Vacuum Hook-up

[craigstep9]

Hello,

I am new to this forum, I have an 1970 autostick bug convertible. Having problems with my Autostick as it slams hard into 1st and reverse. Seems to be o.k. going into 2nd. Local shop says it sounds like the vacuum servo and says the best thing to do is to pull the AS and replace with manual trans. He says he has had no luck with any of the aftermarket rebuild kits. That they last only a matter of weeks and then he has to replace again or convert the car. Several reasons I don't want to convert 1) I want to preserve the car in its natural state as much as possible 2) $2000 to convert and 3) this is my wife's car and she can't drive a stick (and this may be the biggest reason, cus I don't even want to think what it would be like to try and teach her!)  To her credit, she has said if that is the way we have to go, she will learn to drive it because she loves this car.

O.K. that is my situation, now for my question. I have talked to BugCity about there rebuild kit, it is Brazilian. I have looked at their feedback and they haven't gotten any negatives from the ones that they have sold in the last six or seven weeks. Can anyone vouch for the quality of these kits. Any personal experience with them?? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks
Craigstep9

[volkenstein]

Craigstep9,
              Ahem, I think your mechanic knows nothing much about autosticks. If it slams - your servo is not the problem, more likely your carby is incorrect.
Post a piccie of your engine in the tech section, carby as main view or email it to me @ ctefehinoz"at"hotmail.com.

Mike/Bjorn/Lee - can you move Craig & mines reply please?


Volkenstein

[Bookwus]

Hiya Sean,

Yes, I'll move this to the "Technical Forum" as soon as Craig replies.  I don't want to get him "lost" right off the bat here at VWAR.

Craig:  You have literally been saved a truckload of grief by posting up here.  The problem you are experiencing is a classic symptom of an AutoStick with an incorrect hookup.  That hookup can be fixed for FREE (or very little) without ever having to do any "major surgery" let alone converting the car to a manual.

Post up that picture of your carburetor as Sean asked!  We need to see it and its vacuum connections.

And Sean is dead-on correct (as usual) about your mechanic.  Run, don't walk, away from this guy for anything to do with an AutoStick.  He really doesn't know what he's talking about.

By the way.........Welcome to VWAR..........you're among friends.

[68autobug]

Hello,

I am new to this forum, I have an 1970 autostick bug convertible. Having problems with my Autostick as it slams hard into 1st and reverse. Seems to be o.k. going into 2nd. Local shop says it sounds like the vacuum servo and says the best thing to do is to pull the AS and replace with manual trans. He says he has had no luck with any of the aftermarket rebuild kits. That they last only a matter of weeks and then he has to replace again or convert the car. Several reasons I don't want to convert 1) I want to preserve the car in its natural state as much as possible 2) $2000 to convert and 3) this is my wife's car and she can't drive a stick (and this may be the biggest reason, cus I don't even want to think what it would be like to try and teach her!)  To her credit, she has said if that is the way we have to go, she will learn to drive it because she loves this car.

O.K. that is my situation, now for my question. I have talked to BugCity about there rebuild kit, it is Brazilian. I have looked at their feedback and they haven't gotten any negatives from the ones that they have sold in the last six or seven weeks. Can anyone vouch for the quality of these kits. Any personal experience with them?? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks
Craigstep9

Don't let Him talk You into that Craig..
stick with the Autostick
they are usually very easy to keep on the road
As Sean has said, You just have too much vacuum for the control valve..
something I have lived with for nearly 3 years...
I just changed the carby vacuum pipe yesterday...
and now it drives like it should have...   lol

Now its like i have a new one again....

cheers

LEE

PS:  Sean can advise you how to fix the problem
and it won't cost $200 either....   Lee

[craigstep9]

Thanks to all for the come backs. I will check the carb set up today and get some pics to post. Let me know where you are moving my post and these replies to! Still learning to navigate around here!
Thanks again.

Craig

[craigstep9]

O.K. took me a little bit to figure out this picture posting. A search found your explanation Bookwus, thanks. I hope this things show up and I hope I got the pictures you need to see what might be going on here.

A little more history, we are in the last stages of a complete pan replacement/complete paint job. During this time the bodyshop did disconnect some vacuum lines. The mechanic I take it to found what I beleive to be some of these and replaced and reconnected. I think this might have been the line to the vacuum servo, because the body shop was not able to shift it into any gears without major grinding. So I thought we had it fixed and it was driven to the upholstery shop for a new interior and canvas top. When we went to pick it up we found out that it wouldn't shift into first but second was not a problem, so we drove it home that way. Next day back to our mechanic who gave it what I think was a great genuine effort but said they couldn't figure it out.... No charge. This is when they referred us to the guy that wants to switch out to a manual tranny. 

Today we drove it back to the bodyshop for its final detail, wax and buff, but again would not go into first and slams hard enough going into reverse to chirp the tires in the driveway. It will go into low and second, reverse slams hard and it doesn't want to go into first at all. That's about it.

[Bookwus]

Hiya Craig,

Yes, it's just as we thought.  An incorrect vacuum hookup.  And please do realize that there are VERY few mechanics who know what they're doing around an AutoStick.  So your experience with mechanics is pretty much par for the course.

Craig, take a look at your second picture.  Note the vacuum hose coming off the carburetor and then bending to the left across the top of the distributor and plug wires.  That small vacuum hose is what is causing your problem.  It is hooked to the wrong vacuum port on your carburetor.

Your problem is that your carburetor is NOT an AutoStick specific carburetor.  Don't be overly concerned about that.  We can help you "convert" your present carburetor to one that will work just fine with an AutoStick.  Again, take a look at that second picture.  Do you see the boss for another vacuum port just to the right of the port your small hose is currebtly hooked to?  That boss/port needs to be drilled out and a brass vacuum port installed.  Once you have done that and hooked up your small vacuum hose, you'll notice a big difference in shifting action.

Take a little time to digest this.  Think about it.  Ask your questions. 

Do know that we can walk you right through the drilling even if you have little to no experience with that sort of thing.

[volkenstein]

Oh yeah, manifold vacuum .

Craig, fix that up and you'll be amazed at the difference. Civility vs Pro Wrestling .

I'd also take care of what appears to be dirty & dodgy connections at the CV Solenoid and choke element. The CV solenoid (and the entire shifting circuit) really appreciates a healthy 12V current.

And in my best scolding grandmother's voice: get rid of that fuel filter from the engine bay!! It's not even clamped .


Enjoy
Volkenstein

[craigstep9]

OK Grandma, bust my chops. You are right though, and I will get rid of the fuel filter first thing. A couple of more questions. This vacuum hook up will cause the shift to slam into gear, but mine won't even go into first at the moment. Might there be another issue? I know lets fix one thing at a time and eliminate the obvious. But, just thinking....( I know that can be a little dangerous).

Next, I found a good explantion of how to modify the carb online. May have been posted by one of you. Has detailed pictures and simple explanations. The author said to use a 1/16 inch bit to drill the port. I am thinking (again) that it would be better to pull the carb to do this. The carb looks to be aluminum, is it a fairly easy drill? The author of the article says you don't have to pull the carb, just have someone standing by with the fire extinguisher!! Also, if you don't pull the carb, where do the filings go when you drill out the port? Again, a true newbie here, but I'm willing to give it a shot!

What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, keep the suggestions and scoldings coming.

PS - We will clean up the CV and connections as well!

Craig

[Bookwus]

Hiya Craig,

For starters...............you actually want to use two different sized drill bits for this job.  One.....drill partway thru the carb body with the larger drill bit.  Then finish out with the smaller bit.  This will leave a "shoulder" inside the hole.  This shoulder will act as a stop when you tap in the brass vacuum nipple.  And.......the smaller portion of the hole acts as a vacuum restrictor which is very desireable in this case.

And yes, remove the carburetor from the intake manifold.  Drilling while the carb is mounted is asking for trouble.

Get a piece of tape and wrap it around a 9/64 drill bit 1/2 inch from the tip of the bit.  Drill into the boss hole no further than your stop tape.  You'll find that you won't go very far into the carb body, but the 9/64 does two important things for you.  It cleans out the boss hole and it will leave a convex cut at the base of the hole which will make it very easy to center your next drill bit - a 3/32.  This one you drill all the way through to the carburetor throat.  Be sure to file off any drill tailings in the carb throat.  Drilling through the carb body is very easy.

Secure a vacuum port nipple (auto parts store item) and a plastic cap to fit a nipple.

Tap the brass vacuum port nipple into place, switch the hose position, and cap off the port to the left.

That you are having problems even getting into gear is likely to be another separate problem.  Is the shift lever simply refusing to move into the desired gear, or are you getting grinding when you try?  You may well find that cleaning your CV connections will have a beneficial effect.

[craigstep9]

It simply won't go, no grinding. Didn't want to force it, but enough pressure was applied that it should have gone in based upon previous experience. I don't have the car right now, as it is at the body shop getting its final detailing. Carb adaption will have to wait until we get it back, probably Monday. I will keep in touch on my head scratching and hopefully progress!

Thanks for the detailed instructions, doesn't sound too difficult!

Craig

[68autobug]

Hi Craig
Your clutch servo may need adjusting..
My car was doing that and I adjusted the clutch servo :adjuster"

I;ll show you a pic of it..
You will need Two 13mm Open end spanners
one for the locknut and one for the adjuster  piece

Loosen the lock nut about 2mm then turn the adjuster piece
until it touches the lock nut  - then tighten the locknut..

Lee


http://community.webshots.com/user/vw68autobug

[Bookwus]

Hiya Craig,

That the shifter just doesn't want to move may indicate a problem with the shift linkage.

Two spots to check and they are both relatively easy to access, but care is needed in one of those spots.

One:  Under the back seat in the center of the tunnel you'll find an oval shaped inspection plate held in place with one phillips screw.  Pull off that inspection plate and take a look at the gizmo it hides.  What you'll be looking at is the shift rod coupler.  It mates up the shift rod coming from the front to the transmission selector shaft (usually called the hockey stick) coming from the rear.  The shift rod coupler must transfer every movement (horizontal, rotational, etc) with no slop from shift rod to hockey stick.  Check to make sure it is doing so.

Two:  You may have a problem with the front shift rod bushing.  This will require the removal of the gear shift lever.  This can get a little tricky.  Be sure to mark exactly where the shift lever sits on the tunnel so you can replace it to the EXACT position.  If you do not, you may well have problems in shifting (and now that I think of it - you could be having that same problem right now.  You might want to mark the current position and then "tweak" the position a bit and see if that has a beneficial effect) when you replace the shift lever. 

When you do get the shift lever removed, note the position and orientation of the shift plate just below it.  Make sure that it goes back in the same way.  With the aforementioned parts out of the way take a look into the hole for the shift rod bushing.  It lives in a metal bracket that extends down from the top of the center tunnel just aft of the hole.  It should be well seated in that bracket, completely enclose and cradle the shift rod, and be in good shape.  The shift rod should have no play laterally.  Everything should be well greased also.

Give this a shot before you go after adjusting the clutch just because these procedures are easier.

[craigstep9]

Thanks Lee and Bookwus. I'm thinking it is either the shifter or the linkage. Here is why. Remember I said in an earlier post that when the body shop put this thing back together, that it wouldn't go into any gear, just grind? Well I had it towed to my usual mechanic (not the one who wanted to nueter it) and they found that the clutch servo vacuum wasn't hooked up. Once they hooked that up, we could shift into Low, 2nd, and reverse, but not first. Now, back up a bit, because when the bodyshop couldn't get any gear, I know that they "tinkered" with the shifter connections. My bet is that it needs an adjustment up there or that the bodyshop buggered up the connection between the shifter and the tranny. I am starting to feel a lot better about this cus I think we have some good ideas to go chase. Just need to get the car back to do it!! Plus, when I make the carb alteration this thing is going to purr! (Always the optimist  )

Thanks again and I'll keep you posted

Craig

[68autobug]

Hi Craig
Your clutch servo may need adjusting..
My car was doing that and I adjusted the clutch servo :adjuster"

I;ll show you a pic of it..
You will need Two 13mm Open end spanners
one for the locknut and one for the adjuster  piece

Loosen the lock nut about 2mm then turn the adjuster piece
until it touches the lock nut  - then tighten the locknut..

Lee


http://community.webshots.com/user/vw68autobug

Hi Again Craig

Naturally, if the clutch doesn't engage cleanly in reverse
just keep adjusting without tightening the locknut
when you can engage reverse cleanly [but slowly]
tighten the locknut...
If Reverse is OK then all the forward gears will be OK..
they are all synchromesh...

if You need to take the pin out of the clutch arm
there are two plastic bushes in the clutch arm
one either side which may fall out when You pull the pin out.

Hopefully the Mugcanics haven't loosened the clutch arm on the top...
Probably NOT as it is difficult to get at...

cheers

LEE



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