OH NO! PROBLEMS ALREADY!

[jmbrownell]

Well, I couldn't get any pictures of the mystery item today, but hopefully tomorrow. I looked at the cabbyinfo site, and they didn't have any for my model year (1981). Bummer do you think that the 1984-1986 would be the same? or very similar?

another question is does the bently have a vacuum diagram? I need to order one, I have just been low on funds.

thanks for all the help guys!

[gull]

Check for an emissions data label pasted on the underside of the hood. Those often have vacuum hose diagrams. Of course, it might have disintegrated by now. Mine is fading pretty rapidly.

[Briano1234]

While Bentley is the better of the 2, you can find them from time to time on ebay fairly cheap.
The Haynes book that I had for my 81 diesel days served me well for over 20 years. I knew that Bentley existed,
but had so ingrained myself in to the "Haynes" mode I didn't care.

[gull]

Yeah, I've had Bentleys and they're superior, but the Haynes is cheap and worth having. Haynes will often tell you how to do stuff if you don't have the special VW-specific tools the Bentley assumes you have.

That said, the Haynes does not have a vacuum diagram.

[jmbrownell]

Well, I would really like to address this problem this weekend, and I have a bently on order from amazon, only 8 bucks! When I get home I will take some pictures of the engine. There are some lines that are missing hopfully you guys can help play "where what goes where" with me.

Too bad you guys don't live in the Central New York area, I would buy some pizza and beer for all!

[Briano1234]

Well, I would really like to address this problem this weekend, and I have a bently on order from amazon, only 8 bucks! When I get home I will take some pictures of the engine. There are some lines that are missing hopfully you guys can help play "where what goes where" with me.

Too bad you guys don't live in the Central New York area, I would buy some pizza and beer for all!

Well, my 81 diesel bunny had the vacuum guide on the strut tower.

[jmbrownell]

Well, I would really like to address this problem this weekend, and I have a bently on order from amazon, only 8 bucks! When I get home I will take some pictures of the engine. There are some lines that are missing hopfully you guys can help play "where what goes where" with me.

Too bad you guys don't live in the Central New York area, I would buy some pizza and beer for all!

Well, my 81 diesel bunny had the vacuum guide on the strut tower.

yeah no dice, my hood/engine bay is clear of any diagram. maybe they have a bently at the barnes and noble that I could take a peek at, I think I will stop there on my way home....

[gull]

Might try your local library system, too, sometimes they have repair guides in their collections.

[jmbrownell]

So, I was going to put up some pictures tonight, but the bunny is dead again. Sad considering I have only owned it for a week. Are they really this unreliable? I need a beer. and probably a tow.

[gull]

They're no more or less unreliable than any other 20+ year old car. Any time you buy a car this old it's likely to have problems that you'll have to resolve -- mostly "deferred maintenance," stuff the previous owner didn't take care of. I had to fix a bunch of stuff on my Cabriolet when I first got it, but once I got everything straightened out it was reliable enough that I sold my daily driver and just drove it all the time. In the last 12 months or so the sum total of required repairs was fixing the oil cooler O-ring after it blew out one cold morning -- other than that the car's been completely dependable.

[gull]

This is maybe a good place to note that, in years of shopping the low end of the car market, I've settled on a rule of thumb that I should expect to spend an additional $1000-$2000 over the first six months of ownership to get a sub-$2000 car into good, drivable condition. (This is assuming a car that already runs and drives, even if badly, when I buy it.) I don't find this varies much with purchase price. A $1500 car will probably look nicer than a $500 car, but may not be in any better shape mechanically.

That figure is to get the car in a state where I'd happily hop into it and drive it anywhere without a second thought. (I don't generally own "town cars." Any car I can't trust on the highway I either spend time and money fixing up, or sell for parts.) It excludes body work because I'm not too hung up on what my car looks like. It also excludes a fair bit of labor because I tend to do my own wrenching.

[kamzcab86]

I looked at the cabbyinfo site, and they didn't have any for my model year (1981). Bummer do you think that the 1984-1986 would be the same? or very similar?

The '81 would be similar, but it's definitely not the same. One major difference: there are two ports off the vacuum advance, rather than one like the '84+ cars have. Use the '84 diagram as a starting point and we'll help you with the rest.

One of these days the '80-'83 diagrams will be completed.

[jmbrownell]

Also so I went to the car today, tinkered around (mostly looked at the same hoses for about a half an hour) Wouldn't start, then I decided I would turn the distrubuter and walla! it started. I turned the distrubuter some more and adjusted the idle that way (probably the worst way of doing this, but obviously I have timing issues for it to start this way. So many things to figure out!

I was able to snap some photos

this one is where I am missing a vacuum line.



And I believed that i should have a line running from the nipple to where the screw is, it appears something was broken off...


also here is the part that he kept messing with and calling the idle motor:

[gull]

The "idle motor" is the Auxiliary Air Regulator. It's actually not a motor, but rather a thermal-electric device that's open when the engine is first started and gradually closes as it warms up. It provides a fast idle when the engine is cold. (That's all it does; it doesn't affect idle speed when the engine's warmed up, unless it's broken and sticks open. I've been driving around for two years with one that's stuck closed, so it's not exactly critical.)

I think the distributor vacuum can connects to a nipple on the back of the throttle body, but I'd have to go look at my car to be sure. (Also, mine's an '89, so it might be different. You may have a deceleration valve in between.) I don't think it connects to that manifold vacuum check valve; I think the HVAC system or something like that goes there. Someone else will correct me if I'm wrong, I'm sure. While you're testing and sorting things out you should plug off any unused vacuum ports; use a short length of hose and a pencil or golf tee. Otherwise the vacuum leaks will make the car idle badly, or not at all. It looks like that one is plugged with a screw, which is OK if it's making a good seal...

There are some good timing instructions here:
http://www.cabby-info.com/Files/AdjustingTheTiming.pdf
You'll need a stroboscopic timing light to do it right. Get the clamp-on kind, they're easiest to work with. You don't need a fancy one with an advance knob, just an ordinary timing light will do.

Oh yeah, the part marked "what is this thing?" is the cold start injector. It sprays extra fuel into the intake manifold when you start the car and the engine is cold, to provide a richer mixture.

[jmbrownell]

ok so thanks to your help, I got the vacuum situation all worked out. Here is my new problem and It could be a HUGE problem. I went to replace my o2 sensor, the old one came out ok, and I noticed the threads were pretty messed up, I think oh shit its stripped, and yeah I can't get the new one in. I drive the car to the shop down the road, and the mechanic retaps the bung. it is stripped... still the tapping didn't work (he says I haven't tried it on my own yet) he said he was able to get the o2 sensor hand tight, but it wouldn't tighten down.


He is saying to get an insert from a parts store, that might work... and if it doesn't he said the only other option is a new manifold.. please give me some good news. while I'm waiting for the rain.