Our Jiffy No More

The affair with our jiffy as family vehicle started in 2005. Since then it never failed us though there were minor problems resulting from lack of familiarity with the car and owing to the fact that we bought it with parts needing replacements. Just the same, it served the purpose. In 2005-06, it drove us daily as I and my wife worked far from home.

In 2007, we decided to used the second car as service and put the jiffy in the garage, so to speak. Although we used it from time to time, we decided not to renew its registration until 2010 where it ran again but this time on short distances and occasionally as far as Davao del Norte.

But yesterday, we had to say goodbye to our jiffy after we sold it to its new owner.    

Volks Updates

In my previous post months ago, I discussed the problem of the engine of our beetle - the broken intake manifold gasket on the two right cylinders. I put some silicon hoping that it will temporarily solve the problem but it did not.

Recently, a friend mechanic came over to see the engine. We had it removed and dismantled to find the broken intake manifold and the missing stud bolt. Those were the culprit for the rough idle. 

It went months before we decided to dismantled the engine. And we were astonished to realize that the gaping hole in the intake manifold admitted rain water that in turn caused the rusting in the burning chamber. It was really a good thing that we pulled down the engine or else more damage would have been on the way.  That would be more terrible - financially speaking.  

The helper mechanic cleaned up all the parts of the engine and hopefully assemble them once new parts are purchased. 

Cut-off Solenoid

The fuel cut-off solenoid acts as anti-run or anti-dieseling connected to the carburetor. It does when the engine is switched off. Some claimed that disconnecting the solenoid, the engine would continue to run for seconds before dying down. Another indicator is that engine would run rough without it. 

Yesterday, I double-checked my solenoid as I failed to do it while dismantling the carburetor. I disconnected the positive wire and then switched the ignition on (no engine cranking). With the ignition on, I listened if a clicking sound would be heard as reconnected the wire. I heard no clicking sound which meant the solenoid had problem.

As I thoroughly inspected the solenoid after removing from the carburetor, I noticed that the positive wire coming from it was actually nipped off. I found the culprit. To remedy, I sawed that portion to get access to a terminal buried in the plastic cover where I attached the new wire by soldering it there. I bolstered the soldered part with electrical tape to keep it from moving.  It works.   

Stalling Problem

Recently, my engine had stalling problems. I presumed it resulted from clogged fuel/air passages. Only too late that I discovered that the fuel filter was in bad shape. When I dismantled the carburetor, the fuel strainer was clogged with dirt and probably causing the engine stalling. I decided to buy a repair kit and replaced carburetor parts only selectively.


However, last night, the problem went occurred again after running some meters. The engine lost power and then died down. I had to restart the engine and it came back to life. I noticed that pumping up the accelerator helped the engine to run. Since I already replaced the strainer, the cause of the stalling problem could have been due to another factor. I had to look for the culprit. 


This morning I dismantled the carburetor for a number of times because when I installed it and ran the engine, fuel would overflow when the engine is turned off. I was  bewildered. I suspected that the float was the culprit. 


I inspected the float and adjusted the tip that would press up the fuel stopper. I also adjusted the float sidearms that hold the pivot pin in place. I was lucky because those measures solved the overflowing problem. My analysis was that the float was unstable causing it to move sideways. The result was that it would fail to press the fuel stopper during operation. Although I still have to find if it will run smoothly on the highway, I am confident I found the culprit. 

Am Radio Installed

We are happy with our second-hand am radio installed on our ride. Like I said earlier the am radio is not really an investment. At least, I can sleep at night without worries of thief ripping off our low-cost radio which I acquired from a neighbor for Php150.00. (USD3.3) :-). 

With that, I could now set back and relax listening to radio news commentaries while waiting for my wifey to go back from the grocery store. 

Intake Manifold Problem

I noticed that only two cylinders (3 and 4) of our beetle performed abnormally. It idled roughly, etc and as disconnected the high tension wires of the 1 and 2 cylinders, the engine's performance was the same. As I pried into the intake manifold, I discovered that the gasket was already broken which produced as a result a gaping hole that caused the vacuum leak. Adding insult to injury, so to speak, the stud bolt (1 piston's side) was missing. Might be that it just fell somewhere or the previous owner did not bother to replace the missing stud bolt.

I still have to remove the engine myself. So I am not yet fully familiar with the actual setup of the engine. I though at first that replacing the gasket in the intake manifold could be done without removing the alternator. I don't have a 36mm socket wrench to dismantle the fan, that is why I looked for this alternative. I guess this is possible but the big problem there is the missing or broken stud bolt whose part of it stuck in the hole. This means that I needed to bring the cylinder head to the shop. But not yet since I have yet to equip myself with appropriate tools. 

So my verdict was to temporarily use a silicon paste to patch up the leak as photographed. I left it to harden overnight and tomorrow I will try to run the engine.  Till next issue. 

Beetle Blog Icon

I started with zero knowledge about air cooled volkswagen. Out of eagerness to have an old beetle for a service car, we still decided to buy a second-hand in 2005. Guess, what we came through a number of funny experiences with the more than 40-year old beetle resulting from the fact that we had no basic knowledge about it. For one, when we bought it it came without a driver's manual and troubleshooting guide, etc.. But we survived each situation with the beetle until I learned some basics about maintenance. Still, this is an on-going process I am or we are sharing with you. Thanks for coming here... 

Removing the AC VW Beetle Engine

From this site http://www.type2.com/library/engineg/kuhn7.htm, I lifted and posted here the instruction on how to yank-out the engine of ac vw beetle type 1. The instruction is written by Robert Kuhn. I pasted the part relevant to my beetle because I want to use it as a reference when we pull-out the engine of our beetle. Here is his writeup: 

Yanking the Type 1 Engine

One of the beauties of the air cooled VW's is it's simplicity. No special tools are needed to remove the engine from the Type-I (AKA: The Bug/Beetle). All you need: A floor jack (at least a 3/4 ton). A pair of jack stands (4 point rather than 3 point). Some wood blocks to chock the front tires. A drop light. Wrench and socket set (SAE and Metric). Screw drivers (both flat/slotted and phillips). Pliers, vice grips and a hammer. Torque wrench. Penetrating oils (ie: Liquid Wrench). Rags. Shoppe/Repair manuals (more the better!). Zippy bags and a permanent marker (I like to place small things in the bags and write on the bag so I know what they are and where they go). Patience ... take your time! Whatever your reason for removing the engine, you'll be pleased to find that it's a snap. I feel that a true VW geek has to at least do an engine pull and an engine installation at least once in their life. It builds more confidence, more understanding about the VW, a better appreciation on it's simplicity and, of course, the pride and bragging rights that go into saying that *YOU* were the one that removed and then later re-installed said engine in the back of your pride and joy. Though what's to follow will focus mostly on the stock Type-I (manual, automatic, carburetor and fuel injected), Ghia, Bus and other non Type-I's is basically the same. One of the neat, and unique, thing about the air cooled VW's is that the engine is lowered out the bottom instead of the out the top like all other cars in the world. Since the engine is lowered out, all you need is a floor jack ... no engine hoist needed! Make sure you're parked on a nice level surface and have ample room to move around. If you can enlist the help of a friend (or your spouse), it will make yanking your engine that much easier (bribing them with beer or lunch is usually all it takes). You can drop the engine with the fan shroud still bolted in. I find that having the fan shroud still on the engine makes it easier as I can hang on to the shroud as I pull the engine and lower it to the ground. I have to admit ... a Baja Bug was probably the easiest engine pull I have ever done! In the steps to follow, I will try to make the task of engine removal as easy as possible by having you remove as few things as possible. I am also going to assume that you know a little bit about VW's in general (ie: you do your own tune-up and oil changes). As I stated earlier, removing the engine is not as hard of a task as it seems. If after reading this page you still don't feel confident, there's no shame in having a shoppe or someone else do it for you. So, without any further delay ... PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL AND LET'S START YANKIN' THAT ENGINE! I like to remove the engine compartment lid, but you don't have to. Drain the oil. Disconnect the battery cables (I like to remove the battery from the car and trickle charge it, but you don't have to). Chock the front tires and jack the rear up as high as high as the jack stands will allow. Put the tranny in neutral. Remove the air cleaner. Disconnect the wires from the generator/alternator as well as the from the ignition coil: On 1961-1966, the voltage regulator is mounted on the generator (assuming that you're still running a 6V engine and have not converted to 12V with alternator); disconnect the small wire and mark it 61. Now disconnect the large wire(s) and mark it B+51. And finally, disconnect and mark the wires that are on the ignition coil. On 1967 and later, disconnect the three (3) wires from the generator or alternator (assuming that you don't have an alternator with a built in voltage regulator), be sure to mark where they were. Now disconnect and mark the wires that are on the ignition coil. Now disconnect the oil pressure switch (this is located on the crankcase under the distributor). Ok, the next three steps apply only to carbureted engines Disconnect the automatic choke wire and the cutoff jet solenoid on the carburetor. Mark them accordingly. Disconnect the throttle cable to the carb. If your engine is fitted with a throttle positioner (which is usually found on 1968 thru 1972 manual shift models), remove it. It's pretty easy to do; remove the vacuum hose(s) and the screws (usually 3) and it should "fall" off. Disconnect the fuel line off the copper tube leading to the fuel pump ... be sure to plug the line so it doesn't leak. The next two steps apply to the fuel injected models Disconnect and mark the electrical connections: Throttle valve switch. Intake air sensor potentiometer. Injectors. Cold start valve. Cylinder head temperature sensor. Auxiliary air regulator. Yank the fuel return line off the pressure regulator and the injector distributor pipe and clamp the end to prevent any leakage. Now climb underneath the car and pull off the flex heater hoses, disconnect the heater control cables (located near the two lower engine mounting bolts). On 1974 models, you will need to disconnect the push-on connector between the TDC sensor in the right crankcase half and computer diagnosis socket. The next five steps apply only to auto stick models Disconnect the electrical wires from the control valve mounted on the left side of the engine compartment; be sure to mark it! Disconnect the two (2) vacuum lines for the control valve from the carburetor and intake manifold, or intake air sensor (whichever your engine has). Disconnect the line between the fluid reservoir, which can be found under the right rear fender, and the oil pump at the union nut. Be sure to seal the line with a spare union nut which has been blocked (ie: solder). Disconnect the oil pressure line between the oil pump and the torque converter at the union nut. Be sure to position the line so it doesn't leak! Now remove the screws securing the torque converter to the drive plate. Hand turn the engine with the fan belt until each screw is accessible through one of the transmission case openings ... then remove the screw. The remaining steps apply to all models unless specified otherwise. On 1961-1966 models, remove the rear cover plate. Do this by disconnecting the hoses between the fan housing and heat exchanger, typically on 1963-1966 models, remove the fan pulley cover, and preheater pipe sealing plates ... remove the screws (six, I think) that secure the rear cover plate and then the plate. If you have the stock vacuum advanced distributor, you can either remove it or just loosen it and turn it inward to provide more clearance. In either case, be sure to mark it's setting with a chisel or punch. I just remove it (after marking it, of course). Remove the lower engine mounting nuts (17mm). Slide your floor jack under the engine and raise it so that it contacts the center bottom of the crankcase. I like to place a piece of 3/4 inch plywood board (about one feet square) between the case and the floor jack ... it helps me balance the case when it comes time to lower it, but this is up to you. Raise the jack up high enough so that there's slight pressure on the engine ... not too much, we don't want to tweak the mounting bolts/frame. Here's where your bud comes in handy (if you were fortunate enough to enlist one) ... have him/her hold the upper engine mounting nuts with a box wrench while you unscrew the bolt from underneath the car. The nuts are behind the fan shroud; you will have to feel around as you can't really see them. But, they are the only 17mm nuts back in this area, so that will help in identifying them. If you're doing this solo, then you will have to get somewhat creative ... I tend to hold said nut with a vice grip. Roll the engine straight backward until the clutch release plate clears the main drive shaft (and you'll know when it does because you can *feel* it). Having the fan shroud still on the engine makes a nice thing to hold onto at this stage of the removal. Do not let the engine tilt when backing the engine out, you could bend the main drive shaft which would be a bad thing. For this reason, it's nice to have an extra set of hands to help balance the engine as you're backing it out. Now lower the engine slowly, making sure that the clutch release plate remains clear of the drive shaft. If your model is an automatic stick shift, secure the torque converter with a retainer plate. I believe you can get one from your local VW parts store. Ok, your engine is now out! That wasn't so bad or hard! Installation is in the reverse order.

Here's the tightening torques:

	foot-pounds	mkg
Oil drain plug	25	3.5
Oil strainer nuts	5	0.7
Engine mounting bolts	22	3
Torque converter to drive plate	18	2.5
Crankshaft pulley	29-36	4-5
Generator/Alternator pulley	40-47	5.5-6.5

AC Beetle 1200cc Engine

This is a recent recording of the engine performance of our beetle. Guess I really need to adjust the valves to reduce the noise. I still have to do the valve adjustment myself. 

Fuel Pump Replacement

The symptoms we noticed before knowing that the fuel pump already needed replacement was that fuel consumption. When I checked the engine, the bottom of the fuel pump would squirt gas resulting from a damaged membrane. 

In a reply to my text, my uncle told me to change oil also after replacing the fuel pump because the gas that probably went into the crankcase would damage the piston rings, etc. I followed his advice.

I learned that there are two types of fuel pumps in the market - electrical type and the stock mechanical type. I bought the mechanical and installed it on the engine.