Club 80-90 Forums

Hi everyone. im a bit of a newbie on here so her goes. Bought a 2.0l Aircooled 81 bue before xmas and have just done my 1st fully laiden journey in it. ran absolutely great on wat there but seemed to lack abit of power on the hills,but got there.On way back however ran great again for the first twenty miles than again just started to loose power so p[ulled over and had a look around the engine bay and there was no sign of anything wrong. so decided not to chance it and got a lift home on the back of an AA flatback. I personally think it was overheating but dont quite no why? Or could it be the weight of two adults, three kids and a load of camping gear in an old van and I expect to much of it? Any thoughts appreciated and welcomed before I start taking the engine to bits. Thanks Rob

Check timing! Made the world of difference with mine.

if youve not had the van for long start at the beginning and give it a good service, oil+filter change, dizzy cap and arm, plugs and leads to name but a few. As your working check parts such as pipes around the carbs for slight cracks that cause air leaks. Also check the fuel line and filter from tank to carbs, if in dought replace the whole fuel line.

make sure every inch of tinware is there and the engine seal is present.

wonder what you mean by losing power? mine doesn't have much to start with. on the speedo you should see some dots? change gears when the speedo hits the dots,, this keeps it in the right rev range and helps em keep momentum going.
for example if you're in 4th and hit an incline, change to 3rd as the speedo comes down to the 3 dots to keep the revs higher. if you wait till its below the dots it will be as flat as a fart.
enjoy it you have the best kind

those dots on the speedo (if still the same one fitted at the factory and the same engine box combo) are the max speeds in the given gear...

What oil and when was it serviced last?? has anything been donw to it

as said engine tin and seal MUST be there... fav not got a lump of rag in it??

Deffo sounds like an overheat... or a fuel starvation...

Hi Noodle,

I was given a qucik way to guage whether the Aircooled was overheating - grab the dipstick...if its too hot to hold, its overheating. Yes, it will be warm, but you should be able to hold it without it hurting! (unless of course you have asbestos hands...)


I must admit, I then made a habit of pulling out the dipstick after runs of varying length!

A useful tip for the not so technically minded like myself!

Em
x

Thanks for all the replies people. Ordered a load of bits from JK and its having it on monday. Never new about the dots on the speedo so thanks for that advice. Allways had 1600 aircooleds so this set up is new for me. Thanks again for tips and pointers..