The past week in Car repair

[Briano1234]

Nick, Im me on the price, I have a person that may be interested....

[bbrown]

Hey guys and galls. I just got back to Vacationland from sunny Texas this past Saturday. On my way back from the airport in Manchester, NH I stopped in Acton, ME to visit my sister. While there I saw this nice little Cabby for sale. I stopped to take a look and snag a coupe pics with my cellphone. The Cabby is an '85 in really nice shape. There is no structural rust (must have started out as a southern car) and only had some small rust paint bubbles around the wheel wells. The engine bay was nice and clean and the car went into each gear really well. The car has a fresh inspection sticker which is a big deal here in Maine. With a little TLC on the inside (a good vacuum, some Armor All, and a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser) and a respray on the outside this Cabby would be ready to hit the shows and cruise the coastline. The car is selling for $2500 and it comes with an '84 parts Cabby (I didn't get a look at). Here are the pics of the car:









I got my car out of storage Saturday night and brought it home. The car started right up on the first turn of the key and fired up as if I had just driven it. I started tearing into the car yesterday to make good use of the parts that I had ordered from GAP. I removed the valve cover and shoulder studs and replaced the gasket with a new rubber one and new shoulder studs. I removed the oil pan (after draining the oil) and installed a new rubber gasket. I changed the oil, but I made the mistake of using a FRAM oil filter. The darned thing didn't seal right and leaked like a sieve. I did everything right like make sure the old filter gasket was not still on the car and I know I didn't cross-thread the new filter. I even put some new oil on the new filter gasket just like you're supposed to. Needless to say I will be going returning the filter and going to NAPA and pick up either a BOSCH of MANN filter like I should have in the first place.

My project photos taken with the cellphone (my camera is still in my suitcase):









Whilst doing my maintenance work I stumbled upon what the Hayne's manual calls an "Anti-backfire Valve." It is mounted just to the left of the throttle linkage. It has a vacuum line hooked onto the "valve" I assume when the car backfires the loss in vacuum causes the valve to expand and kick the throttle with the linkage that is connected to it. My problem is the linkage was not connected when I removed it from the car and I don't think that CIS basic actually had one of these as I think it is a carb only application. Here are some pics of the valve and linkage.




The linkage below sits in the metal bracket (the one facing the t.b.) on the valve above.


Any thoughts?

[sixsracing]

Looks more like some aftermarket cruise control setups I have seen.
Does the vacuum diaphragm have a VW part # on it?

Welcome back, stop by and see me at some point. Or if you need
some help with your project gimme a ring and I'll try to come over.

[gull]

That looks almost exactly like the factory-installed cruise control actuator and linkage on my '89. If I remember right the hose should be connected to a small electric vacuum pump mounted back near the brake booster. It's one of the most accurate cruise controls I've ever seen, and well worth fixing if yours isn't working. Mine just needed a new vacuum line -- the old one had been sitting on top of one of the braided steel FI lines, which had sawed right through it.

[ibennett]

Ditto on the cruise control, got one in my 88 Cabby as well.

[CalAltaDubber]

yup. That's the same Cruise Control in the '87 too.

[Briano1234]

and 90, 91, 92, 93,........

[bbrown]

Thanks guys and gal. I followed the vacuum line back and found the electric activated pump Gull mentioned. The problem know is that the car is not wired for cruise in that there is no cruise set switch in the cabin on the wiper selector. I guess the PO just started setting up the car to use cruise or the cruise was detached from the inside. Either way thanks. Now it is time for me to re-time the car. I changed the timing belt and didn't mark anything and when I aligned everything the car wouldn't fire. I have all the TPDC marks lined up as the Hayne's manual says they should. I will research the TEX tomorrow and do some more reading before I go any further. I know you can turn the dizzy to dial in the timing, but I thought you could get it to run (roughly) by just aligning the TPDC marks. Oh well, I am learning all kinds of new stuff i.e. the belt shield is a pain in the a$$ to remove and won't be going back on (can't since I hacked it all up) .

[gull]

Cruise control, uh, controls should be on the turn signal stalk. Maybe someone broke the turn signal switch and swapped it out or something? There should also be a switch and vacuum dump valve on the brake pedal and another on the clutch.

[gull]

If the distributor rotor is pointing to the notch with the #1 cyliinder at TDC, it should be close enough to fire, at least. Double-check that; you might have it 180 degrees out if the intermediate shaft got spun with the belt off. Also make sure you didn't forget anyhing or knock anything loose...I once did a tune-up on a Honda, then couldn't get it to start. Couldn't figure it out until I realized the distributor rotor was still sitting on top of the valve cover, where I'd left it...

[sixsracing]

Offer still stands, I'm right up the street if things get too heavy.

[bbrown]

Thanks for the help. I will check the dizzy. Also is the dimple on the cam gear supposed to be on the inside facing the block? Right know it is on the out side facing the passenger fender wall. In the manual it shows the dimple being on the inside so there is a possibility that I am off about 180* on the cam gear (which I have not removed so any error is on the PO if there is any error at all). I am going to spin it 180* and try that. Six, I will PM you if I can't get this thing solved. Sorry if I am kind of jacking this thread. I meant for it to be just posting up the successful car repairs and not just the unsuccessful repairs. I am headed out to the garage to have at it again. Thanks.

[sixsracing]

It is virtually impossible to hijack a thread on this forum, nobody is uptight here.
Depending on which dimple you are looking at because there can be a few. A
line (not a dimple) should be on the side towards the engine on the back of the
cam gear, this lines up with the top of the valve cover. The oil pump/distributor
shaft can be aligned with the line on the distributor, roughly pointing towards the
actual #4 cylinder. The crank can be done a number of ways, aligning the notch
on the crank pulley with the notch on the intermediate pulley, there is a TDC mark
on the flywheel viewed through the inspection hole, or you can take #1 plug out
and using a pencil to judge where the piston is, rotate the crankshaft until it brings
the piston up to the top. I don't know what you are using for info. but you are
welcome to use my AllData subscription. PM or call me for my name and password.

[bbrown]

Thanks Six, I got it running right now. There was a dimple on the cam gear that was hidden with some rust/grime, but I found it. I aligned it and its running. The intermediate and crank are both pointing at each other with their marks so they are on and the flywheel is at its mark to. I moved the dizzy once it was running and it moved the power around. Now it is time to use the butt dyno and dial in the timing by making very very small adjustments to the dizzy (I noticed that the smallest movement in the dizzy made very noticeable changes in the idle characteristics). Thanks for the help and the pencil trick sounds really nifty. The other way I have heard to do the same thing is to get a spark plug extender screw it into the #1 cyl. and then put a balloon on the extension and rotate the motor to see when it is on compression and decompression to find TDC. Thanks for the help Six you live up to your subtitle as forum nice guy, thanks and I still may PM you if I can't get this thing totally dialed in.

[gull]

Mine was set fairly far advanced by the previous owner. (I'm actually not sure if this was intentional or not -- it was timed exactly to that big inductive timing boss on the pressure plate instead of the correct, but much less obvious, notch.) I ended up retiming it to the stock setting. There comes a time in every man's life when he's willing to give up a little power to get a decent idle.