Club 80-90 Forums

After an initial compression test to check general condition of engine, the most important thing to check/ adjust is that your carbs are balanced for air flow. They don't have to be too far out before you experience a big drop in performance - you will effectively have a 2 cylinder engine doing all the work, and the other two "riding along on the back of the tandem with their feet up".
The next thing that is usually wrong is the timing. Check this is correctly set for your setup (stock is 5 degrees atdc with vac retard connected). I have seen several that have been timed to this setting but with vac disconnected, making them run massively retarded and consequently very sluggish.
A well set up CU should sing along at 70 on the flat without too much trouble, but not for too long eh

Follow AJs advice. .. you need to be logical and consistent in diagnosis. Don't be talked into wild guesswork and stabs in the dark.

What you actually need is aVW Aircooled experienced mechanic.
Carburrettion or timing are the most likely candidates but get the compressions checked hot and cold first. That benchmarks the engine state chronologically for future reference too.

Have you read everything in the Wiki about aircooleds.. it'll give you some insight

Van taken to VW specialist (rather not say who at present), have received call saying van has a governed throttle which is why it wont go over 55mph, then and a whole load of other problems, they didn't want to say over the phone only want to tell me when I collect it which is fair enough its going to need a days investigation etc so am going to collect this eve and hear the news

Now call me a skeptic I have used the van for several mini weekend trips in the 5 weeks Ive owned it and its never missed a beat so why suddenly are there loads of problems if these where there I would have noticed !

Will make a list of what he says but something don't smell right ! ( feel like I'm being mugged off)

I'm sure now it will miraculously break down this weekend ! is there anything they could do ?

There are loads of problems because of many reasons.
1, it a company and they want to make money
2, they have found issues not affecting the van, but should be addressed
3, they have found issues that even they don't understand.
4, they have a plan to get it going faster

sternal wrote:Van taken to VW specialist (rather not say who at present), have received call saying van has a governed throttle which is why it wont go over 55mph, then and a whole load of other problems, they didn't want to say over the phone only want to tell me when I collect it which is fair enough its going to need a days investigation etc so am going to collect this eve and hear the news

Will make a list of what he says but something don't smell right ! ( feel like I'm being mugged off)

That sounds like Jack's Garage to me!

It's not them

Will post later what they say

Still unhappy !

Picked up the van, this is the general gist

Rotor arm is governed heres a pic



Distributer cap dirty I have now cleaned the points and got the rust off.



He told me he would change rotary arm, distriputer cap tune up carbs & timing and release carb plunger ( ) all for about £250 or just under but still couldn't guarantee it would make it go any faster(fair enough)

When I asked him if the timing was okay he said its on the limit (its either okay or its not ??) I asked if I changed the rotary arm would that make a difference , his reply the engine would need to be retimed ! (is this the case ?)
the carb plunger either works or it doesn't ?

So is it worth me changing the rotary arm ?

He did say I should play around with the petrol regulator (marking the original position) and see if this makes a difference, sounds plausible ?


this is one long post ! I just dont want to be mugged off

thanks once again kind forum people

Mugging on the way I think. The non-governed rotor arm & dizzie cap cost less than a tenner & take 10 minutes to fit. Timing and setting the carbs no more than a hour if you don't know what you're doing, half the time if you do. Fuel govenor?? You've got an electric fuel pump then not the original mechanical one? Carb plunger??? Now we are in the realms of fantasy? Seriously if you were in Devon I'd do this for you for a pint and a pasty.

so you would agree my rotary arm is governed ? how can you tell by looking at it ?

fuel regulator shiny dial on right hand side of engine bay goes 1-4 its set to 4 at present .



If I change it will engine need retiming ?


Thank you for the offer btw shame Im about 300miles away !

I walked away with the feeling of I aint coming back I didnt get charged anything which is good I guess

carb plunger



arggggghhhhhh

so you would agree my rotary arm is governed ? how can you tell by looking at it ?

It's got a springy thing inside and a 5400 sticker for the cut-out rpm.

Okay that' makes sense so a non governed one wouldn't have a spring Gsf have one for £12 would this be okay ?
If changed would timing be out etc ?
Why are they governed ????

Yes the rotor arm is governed. It cuts the engine at 5400 RPM to stop the valves meeting the pistons. You'd have to be trying really hard to get the engine spinning at that speed in gear. Here's an un-governed rotor arm. You wouldn't need to re-time the engine because the firing point wouldn't change.



Yep that's a fuel regulator. I'll hand over to someone else to answer your queries on the best way to set that up. I've still got the original mech pump on my van. If the regulator is set too high you could be over-fuelling? What sort of MPG are you getting.

The "carb plunger" is the idle by-pass solenoid. It's either open or shut controlled by a 12v ignition live signal. If you switch on the ignition and pull off the spade connector and then touch it back on you should hear the solenoid click. If it doesn't click you'll need a new one. If it doesn't open the van won't idle.

Carb plunger?
every mechanic under the sun knows this is the anti dieseling valve or idle speed cut off solenoid..
There is a very specific way to time this engine...I hope he knows it

Sarran knows this engine like the back of his hand

I see your in London (big place I know) Power engineering, Uxbridge middx have a good rep with air cooled know their way round em, which helps no end. they set them up using a rolling road, carbs and timing and you'll find out how many horses are still roaming around the engine, ring for a price, b code twin carb was £90 to 150

mark

Okay this post id going on a bit now (i can write that since I started it !)

1.If I change the rotor arm for a non governed one would/could this make any difference to speed ? Ie get to 65mph for overtaking

2.if its non governed and the revs go over 5400 rpm this cant be good for the engine ? 4 speed though !

3.if I change it will the engine need to be retimed ?

If these questions could be answered then I can lay this post to rest (for a while) !

(i know carbs might/should need a tune)

I thank you