What's Wrong With the Bus?

[@type2523]

Make a balance test on each cylinder (by removing it wire and see if something changes when not you have yourvprob!!)after flying found the faulty cylinder see if it has a good spark !!!whn not change the sparkplugs and wire (or only from the faulty cylinder when you are on low budged )good luck and update us !!!

[@type2523]

I mean finding out !!!

[@nickwf70]

Head bolts pulled out of the crankcase

[@Vangabonders]

Nick F interesting theory

[@nickwf70]

@@Vangabonders if you drive in hot Weather at high speeds for long distances overheating stretches the headbolts and pull them out of the case. Piston continues to hammer the loose parts up and down, hence oil leak as well. End up with no compression and horrible noise. Early sign is misfiring when cold but improves after heating up... Happened to two of my engines. Need top end rebuild probably. Love these engines but you'll be lucky to get more then 60k miles before that happens or a valve breaks off and blows the engine 😂. Regular top end rebuilds will save alot of money and breakdowns.

[@adrianc8534]

Girlfriend and I drove down from Austin to LA in our 79 westfalia and broke down yesterday, we’re getting a lot of help from the local Vw clubs, we had people come out to us and help out. Give them A try

[@type2523]

Make a balance test (remove a sparkplug wire and see if something changes ,when yes this cylinder is ok when not you have the issue,then put the wire back on and Test an another one remove and then and see if something changes you have to test it 4 times (1 per cylinder )and then change sparkplug ,wires on the faulty cylinder

[@timothyabney]

I love that you're not giving up! This is one of my favorite videos so far. Keep em coming!

[@MrTruthAddict]

As soon as you started cranking I could hear that you have low compression in one cylinder. Adjust your valves first off. Pull spark plug wires one at a time to see which one is causing the problem. Then you'll know which cylinder to look at. It sounds like maybe one of your intake valves is tight. Could be causing the popping. Especially at high elevation you need to make sure that everything is just right. Get your carb jetting done properly. Very important at that elevation. Don't run it until you get the valves adjusted. You'll burn a valve. Hopefully you haven't done that already. Let me know how it goes!

[@mikemarino3978]

Check valve adjustment

[@carlbarton772]

Keep going, ask mustie1 channel on you tube he is a VW bus guru.... And very approachable.

[@bricklearns]

Yeah mustie1 is good

[@old_gregam8274]

Yeah mustie is the man

[@carlbarton772]

Nick Burns i have learned loads from him and vwnut. Actually made me purchase tools and try stuff.

[@ham91185]

Type 4s are temperamental creatures lol my bus had it's issues when I bought it, finally determined it was the heads I was missing 2 exhaust studs. So it was bleeding power from there. Thus I got new heads and seals, and been running like a champ ever since. I would check compression on each cylinder, maybe a head came loose, or it needs new rings. If it "popping" when giving it gas it's either too lean or you have an intake leak. If it pops when letting off the gas while in gear then it's an exhaust leak. Hit me up if you need more information 🤘 I think your doing a wonderful job at this point and I'm just tuning in! :)

[@CowbellCustoms]

Change your plugs, I had a VW beetle kick my ass at work over spark plugs, Ran and idled fine, but started to backfire under power. If its not that hit it with a valve adjustment.

[@jonathanekman3342]

Worn-out piston-rings causes the engine to burn huge amounts of oil and misfiring due to oil on the sparkplugs, this could be why you doesn't see any oil leaks. (I'm not familiar with wv but sounds similar to my old Mini)

[@Vangabonders]

There are visible oil leaks. The engine itself isn't burning the oil. Spark plugs look decent. Will be posting an update in the coming days.

[@jonathanekman3342]

Vangabonders oh, Allright. Looking forward to see! Awsome Chanel by the way 🙏

[@whole_rolls_photography6461]

Hey! Love your videos! I live in Colorado and would love to help get you guys back on the road!

[@Noisy.Garrett]

Love you’re videos! So exited you’re posting again. Keep up the good work and get that van running!

[@EB-yp1wu]

My 01 CRV SE had the same problem with the distributed cap

[@christopherhackley5631]

I admire your determination and am diggin the vlog style videos! Thank you for the videos. ✌n❤️!

[@carlosz7208]

Keep up the good spirit. Shit happens. It could be something small like carb icing. Didn’t sound like a rod knock, thank God. I’ve some parts I could lend you until you make it to LA.

[@nicolasdelgado-schwartz9128]

Keep making videos!!

[@bricklearns]

Keep making videos. Eventually you'll figure out the problems with the bus. I believe in you!

[@LucasdeAvilla]

I love your videos it inspires to do the same (right now I am transforming my bus in a motor home), hope you guys come back to the road soon. 🚃💨

[@Vangabonders]

I hope your project has come along well!

[@dylanvandevelde6454]

Hey man first of all, good to see u dont give up. Going strong. Second.. ive read the comments here and yeah u should try that sparcplug test, and chek your wire's. Goodluck luck on next video. Peace

[@kevinbrislawn5918]

sounds better after you rebuild..dist.issue..need new plug wires? did you change any of the wires and new stuuf.

[@type2523]

After repairing it ,give it a good clean up and polish it ,I will look much better

[@Heavygravy447]

Your doing good perfer the vlog videos and it sounds like maybe a blown gasket some where for the oil loss and may need different jets in the carb to offset the altitude or it has corrosion from sitting

[@legion55able]

Keep going!

[@mssyrjan]

You said that you changed the distributor, but I still think the problem is on the ignition side. Change the plugs, plug wires and rotor if you have used the same with the other distributors. If that does not help, try another coil. Oil leaking problem is something else not related to this.

[@fmartinez194]

Buy a 7.3 Powerstroke, which I happen to be selling, and then tow it. You can still live in the bus that way 😂

[@ihcubed]

Sounds like it's missing a cylinder. Adjust valves and check ignition.

[@Darwinpasta]

It kinda sounds like a fuel issue--not the oil leak obviously but the sputtering. Fuel filter, maybe open the old carb and see if it's full of tank gunk. I don't remember if you guys messed with the tank when you got it but I've found some nasty schmoo in tanks that have sat with fuel in them for too long.

[@Capt_Killingfield]

Darwinpasta in one of the earlier videos (maybe the first of this series) they removed the tank and cleaned it out with a chain. Not sure if they used a chemical tank cleaner.

[@IceBoomer]

Hope it runs again and try the piston and spark plugs

[@rocker2009s]

Check valve clearance... try electronic ignition

[@simonlynchsae]

Ok. Those engines aren't overly complex. Air, fuel, spark and timming. Start by making sure you have spark at all the plugs and "gap" them correctly. You can find millions of sources online for that. Then make sure you have enough fuel flowing to the carburator. Doesn't sound like it's your issue, but check anyway just to cross things off the list. Air, well obviously she gets air but make sure your timing is correct. Triple check it if you need to. For the oil leak: You need to figure out if it leaks underload (driving), at idle, or both. Not a thousand way to do this. Clean the engine roughly good. Have her idle long enough to warm up and check for leaks along ALL the lines carrying oil. If no leaks, Do a test drive while giving her as much beans as you feel comfy giving her and check again. Doing a compression test could also help you check if the block is in good health too. But that's maybe jumping the gun. Start by the easy things.

[@theguywhorarelylies5454]

Im guessing you already did new plugs and wires? If not for sure start there. Check your compression on each cylinder while you got the plugs out. If the compression is still good it would seem this problem would be easily handled. Running the carburetor lean is probably a bad idea on a air cooled engine because lean fuel scenarios will over heat an engine. You should get a inline spark tester (the light bulb style) and a can of starting fluid. so that next time it stops running you can point point the problem to either fuel or spark....and then you will have it by the balls.. You should also confirm that your PCV is connected properly if not it could case the carburetor to run shitty and cause oil to leak .

[@Koltynkrist505]

Try the double carb set up, it would do you better in that cold environment. Also going up hills .ake sure you give it some gas. I had that problem myself a few weeks ago where when I would elevate up and it would die uphill for about a day.

[@kevinbrislawn5918]

oh so you never rebuilt the carb?

[@michaelkoon8371]

Buddy i no it bad but change the motor

[@oldcarguy700]

Sinking valve

[@uknowngamer1017]

Hey! Look up "Scotty Kilmer", he'd love to help you like heck! He does livestreams allll the time for people with issues. He's a professional mechanic and is super nice. Try contacting him and he'll help!- Austin

[@32calvinboone]

Rebuild the engine