letterman7
Honorary Admin
That may be all you need. If it isn't bouncing on the way up and rises at the same rate on both sides, you're good. Good job!
Pog's Sterling (CCC293)
- Thread starter vpogv
- Start date
Right slide is just a smidge slower on the way up but nothing extreme or different than before. I'm calling it good.
Spent Sunday attaching body panels so it looks a bit more finished. I forgot how much fun the side pod was to mount - up to your armpit, upside down and still barely reaching the far ends.
New rear tires tomorrow then hopefully tags!
Well spent the afternoon working on the Sterling rather than getting other cars waxed for winter...
Everything electrically works except for the fresh air blower and the brake lights. The fresh air blower is just the switch wired backwards but not going to worry about it. The brake lights though are keeping me off the road. I first thought it was just poorly bled brakes. Re-bled them all and still nothing - damn. No parts store locally has one so guess I'm a few days out.
I did get 2 new rear tires this pass week and called and should have insurance on it this week so the road is close but the to-do list continues to grow once it is drivable.
Everything electrically works except for the fresh air blower and the brake lights. The fresh air blower is just the switch wired backwards but not going to worry about it. The brake lights though are keeping me off the road. I first thought it was just poorly bled brakes. Re-bled them all and still nothing - damn. No parts store locally has one so guess I'm a few days out.
I did get 2 new rear tires this pass week and called and should have insurance on it this week so the road is close but the to-do list continues to grow once it is drivable.
I’m proud of you. You’re getting really close to being on the road. 
Thanks! Got the brake switch replaced and I have brakes lights! Sadly the engine won't idle so really driving it isn't happening until that's fixed. Trying to feather the throttle, apply brakes and depress the clutch simply doesn't work. Hoping to get a little time tonight to troubleshoot - hopefully it's as simple as a vacuum leak.
Adjusted the auto choke last night and it showed a bit of promise but definitely not fixed. There were 2 questionable capped vacuum hoses that I replaced with actual vacuum caps. There does seem to be a bit of fuel leaking from from where the carb meets the manifold so I place to replace that. Now I have two questions for those that know a bit more about these engines -
1. Off the front of the carb is a flange (center of the picture just to the left of the belt) that just has a bolt jammed in to plug the hole. What is supposed to be there and will a block off plate suffice?
2. Off the intake manifold the tube is just cut off which typically runs down to the exhaust. I'm going to assume this is not something that should be left wide open - correct?
Thanks!
1. Off the front of the carb is a flange (center of the picture just to the left of the belt) that just has a bolt jammed in to plug the hole. What is supposed to be there and will a block off plate suffice?
2. Off the intake manifold the tube is just cut off which typically runs down to the exhaust. I'm going to assume this is not something that should be left wide open - correct?
Thanks!
letterman7
Honorary Admin
Bolt in hole: block off plate is fine, may have been a smog pump attached there at one point. Cut-off tube: well, a little more involved. That heater flapper should never be open like that - ever. That needs the corrugated hose from the fan shroud to that opening (and it looks like the opening has been cut as well - should be a tube sticking up from there). The cut-off tube is part of the warm-up sequence for the carburetor - if it's not in place, things get tough to tune. Can you do without it? Yes, but then you have the possibility of the carburetor icing over when it gets humid out, even during the summer. New manifolds are available with the riser tubes that connect to that diamond shaped block-off plate on the heater cores. If you chose not to have heat to the cockpit, you can simplify the exhaust system with a different exhaust setup, but you'll still have the issue with the center mount carburetor. That's why a lot of guys move to dual carbs - more power and closer to the block so heating isn't so much an issue.
Thanks for the information letterman! I am yanking the carb and the manifold off to replace the gaskets so I may address the heat riser tube then. I have a spare manifold but it's one without the tubes (came from the last engine with dual carbs) so I will figure something out. Right now I was more focused on if that cut tube is a huge leak or just poor backyard mechanics.
Update! We have idle - LINK
While I did address a possible issue with the fuel rod getting pinched I don't really believe that was the culprit. I took out all of the jets again and recleaned them following up with compressed air. I think that plus a little bit of luck got it idling.
I am going to pull the carb again and do a better job blasting the passages out, attempt to get the timing dialed in and see where that gets me with the idle.
While I did address a possible issue with the fuel rod getting pinched I don't really believe that was the culprit. I took out all of the jets again and recleaned them following up with compressed air. I think that plus a little bit of luck got it idling.
I am going to pull the carb again and do a better job blasting the passages out, attempt to get the timing dialed in and see where that gets me with the idle.
letterman7
Honorary Admin
Stock carbs are notorious for plugging jets. If you have a sonic cleaner, or know someone who does, that might be a good next step. VW idle spec is around 750rpm. The pulsing tells me there is still a clog in the idle circuit. Push comes to shove, check with your local VW club for a good clean used unit or buy new (and tear it down and clean it before you install).
Thanks Letterman - I am realizing that the more I read. I pulled all the jets, shot with some carb cleaner and then compressed air this time. I still need to reclean the carbs and I may really try for the sonic cleaner route. I also swapped the distributor for a 009 I had sitting around just to see if it helped to settle the idle down a bit as I didn't have spare vacuum lines for the other one to advance timing correctly.
letterman7
Honorary Admin
Timing won't advance with centrifugal or vacuum until about 2500rpm. At idle advance does nothing. You can manually advance or retard the idle by rotating the distributor in it's mount, and sometimes that's the only way to get it to run. But it should always be set (the distributor that is) to the initial timing position of -7.5 to - 10 (BTDC) at idle. Once it's idling you can set your adjustment for the proper timing at 3K rpm manually by rotating the distributor and checking the marks on the flywheel: http://www.vw-resource.com/timing_discussion.html
So I pulled out a spare 34pict carb thinking that my other was shot. Well this one is doing the exact same - engine running rich as hell. Pulled the carb off and gas was just sitting in the intake tube. Considered the culprit being the heat risers but 70F days I really doubt it.
Considered the float or needle being bad but float floats and the needle stops flow. Gas sits roughly 3/4" below the bowl top.
High fuel pressure is the next thing I am going to check but I thought the needle would prevent the carb from flooding the engine and high FP would only put the fuel pump diaphragm at risk.
Considered the float or needle being bad but float floats and the needle stops flow. Gas sits roughly 3/4" below the bowl top.
High fuel pressure is the next thing I am going to check but I thought the needle would prevent the carb from flooding the engine and high FP would only put the fuel pump diaphragm at risk.
letterman7
Honorary Admin
Just slapping a carb on there without tuning it isn't going to work. 34PICT came with many Beetle engine without fuel pressure regulators, so I doubt it's high pressure related. Take your time and set the carburetor up with the right adjustments. Believe me, these are far easier to tune that an IDF or IDA Weber,
Definitely did not just swap - I went through each of those steps short of adjusting the bypass and volume screws as they didn't change anything due to the richness.
letterman7
Honorary Admin
The "volume" screw should have helped with the enrichment. It's definitely a dance to get it right. Following the steps in the procedure link provided, base-line everything and try again. If it's still running really rich, we'll try something else. Does it have a choke on it?Both the the volume and bypass screws turned out 2.5 turns which should let it idle from what I've seen. It does have a choke I have swapped out and adjusted to slightly not fully closed.
letterman7
Honorary Admin
Electric choke or manual? Even slightly closed, choke butterflies will pull more fuel in than necessary to idle. A choke is only meant to enrichen the initial starting sequence by getting as much fuel to the cylinders as possible in the shortest amount of time. The butterfly should be *vertical* within a minute of starting. If it isn't, you're pulling fuel which would lead to the puddling. The bypass screws are for the choke circuit, IIRC. Did you follow the step-by-step setup or are you winging it at this point? If you don't baseline the carburetor, you're just chasing issues caused by other issues.
Electric choke. It does get vertical if I help the car stay running. Bypass and the volume control screws are for idle control - at least from what I understand. I did follow the step-by-step numerous times before even complaining. I am rechecking points tonight as that's the only part I haven't rechecked this week.
