Road Trip Ready
In this article I would like to talk about things to think about when taking a long trip in your VW. First thing is if you’re going to own one of these air cooled cars you should know how to do a few basic things- How to change a throttle cable, how to change a clutch cable, how to change a fan belt, how to change points. The list can go on but those things are a must. I personally used to go on vw runs but got tired of it quick as I was the one who was expected to fix anything on everybody’s car if it broke. Yeah, got tired of people not preparing their cars or not having the basics with them.
So what should I do to get my car ready for a run? Well let’s run through a few basics. When is the last time you changed the oil? Have you even checked the oil level? When’s the last time you tuned the thing up? That’s a good start. Now other things you might not have thought of. Are the rear axle nuts tight? It’s not a bad idea to check. Trying to replace a drum because the splines are stripped out on the road sucks. If this is an IRS car how long has it been since you looked at the cv joints? Is the trans full of oil or is it half way full because the other have is now on your driveway? Is there air in the spare tire? Hell, do you even have a spare tire? How are the brakes? If they’re on the floor they’re not going to get better on a long trip. You might need good brakes when the guy in the SUV just has to get around you and then slams on his brakes in front of you.
What should you bring on a trip? Here is my basic list: Fan belt, clutch cable, throttle cable, points and condenser, fuel filter. What tools should I bring? Again this is just my basic list: Wrenches )8,10,11,13,17,19) and large crescent wrench, Large and small screw driver, Lug wrench and a real jack, Test light, Pocket knife, Set of feeler gauges, Med pair of vise grips, Flash light, bottle of water.
So let’s say you checked all the things above and you’re driving down the road and the motor quits. Now what? Well here is what I do. First I pull off the air cleaner and with the engine off look down the throat of the carb(s) and push on the linkage can I see gas going down the throat? Don’t know, can’t see it. This is where the flashlight comes in. If you have a bus with a stock carb take your mirror off the door and use that with the flashlight to see if gas is squirting down the throat. If you see gas well the fuel system is working. Maybe not well but working. If you don’t see gas, start at the carb and work your way back. Take the fuel line off the carb and put the hose in your empty water bottle. Have Hector turn the engine over. Got gas? If yes then your problem is in the carb- Maybe the needle and seat for the float. If no, then take the line off that goes to the pump. Got gas now? If your car is lowered in the front you might have to jack up the front of the car to get the gas to run out the hose. Got gas now? If yes your pump is bad or the pin fell out on the foot pivot. Still no gas out the hose that goes to the pump? No. Well then up to the tank we go.
So we have gas squirting down the carb and it still won’t run. Let’s go to the ignition system. Here is my quick check. Grab your test light. Put in on the positive side of the coil. Again have Hector turn on the key. Do you have power there? If no then look at your ignition switch wires and fuse box where the coil wire comes into it. It’s a black wire or at least it should be. If yes you have power to the positive side of the coil then take your test light and put in on the negative side of the coil. Have Hector turn the motor over, the light should flash. If it comes on and stays on there is a problem. If it doesn’t come on at all there is a problem. It has to flash. This holds true with electric ignition as well. This is why I carry the points and condenser. If my electric ignition goes bad then hey I can go back to points and get home. Point gap is .016.
So let’s say we have gas and the ignition is checking out. Well there could be a number of other reasons it won’t run, but usually it’s not something we can fix on the side of the road and it’s all about phone a friend with a tow bar or trailer. Here in Redding it gets flippin hot so I have three gauges in my cars. Tach, oil pressure and oil temp. I drive by these gauges. This way I can tell if I am getting into trouble before I am in trouble. I find the sweet spot that the engine is happy then hold the rpms at that spot. It works for me. I know you can’t fix a broken motor alongside the road, but being prepared will make your trip a lot more enjoyable for you, the wife, or GF and the rest of your buds that are craning to the event. Safe travels Gang!