A number of 'beginner' questions

[jh]

Please feel free to replace 'beginner' with 'dumb;

ok, here goes (912e '76)

1. what exactly is the purpose of this part and why, after each drive, does it end up streaked in oil. There was a wee bit of oil on the driveway and i noticed that some of the connectors on these pipes were a little loose. I tightened them up but still this bugpack box gets a little oily.



2. any idea what this part is/was?





3. any idea what this connector is for?



4. i notice a kind of crack sound when the car is idling or the revs are coming down. On inspecting I can actually see spark/flash coming from the are pinpointed in the picture. A burst of air accompanies that spark. I know that there was a problem with cracks in the heater boxes but wondering if this is related. The pictures are are taken onehanded with my mobile but essentially the spark comes from beneath the righthand carb.







5. this one is the most embarrassing - where is the water contained for the windshield cleaner/spray thingy located?

6. where do you drain & topup the transmission oil. Changed that engine oil today and i swear the engine growls happier Don't have any problems with the transmission at the moment (the gears change sweetly and I've obviously learned to use the box by now because I don't even get any little crunches) but just wondering for the future.

7. why are my carbs getting all discoloured? Is it oil? Does it mean the air cleaners aren't working so well?








Ok, that's it for now I think. Thanks for any ideas, etc.

John



Thanks for the replies 912uk - goddamn couldn't remember that it was photobucket and not photobox. I THINK i have updated it now (even though I should be out the door to work already!)

...carbs dirty = normal. ok.
...washer bottle = driversside wing. How to access it and is it filled from the tube beside the feul intake?
...

[912uk]

first off can't see any pic's that why photobucket is so good.

Carbs looking dirty with out a photo then i would just clean them up once in a while.. sounds normal to me..

Washer bottle in the Drivers side wing..

oil for gear box under the car on the side of the box and also on the drivers side of the car..

large Hex nut or a Hex allen key plug.

back fire sounds a worry need pic's

[Gilbert '71 T]

3. any idea what this connector is for?



...

Looks like the cylinder head temp sensor (part of the fuel injection system) since you have carbs now I wouldnt worry about this

The white wires/connector look to be part of the redundant injection system too.

[hot66]

bugpack box is an engine breather box / catch tank

http://www.bugsandbuggies.com/Parts.asp ... SN=65&GN=1



The 'crack' , can't quite make out from the photos but is there a sooty deposit around it & can you see the 'spark' within / behind the crack? If you can then this might be a crack in the head.

Looking again it seem an odd place for a crack that would extend through to the combustion chamber.

[912uk]

arrr pictures now...

that oil beather seams to have to lid as curved in the picture.. I could imagin the casting to be not too hot and you may have to make a new Gasket to fit under there..slighty thicker.. To stop this from happening..

[jh]

Thanks for the replies everybody. Trouble is you knowledgeable folk make me want to ask more questions now!

Hot66: The 'crack' , can't quite make out from the photos but is there a sooty deposit around it & can you see the 'spark' within / behind the crack? If you can then this might be a crack in the head.

Yeah, I know it can be really hard to pinpoint a part from a photo like that. But, to tell the truth they came out a million times better than i thought they would. You can see from the last picture a little bit of blackening but really not very much soot.

As these types of things always seem to go I hear that 'crack' so much more often now than I did before I saw the spark

912uk: that oil beather seams to have to lid as curved in the picture

Not really getting this one but...this box is not secured 100% solidly - it can bounce a little. Should it be really tightly secured? Is the vibration of the car causing the oil to streak over the top or something?



Thanks again.

[MARKYSPARK]

[quote="jh"]Please feel free to replace 'beginner' with 'dumb;



not sure why there is so much oil around the pipes here. when you changed the oil what did you use? and did you over fill?

2. any idea what this part is/was?




there part of the old EFI system no longer used.

3. any idea what this connector is for?


it is for the cylinder head temp, for the EFI
4. i notice a kind of crack sound when the car is idling or the revs are coming down. On inspecting I can actually see spark/flash coming from the are pinpointed in the picture. A burst of air accompanies that spark. I know that there was a problem with cracks in the heater boxes but wondering if this is related. The pictures are are taken onehanded with my mobile but essentially the spark comes from beneath the righthand carb.






this is something you need to look into fast.
i would wip the carb and the manifold off so you can see better, "30min job"


5. this one is the most embarrassing - where is the water contained for the windshield cleaner/spray thingy located?
open the fuel cover on the wing, next to the fual filler cap is a white pipe "it should have a back cover but it has not" fill the washer up from there.
6. where do you drain & topup the transmission oil. Changed that engine oil today and i swear the engine growls happier Don't have any problems with the transmission at the moment (the gears change sweetly and I've obviously learned to use the box by now because I don't even get any little crunches) but just wondering for the future.

7. why are my carbs getting all discoloured? Is it oil? Does it mean the air cleaners aren't working so well?
clean them lol

[Nige]

looks like the gasket has blown away around the inlet manifold or the manifold has moved abit, its not a crack in the head so don't worry. The way they are designed doesn't allow for much meat on the gasket, I used the paper ones that came with the manifold set, perhaps there are better silicon type ones out there that you could use.

Discolouring of the carbs are common, just clean em if they bother you with carb cleaner.

All the electrical bits that you photograph are bits that where left by the Efi, just leave them or remove them if they are not connected to anything.

The ally Bug Pack thing is the catch tank for the oil breather, the lid is NOT an air tight fit and it isn't supposed to be, when I fitted it I thought it was quite crude, it does the job but the catch tank isn't big enough in my opinion. Basically it vents the pressure build within the crankcase, all cars have them. There are other catch tanks on the market that look better and are bigger, they work the same way and you should be able to plumb in with the existing pipework. It would have been one of the first things I would've replaced, as I said I was never that impressed with it, it could also help if it were mounted higher to help the oil drain back into the engine.

[912uk]

crude your not kidding.,..it leaks like a pig..

I have seen some of this bug pack stuff and the castings look like some back street India scrap metal junk hole.. Sorry to be so rude about them but the quality of some of the stuff is horrid..and yet some of the VW boys save up their pennies like mad to buy it..

It's what I ment about the picture it looked like ( but pictures lie ) the lid had a slight bow to the top of it and it seamed like the gasket was not touching in places and leaking..

Nige your prob right about it needing to be deeper, still it's better than nothing..

[MARKYSPARK]

crude your not kidding.,..it leaks like a pig..

I have seen some of this bug pack stuff and the castings look like some back street India scrap metal junk hole.. Sorry to be so rude about them but the quality of some of the stuff is horrid..and yet some of the VW boys save up their pennies like mad to buy it..

It's what I ment about the picture it looked like ( but pictures lie ) the lid had a slight bow to the top of it and it seamed like the gasket was not touching in places and leaking..

Nige your prob right about it needing to be deeper, still it's better than nothing..

you are right in what you say about bug pack its not the best.


but what i would say is it did not leak like that for me and the oil around the hose was never a problem unless that oil in the photo is from the lid.

If it has started to vibrate tho this maybe not be a good thing.

i would upgrade.

It does look like the gasket has just failed but It's no biggy but nice to get it fixed..

[jh]

Hey folks - thanks again for the replies.

not sure why there is so much oil around the pipes here. when you changed the oil what did you use? and did you over fill?

Mark - how're doing? To tell the truth the oil streaks in that pic are pre oil change. I used Halford's classic cars oil - been using it in the vw for while but maybe now a good time to ask how you folk would rate that. Or, better, what you would recommend?

this is something you need to look into fast.
i would wip the carb and the manifold off so you can see better, "30min job"

Dare say it'll take me a wee bit longer than your 30 minutes but I'm going to give it a blast when I get a chance - in fact, itching to do it but weekend is stolen for family duties

clean them lol

yep, I'm getting the vibe that this was a stupid question. But they were so shiny and nice From my VW i didn't even know they were supposed to be silver coloured.


Hey Nige.

looks like the gasket has blown away around the inlet manifold or the manifold has moved abit

Could you point me at what parts you reckon I might need so I can get an idea of what I should be looking for when I do get around to removing the carb. I'm just not with the lingo yet - i need pictures

There are other catch tanks on the market that look better and are bigger

Thanks for the explaination and what you say about mounting it higher makes perfect sense. Now.

Any pointers to what might be a better/more suitable product. Same question to you Mark. I just know zero about these things.


I don't know if I could be doing something to mess things up but pretty much all the connectors on those hoses were quite loose - in fact before i tightened them the oil streaks were much much worse and the oil was gathering on the rubber and shelf below. The picture is how it looks now after everything(?) is tightened (should have taken one before).

You'll notice also from the <<3. any idea what this connector is for>> question that I have had to add some plumbing tape(really don't know what its called) to that screw-on connection - it was always a bit oily and was making the right side of that lovely shiny engine real grubby.


Folk, seriously, thanks a million for take the time to post - really appreciate it.

Sorry for any bad spelling/nonsense sentences - need to be in bed!

[jh]

Folks, me again. Finally got a chance to take a look at the car again lastnight so removed some things and Nige, you were spot on - that gasket is completely melted away - see pic:



Now, the help I need is....where can i buy one that 1. will fit and 2. is good quality? Also, is there a kind of glue or something that is used to keep it in place?


Got some gasket paper from the local motor factors but would like to get something better if possible.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Take care,
jh

[Derek]

Hi

I might have some of these gaskets. I will have a look on Monday.

[jh]

cheers Derek. Tried statesidetuning and they reckon they have what i need so i'll give them a buzz tomorrow.

Can you answer me whether there is any kind of adhesive i need to use?

Thanks,
John

[Nige]

I got those from Stateside tuning, just paper jobbies that were a couple of pound, don't know if they do anything more substantial?