The Gulf Blue '62

[lahti35]

May 19, 2012 8:23:47 GMT -5 dansam said:

Going with your dad?

Nope, he doesn't like vintage VW anything

Going to spend the day repairing the stuck wheel cylinder I got after a test drive last night ;D

[dansam]

Well ok.... You are missing a great show! Try to see if you can make the MAM show on the weekend of june 4th. Its a long drive but sooooo worth it. I rented a room with a double bed so if you need to split room costs I think the room was like 60.00! ;D You need to do some road tripping to work the bugs outa your bug! Plus its fun as all hell.

[lahti35]

May 20, 2012 5:04:57 GMT -5 dansam said:

Well ok.... You are missing a great show! Try to see if you can make the MAM show on the weekend of june 4th. Its a long drive but sooooo worth it. I rented a room with a double bed so if you need to split room costs I think the room was like 60.00! ;D You need to do some road tripping to work the bugs outa your bug! Plus its fun as all hell.

We've already had some plans in place for that weekend with another obligation so its still looking like Frankenmuth will be her first show. Wish I could be driving down to Yipsi with you guys today though! I'll be out back bleeding breaks and troubleshooting my generator.

[lahti35]

Well trouble struck today....

I guess #3 piston or rod burned up during break-in because i've got a heck of a knock going in the cylinder Not sure what i'm going to do with this thing as I can't afford any more parts for it right now. This whole VW thing has been frustration and problems so i'll sit on my hands for a few days and make a decision after the weekend i guess.

[wminmi]

ouch....sorry to hear that

[lahti35]

Ah the highs and lows of the VW ownership. Cooler heads have convinced me to keep "Bouncing Betty" for the time being, though I will be taking a vacation from her. This car really pisses me off sometimes, it must be possessed

[dansam]

Sometimes it's best to walk away and take a break. When you are back in the mood pull the motor and tear it back down (2hrs of work or so) then asses the damage, if you are lucky it will not have hurt the crank. Then make a grocery list and hit up some shows for parts. Or save up 700.00 and just buy a whole running motor and pop her in. Right now that bugger is testing you to see who is boss (Ally does this all the time like a 7 year d child) I always win in the end.

[lahti35]

I couldn't rest on this project without knowing what went wrong so I pulled it today and broke the engine down. It was indeed #3 that went bad. The rod bearing is ok, as is the wrist pin. Turns out the circle clip on one side of the piston was super loose. It was not that way when I put it in so i'm still scratching my head on that one. Anyway, it allowed the wrist pin to walk and act like a battering ram, beating that side of the piston up. I couldn't even get the wrist pin out that side without removing piston material. These were AA performance pistons and jugs. The other 3 were ok with no issues. Some "performance", i'll tell you what.

The crank had some very light marks on it but i couldn't feel anything with my fingernail so i'll slap some new rod bearings in there and run it.

[dansam]

Call the place that sent em to you and demand 1 jug and one piston assy. Tell them if they dont you will flame the hell out of em on the internet. They aught to comply. Also buy some of those plastic wrist pin caps as this is a better setup that is made to prevent this issue. Ive been using them for years.

www.bugsandbuggies.com/Parts.asp?CN=16&SN=70&GN=1

[ed]

I hear ya about the roller coaster ride...I had both of my VWs for sale here recently. Once my frustration cooled down, my son convinced me to carry on. He wants to ride in that Thing. :-)

I'm glad to see that the damage wasn't too bad. One more bit of experience you can pass on to future engine builders, I guess. Remember to reward the car for good behavior, and maybe it will learn to be good! ;D

[lahti35]

May 29, 2012 19:19:55 GMT -5 ed said:

Remember to reward the car for good behavior, and maybe it will learn to be good! ;D

I was actually riding on the chance that it will just get tired of me pulling the engine out of its butt every 2 weeks, roll over, and wave the white flag

[lahti35]

Wow.........

So after all this BS i find myself right back where I started....a loose thrust bearing. I guess from taking it in and out so much it just got loose Since the case was on its last machine anyway i'm not going to bother with it....sure sucks that I just spent another $80 getting case savers installed though after last years pulled stud on assembly!

I got new pistons a cylinders from Wolfsburg West today... those sneaky SOB's substituted those chinese AA brand pistons for the Mahle made ones i ordered on the website (and charged me the "mahle" price). Needless to say I hit the roof when I opened up the box and saw what they were. They're going back tomorrow. I covered the car, dropped the insurance on it, packed up all the VW stuff in one corner of the garage, and flipped it the bird. Time for a long vacation from VW land. Time-out. Wow.

[dansam]

Wow. I mean what can you say. Are you sure that the thrust bearing is loose? And taking what in and out. I mean one year I had my engine out like 8 times for misc issues. I seem to average 1-2 times per year and have never noticed any problems. I cant believe that anything is worn out from that. I agree maybe you need a month off. Just dont forget about it for too long. Another thing. Sometimes, good enough is good enough. Getting perfection will cause you a lot of grief especially if you are not sure what it is supposed to be. Maybe compare it to others.

[lahti35]

I'm mystified myself as to the loose thrust bearing... maybe that piston flopping around in there really put some force on the crank. Doesn't seem likely but i can see it plain as day. I had that bearing in and out like 10 times and i noticed it got easier to put in every time but nothing like this latest episode. You can see it and hear it moving forward and back.

I'm going to sit on it for awhile, work on my '61 Ford and see if I get the urge again. Meanwhile its "tucked in" away from my eyes This car is possesed.

[tim55]

Hello Lahti35,

I aplogize for jumping into the middle of your VW post but it was the only way I can figure out how to contact you. I saw you had a GAZ69 on a military forum. I have been looking for one and obviously there are not many in the US. If you are inclinded and want to sell or even discuss it I would be grateful.

you can e me direct

[e-mail]

Thanks,

Tim

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