I was nervous about the van, but I had been driving around town quite a bit and had even gotten to the point where I was not watching the gauges every 3 seconds.

We made it down and back and drove it out while we were there. Our hosts loved the way all 7 people could fit and it was like just moving the living room around with everyone sitting or lounging in the back, conversing or just looking at each other.

We also took it out to Assateague. The picture was taken on a causeway through some marsh.

The trip back was only slightly eventful. I got real nervous when the oil temp went up to about 230. I just slowed way down, to about fifty, drove easy and it settled down. After stopping for dinner, it never got above 200. I think the valve that diverts the flow to the oil cooler once the temp goes up was stuck closed. I also got a couple of hiccup like hesitations.

Hopefully, my confidence will go up and my anxiety about breakdown will go down with more trips.

oil pressure getting better

Been running the van on weekends and during week every other day or so and my oil pressure is getting better. Now on highway at temp and speed I am over thirty pounds of pressure. up near 40 before the shift point.
Now I am just burning a lot of oil. A quart every tank and a half, but no leaks. I am going to switch the oil breather tower to the one that came off the digifant 2.1. It is the newest oil breather I have and it has a heating element or something in it which might slow oil passage from engine to air intake.

oil pressure relief valve test results

Here is the oil pressure relief valve and the tap used to pull the gunked up valve out of the engine. It is the 1/4" npt 18 tap. It is a little undersized but when you screw it into the valve, a little side pressure grabs the valve enough to pull it out.

This is the tap set that the tap came from. It is the harbor freight set. The 1/4" tap is the same size that you use to tap the oil galley plugs for insertion of threaded plugs.

I used vice grips to grab the tap and pull out the valve.

Here are all three parts; the valve, the spring and the slotted plug that holds the thing in the engine

The results of the test were positive but did not completely cure the low pressure problems. I still get the light but only at idel and only when the oil is up to about 140 temp. At operating temp of 200 at idle, I have about 4 lbs of pressure on the guage. This is about 4 lbs more than was reading before cleaning up the pressure relief valve. My idle is very low. With just a little throttle, bumping the idle up to a normal sounding idle (no tach) the low oil pressure light is now off. At temp and running, I now have about 4 more pounds of pressure. This is a great relief. Now I am up to over 30 lbs at the shift point, cruising at 60 in 4th gear at about 26 lbs.

So I do believe that the gunked and stuck pressure relief valve was a bit stuck open causing lower pressure. I still have a little loose bottom end. Next rebuild I am going with oversized bearings, machined crank shaft and/or all new. Hopefully, this engine will hold these pressure values for a couple more years.

oil pressure relief valve theory

When I rebuilt the engine, the pressure relief valve never dropped out as it was supposed to. I did undo the large slotted plug in the bottom driver's side of the engine that I am sure is regularly confused for the oil drain plug (that has a hex head and is in the center of the engine). I have had decent pressure at speed and temp but low at idle and at running temp. My theory is that the pressure relief valve was stuck slightly open. The valve is a small piston about the size of the last digit of your pinky that sits on top of a spring. It is common practice to shim the spring with a washer to increase the pressure on the piston. This had been done in my engine but I do not think the valvle was moving. I pulled the valve out of a junked engine and it came out easily with a magnet on a stick tool available at autoparts stores. A tap fits into the bottom of the valve. This is what I used to pull the stuck valve out with. It was stuck and it did have some junk on it. I do not think it was moving based on the amount of pull it took to get it out even after I tried to wiggle it around with a screwdriver. I cleaned up the valve out of te wrecked engine, used the longer of the two springs and kept the shim washer in place. This morning I will test drive to work to see if it makes any difference with the idle oil pressure.

So I have been using the van as my daily driver. Unbelievable. I am almost to the point where I am not completely paranoid that the van will die, self destruct, blow-up every second. I completely obsess over oil pressure and oil temp. It is no longer the heat of summer so the oil stays about 20 degrees cooler. I run at about 200 in the cooler weather compared to 215-220 with temps in the 90's. Temp makes a massive difference in pressure. At cruising highway speed i am at about 26 lbs in cool weather and about 21 at higher temp. I know these pressures are low and it means that the tolerances at the crank journals, bearings, end play are too loose, but it is better than the old engine was before it threw a rod. Hopefully it will keep going for at least a year.
I should have gone with oversized bearings and some machine work on the cam to make the bottom end tighter. I can start rebuilding the other engine I have and do it better.
I also might have a problem with the pressure relief valve. The valve, according to samba, should just fall right out when the screw/plug is removed. It never did. So at the next oil change, I might try to knock it out or push it further up in there. I will definitely shim the pressure relief spring with the 1/4" washer like tencent says.
I am only getting about 16 mpg but that is mostly city driving and short errands. The tank holds 16 gallons. That gives a range of not quite 250 before you are really pushing it. I did run out of gas tuesday-drifted into the gas station-living right.
priced deep cycle batteries today. The size that does not fit under the seat (group 24) $79 for 90Ah. The size that fits about $140 with less Ah. 90Ah is enough to run a truck fridge efficient refrigerator and a little microwave so long as you drive somewhere every day and enough to run CD players, etc. without worry.

air flow meter and my multi meter

Here is a picture of the airflow meter off of the 1.9 wbx vw engine with the cover pulled off and the multi meter I used to test it.

The cover was secured with silicone caulk and took a while to work off. I used a razor knife to slowly and gently create a seam between the body and the cover

Some people do repair these AFM's by bending the little arm that rides on the metal arc and changes the electric signal. Others clean up the track. When you open up the box you can see how the arm wears a groove in the metal arc. That messes up the connection which cause vanagon syndrome mostly in the 2.1 (sudden loss of power).

Basics Valve Adjusting VW WBX 1.9 - What Are They Talking About?

I just want to provide some pictures and some basic basic information that should help you figure out what the experts are talking about on the other sites that discuss valve adjustment on the VW engine. There is plenty of information and controversy out there about how to adjust valves, that is one turn, two turns, pre-load, etc.

When they are talking about gap or lash and pre-load, they are referring to the space between the top of the valve stem and the rocker arm. The space is measured at a certain point in the rotation of the engine for each cylinder, basically when the push rod is just about to start lifting the rocker arm to begin to push down the valve. There is a screw locked down by a nut that runs through the rocker arm and actually touches the top of the valve stem. The other side of the rocker arm, like a see-saw, is pushed up and down by a rod that is moved by the cam shaft and lifters (lifters are little spring and oil filled cans close in size and shape to a "c" battery that actually ride on the cam).

That space is measured with a gap measuring tool which is a fan of different thicknesses of thin metal shown here. Since most auhtorities recommend some pre-load, that is screwing down the adjusting screw some number of turns after contact, the measuring tools helps you determine when the screw just touches the valve stem. With a thin blade, .005 or less, in between the screw and the valve stem, screw down until the blade is pinched. That will tell you when you are right at the top of the valve stem.

The gap is adjusted by turning the slot in the screw that goes through the rocker and touches the valve stem.

Before you can adjust the valve screw, you have to loosen the nut, which is a 14mm, (most everything else is a 13mm). After you have the pre-load set or gap or lash adjusted, you have to tighten that nut back down to lock the screw into place.

As with everything else, do your research, take your time and walk away if you get frustrated. 45 minutes of someting else resolves and avoids a lot of problems.

valve spring removal

My 1985 VW vanagon was running for about fifteen minutes and then losing power. It would idle but did not have enough power to move. This loss of power would occur about fifteen minutes into my test drives and would begin as hesitation and what seemed like missing. Once the symptoms set in, I opened the engine cover and wiggled the spark plug wires and coil. When I just touched the wires coming out of the distributor (the hall sender wires) it died immediately. I started it back up, again touched the wires and it immediately died. This seemed like a pretty good indication that I had a problem with the ignition wires. I ordered a new ignition harnes from Kyle at kyleautomotice specialists and a couple days later a beautiful new harness with new plugs and perfect wires arrived in the mail. After putting in a new ignition wire harness into the 1.9 waterboxer (as well as a new coil and new spark plug wire set which I may or may not have needed), I went off for a test drive. It was obviously missing. I pulled the plugs and number three was wet. I pulled the spark plug wire off number three while running and no difference. I checked number three for spark by cranking the engine with the plug pulled and a spark plug put into the wire and held near the engine block to ground (rather than through your body) and confirmed spark. I pulled the fuel injector and cranked the engine to confirm a pulsing cone shaped spray and no dripping after turned off. All those checked out so I checked compression in #3 and found 0 compression. I pulled the valve cover off and found a broken compression spring. This was a problem and hopefully my only current problem.

I have a couple of spare heads complete with valves and springs from the engine that broke a connecting rod, but I did not know how to remove the valves and the springs. After reviewing the Samba forum and receiving some response to a post, I had enough to tackle the project. The samba is an amazing source of VW information, technical guidance, moral support and inspiration.

Working with engines and particular older engines sometimes requires the exact tool. A great deal of the work on the 1.9 and 2.1 waterboxers can be accomplished with a 13mm socket but there are somethings that you just cannot do easily without the right tool. A valve spring compressor is essential to free up the keepers that hold the valve in place. It is available at a FLAPS (friendly local auto parts store) and is shown above.
The valve is held closed by the pressure of the springs. The flare part of the valve seals against the underside of the head and closed off the piston cylinder creating compression. I had no compression in cylinder three because of the broken spring. On the waterboxer, there are actually two springs, a thick outer and a thinner inner spring. The stem of the valve runs through the springs, is capped with a holder/washer and the holder/washer is held on with a keeper. The keeper is actually two wedge shaped semi circles that catch the ringed grooves in the stem and then jam in the holder/washer. At right is a picture of the parts of the valve and spring assembly.

Here is a close up of the keepers and the valve stem

The valve compressor takes the pressure off the keepers and allows the washer/holder to be pushed down so the keepers can be removed. If removing the valves from an in place engine, the valve must be held up to allow the washer/holder to be pushed down and expose the keepers. If the valve is not held up, compressing the spring just lets the valve open. Two methods can keep the valve up - compressed air into the cylinder through the spark plug hole or a length of thin line fed into the spark plug hole and rotation of the engine to bring the piston up smashing the rope into the head, filling the cylinder and preventing the valve from opening. On a disassembled engine, you can hold the valve closed or put a roll of electrical tape between the bench and the valve. Once the valve spring is compressed, a little tap on the compressor and spinning the whole deal back and forth may be necessary to unstick the keepers from the washer/holder. Here is a picture of the compressor on the valve spring on the removed head and a close up that shows, a bit blurred, the keeper popping above the washer/holder.

The inner and outer spring create a bit of a problem. The jaws of this compressor only reach the outer spring so there is still some pressure on the washer/holder but not so much that it cannot be overcome with a little hand pressure. It does create a three hand challenge which is made easier with a pick like this to pop the keepers out. Be careful because the keepers are small and they will fly.

I used a washer cut into a "U" to extend the reach of the jaws to grab the inner and outer springs. It did help, but there was still some spring pressure left. Here is a picture of the washer that hopefully shows how it should work. A little larger washer would have worked better.

With a little patience and the right tool, you can free the valve from the springs without damaging anything.

Next I will remove the broken spring from the engine that is in the vanagon and replace it with one of the spares.

Mission Statement

Two years ago on a whim I bought a 1985 VW Vanagon Weekender from a guy who was living in it up the street. He was a carpenter who was being hounded by the IRS. I doubt if he had ever made more than enough to libe on but he was apparently public enemy number one at the IRS office for never filing tax returns. I did not feel particularly happy about the situation he was put in, but he wanted to sell the van and I gave him his asking price, started the van and drove home two blocks, with the emergency brake on.
The first thing I did was drive around the neighborhhod looking for neighbors to freak out. I am a 45 year old trial lawyer. I am married to a wonderful and amazing woman and we have two children who are sixteen and thirteen. We live in a nice suburb about halfway between Annapolis and Baltimore. From all appearances, we are standard suburban family. Yes my wife is an artist and a designer and we do have creative non-conventional side. We are progressive liberal, but we live amongst and like many people who are country club/republican/private school/vacation in the islands/golf and tennis/I got mine/personal responsibility/former yuppie now suburban types.
As I am driving around the neighborhood with The Dead, Neil Young, Allman Brothers, Little Feat, Seldom Scene, John Prine, Buffalo Springfield and LA Dub Allstars playing, I am getting some looks from the neighbors. I am also getting some peace signs and "power to the people" salutes. Now the van is a good 13 years after the end of that era, but it still has the cache. It is freedom and empowerment. It is freedom because you can camp in it. It is empowerment because, as I have been learning, you can fix it,make it work, rebuild the engine, replace the clutch, do the brakes, grease the bearings, repack the CV joints and figure out all the wiring.
That is power.
Also as I was driving around on those first days of ownership, I was overheating the engine. There was a little "H" pipe that the previous owner (PO) had fixes with JB Weld. It leaked out the coolant. A little red light was blinking but I did not notice or care. Well when I figured that out I went on line looking for the part and found a wonderful place called The Samba. With the help of that forum, I had the knowledge to replace the head gaskets. After that repair, we were able to take the camper to Virginia Beach and had a fantastic time cruising in Sugar. On the way back, coming up I-95 and trying to keep up with traffic, the little engine just got too hot, the oil too thin and a connecting rod shot through the engine case. We rented a car carrier, borrowed a truck from some fantastic people in Fredericksburg and brought Sugar home. I found an engine on eBay, bought it and rebuilt it. Thats right, a lawyer took an engine completely apart, put it back together, put it back in the van and drove around under its own power. It worked for a little and more problems developed, but the point is, I built an engine that ran and powered a vehicle and it made me feel great.
In this era of the emasculated everyone, where no one can do anything, where nothing is repaired, where no one makes anything, this collection of German engineering, the people's car, can heal us. Sugar is a bread loaf looking brown brick of a vehicle that flips a big patriotic, can do, resourceful and independent bird to The Man.
I want to help others assert that independence.
I am no expert, but what I will do is carefully disassemble and catalogue the parts of a WATERBOXER engine for you. That and the technical expertise of the brothers and sisters on The Samba are all you need. So go find that 1983 to 1990 Vanagon and get empowered.