I want to thank you for the help on the forum and PM's with the crankshaft pulley question. For now I cleaned up, primed and painted the original pulley and will try to get the vendor to send the right part.
I installed a new torque converter seal (along with new clutch plate, servo bladder, shifter contact point and wire). I put the car back together today and it shifted OK into all gears (a little "gitch" into reverse which may need an adjustment or because I've got the idle a bit high).
BAD news -I found a steady stream of ATF pouring out from around the bell housing. In a short time it emptied the system. Since the car was still on the jack stands I pulled the engine tonight.
The seal is in place and intact but I can see that in threw the oil out from around the seal. It looks to be in good shape but I'm sure I very slightly distorted the metal housing which in turn distorted the rubber contact area when I installed it. I don't have an installer as shown in Bentley so I used the old standy - a piece of pipe and a hammer. I'm sure I hit it a few too many shots after it had bottomed out, I thought it could go a little more.
Is there a source for a proper installation tool? Because of the shape of the seal's metal housing even I standard seal installer could distort it. Do you have any sugestions on alternative installation? My 23 year old daughter is loosing patience and wants to get back behind the wheel of her Bug.
Also - I installed the exact same seal as the original, but I see that a different seal is available on which the spring is exposed. Do you know if this spring is interchangeable with my original which has an "internal" spring? Thanks again for your assistance.
74vbug,
The seal you have (internal spring) is correct for your year of beetle. Don't use the exposed spring type on your car.
You may indeed have distorted it badly. I'd go easy on installing the next one.
Mostly the seal installers are in fact machined to be a pipe shape anyway, obviously a lot better quality. I've personally never used a proper tool.
What you can try is plastic pipe to soften the blows. A plumbing shop may have a diameter that is good enough.
I'll see if I can come up with anything else.
Enjoy
Volkenstein
Installed new German made seal. Picked it up from long time Bugshop in New Jersey. They install them with a socket and a hammer. I borrowed a 2 1/4 inch 12 point socket which fits the flat lip of the seal. Installed and made sure it was even all around. No more leaks.
Bug runs and shifts fine but I am having problems "finding" reverse gear. I have to giggle the shifter too much and it takes a while to get into reverse. Low, 1 & 2 are fine.
Also, I am having a flat spot on acceleration from a stop. If I don't feather the gas pedal, she will stall when I take off.
Thanks for your help
Installed new seal. No more leaks.
74vbug,
Excellent stuff..the trans I picked up on the W/E uses the external spring (old style) so I wouldn't have been much help!!
A couple of things to check re selecting gears :
Under the rear seat on top of tunnel is an inspection plate fastened with a philips head screw. Undo this and you'll see the shifter coupling. Grab it (greasy!!) and wiggle and check for play, and check the rubbers.
Next, have you adjusted the shifter plate? Under the shifter boot is a cover that bolts to floor. Under this is the shifter plate (or gate). This has to be adjusted "just so". I don't have the specs, but I remember Cobey or Bookwus detailing somewhere how to do it. Try search, or look at other tech articles.
Enjoy
Volkenstein
74vbug,
What Distributor are you running? What carby?
Bosch 009 (Mechanical advance only) and Solex 34 Pict-3 are known problem children. They don't play together that well.
No vacuum leaks from ANY of the hoses?
Valve clearances done?
Plugs gapped?
Points gapped?
Timing spot on?
Accelerator pump adjustment OK?
If you can, read off the numbers on the distributor, and say if it has a vacuum can on it or not, and how many hoses go to it...
Enjoy
Volkenstein
I loosened the 2 bolts and adjusted the the shifter backward a good bit and now it shifts reverse 90% better. I think if I tweek it a little more I'll have it 100%.
Also, I ordered and tried to install a replacement coupling for between the end of the shift rod and the trans input shaft but the replacement didn't have the the "wing" on the thru-bolt. (There's a hole in the wing for the spring that connects from the pan) And the OE thru-bolt is a different diameter than the for the new coupling so I couldn't switch it. So I just installed the old one. Maybe there's something I didn't see.
As for the hesitation, I removed the OE centifugal distributor and installed a vacuum advance diss a long time ago. This current diss is less than a year old and has only one hose to advance the timing. I have this hose to ported vacuum, so it doesn't have vacuum at idle but only on acceleration and it's on a Tee fitting with the small hose that goes to the Autostick control valve. Is this set up correct?
Other than that, I'll be going over the ignition system and check the carb accelerator pump diaphram, although this carb is fairly new and I've dissassembled and cleaned it over this last summer. But it is a crummy Bocar 34 PICT so maybe that's the problem. I'd like to try and have my OE carb rebushed at the throttle plate shaft. Do you know of anyone that does this work?
74vbug,
No way should you run a T piece off a 34 Pict-3, BOCAR or not.
OK, for an SVDA (single vacuum connection) and a 34 Pict 3 you should (jump in anyone!!!) :
Looking at the engine, on the left side of the carb is a vacuum port. Hook a VW vacuum hose (with a loop in it, or bent steel pipe) from this to your vacuum can.
Next, grab a long length of VW vacuum hose and run it from front upper vacuum port all the way to the port on your control valve.
The VW hose (cloth covered) is great stuff, and won't collapse like the el cheapo plain rubber stuff.
Set timing with the hose off the dissy and plugged.
If it's an SVDA, start at around 7.5 degrees BTDC static timing (or at idle). Also, get your idle speed to 900-950, this should encourage more reasonable shifts.
To be 100% certain of your distributor specs, write down the numbers and then go to www.oldvolkshome.com and hunt around for the ignition section, they have an exhaustive list of distributor numbers, timing specs and part numbers.
With the shifter rod, underneath the shifter plate inside the tunnel and about 2 inches back should be a plastic bushing. This is another cause of woeful shifts. www.thesamba.com, late model section in the forum has a little discussion on this rotten bit of gear and what a PITA it is to replace.
Most competent carb shops should be able to re-bush the shaft, but fom what I read everybody on TheSamba likes a guy called CARBCHARD, who rebuilds the German Solex's. A lot of people are extremely happy with his work. www.thesamba.com and check the classifieds as he advertises there.
Also, faulty memory tells me the talk is that BOCAR's are slightly underjetted and difficult to set idle speed properly.........or is that the Pierburg's are underjetted????....either way.....everyone loves the German stuff much much more...
Enjoy
Volkenstein
Where can one buy the torque converter seal online?
I bought a spare Torque converter oil seal from CIP1....
They are no longer available in Australia... Most genuine VW shops closed in Australia in 1976-77-78 as VW cars were no longer imported or locally made.... so no genuine parts are available down here...
Only have after market VW shops now with Brazillian spares usually... or some european or USA made parts available at Very Expensive prices....
I always use sockets to knock in oil seals usually.... You just need to find one that fits, but I do have plenty of Metric tools as My first cars were Beetles back in the 70s....
I found a few after market VW shops in the US selling Stick shift parts...
but won't send them to Australia....
Lee Noonan 68AutoBug Australia
http://community.webshots.com/user/vw68autobug
that is a very interesting paint job you have there!
Yes, but I wouldn't do it again... too easy to scratch the paint....
Probably why they were painted black on all the tinware...
very easy to touch up....
Lee 68AutoBug Australia
http://community.webshots.com/user/vw68autobug