CaliVW78.com » buster

the ultimate trash bin

Troy Wical — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:02:31 +0000

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We are finishing up projects around the house in order to get it ready to put up for sale, and that means…..trash! Over the past few months we’ve done everything from install new counter tops, tile flooring, and sheetrock, to new roofing, furnace, and central air. Over the course of all this, there has been a bit of trash piling up in the back yard that Waste Management does not appear to want to take care of. I have come to this conclusion based on the materials left by the trash can after they have done their trash run

So with new doors, vanity’s, sinks, and other items being installed, replaced, or repaired, it was time to get ready for a trash run. You know, the dump. With Buster not having any of the rear seats installed, it was apparent that he was going to get the short end of the stick. That, and Vandejo is just too pretty.

That said, there is quite a bit of rubble in the back, and more will be coming. Hopefully it doesn’t start to stink too much. I have to drive him to work for the next few days.

Has it really been October since I posted last? ugh

Buster is #1 again | The VW bus prevails

No love for the vw buses

Troy Wical — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 08:57:22 +0000

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It’s been probably 3 or 4 weeks now since I’ve paid any attention to Buster or Vandejo. Guess that’s what happens when you have four kids I have been driving Buster recently though. With the kids going back to school, the wife needed the daily driver for dropping the kids off and since I get home after she takes them to school in the morning, I needed to find some other way to get to work. Buster was the only option since Vandejo’s engine is still on the ground due to repairs that are in progress. This was brought on after our trip to Great Sand Dunes National Park ended on a sour note.

Buster started right up after sitting for awhile, but still showed signs of what I think is a failed cold start valve. He runs well for the first 10 seconds and then needs a little help for the next minute or so. He got me to work for the next couple days though. There is also a battery charge issue that I need to deal with. I originally thought that the battery was draining down due to some auxilary power supplies I had feeding directly from the battery, but those have been removed, and it’s still draining quickly. I need to pull it out and check the water levels etc.

As for Vandejo, I hope to have her running this next weekend. I have the replacement flex plate (aka drive plate) in hand and with alot of the house work out of the way, I should be able to make some progress.

Problems starting the vw bus this evening

Troy Wical — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 10:45:14 +0000

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Went to head to work this evening and the bus wouldn’t crank over. I’ve been battling a bad wiring ground that has been causing my battery to drain. However, that did not seem to be the issue this time around. Hooking up the battery jumper pack and also swapping out the battery with one I knew was charged up did not help. I began thinking back to the summer days when I would have this same issue because of the hot-start scenario. Even though it was 35 degrees out, I slid under the bus and gave the start and solenoid a quick tap with the hammer. Turned the key over, and it started right up. Not sure whats up with that. I’m going to try and take a better look this weekend and make sure all the wiring is nicely applied. I need to check the groundings under there as well.

Buster is #1 again | The VW bus prevails

Troy Wical — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:20:36 +0000

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Well, we are selling the Dodge Sprinter that we recently purchased. Reason being that we just don’t use it enough to justify the cost. It didn’t take long to find a buyer and at the rate things are going, the new owner will take possession within the next week. What this means, is that Buster is now our own vehicle. With a deal pending on the Sprinter, we have moved it to the RV parking in the back yard until the new owner can pick it up. It’s nice having just one vehicle. Someone I know told me a very simple statement once: “The amount of stress/work in your personal life can almost often be directly related to the amount of spark plugs you have to maintain.” Well, we’re down to 4. Compare that to the 30 plus from a year ago. I can attest to the fact that it’s nice not having to maintain as many spark plugs.

With Buster being the only ride though, it’s more important that he stay running well. I’ve been fighting a battery charging issue for the last several months that is being caused by some bad wiring from when I installed the CB radio and the radio deck. I’ve disconnected those for now until I have time to go through the wiring and clean things up. Since I did that, the battery hasn’t been draining at all and I have not resorted to using the battery jumper pack while running around town. Another issue more recently is problems getting up and running well in the morning. The engine starts up fine, but it’s pretty rough. If I floor it soon after starting, it acts as if the timing is very retarded. It takes about 3 minutes of babying the gas pedal to get it to finally idle smooth. After that, its fine. I suspect issues around the cold start valve. Others have mentioned the thermo time switch as well. I’ve got some handy FI troubleshooting documentation from a friend so hopefully I can check this out this weekend.

One other tasks we have now, is looking for another vehicle. Yes, we just got rid of one, but Buster isn’t as reliable as I dream about. New engine and all, he’s not like those new fangled cars out there. Leah and I both agree that having something a little more reliable and easy to operate would be nice. We are currently looking at both the late model Vanagons, and the 2002+ Eurovans. Ideally, whatever we get would be the pop top weekender model with the jump seats. This layout would be much easier with four kids. Especially since there are a few car seats to deal with still. We’ll see what we time brings.

yup, winter is here

Troy Wical — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 06:56:35 +0000

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The ride to work was definitely a chilly one. About half way to work, the bn4 started to push out air that wasn’t exactly up to par. I pulled over into a parking lot and got out the fish tape and hammer (tools to help clear the exhaust pipe for the heater,) and went to work on the exhaust pipe for it. This usually involves sticking the fish tape into the exhaust and twisting it to help break up any of the soot that is clogging the pipe. Then I take the hammer afterwards and tap along the outside to help as well. I do this while the heater is running and chunks of black soot etc end up getting spit out every time. Hopped back in the bus and the heater was back to normal. I really need to fix this. With the humidity so high tonight, the cold just goes straight through to the skin. Brrrr! Lows will be in the single digits for the next few nights and more snow tomorrow. It was a white Christmas here though, which was nice. Got about 6 inches Christmas day. Hope everyone had a happy holiday.

From weather.gov:
Buckley AFB/Aurora Lat: 39.73 Lon: -104.75 Elev: 5571 Last Update on Dec 26, 10:55 pm MSTMostly Cloudy Temperature: 10°F Humidity: 85 % Wind Speed: SW 3 MPH Barometer: 29.74" (1012.5 mb) Dewpoint: 7°F (-14°C) Visibility: 7.00 mi

Buster goes topless: How to store a roof rack

Troy Wical — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 09:44:03 +0000

Ok, with having a male type name such as Buster, that might not be the most attractive heading To the point though. We have found a quick and easy way to store the monster roof rack so that we don’t have to drag it around when we don’t need it. For those who have not seen this rack, its a monster. It weighs a good 70 pounds and is made completely out of steel. It can probably hold more weight that would be advisable up on top of a vw bus. So, we used nylon rope and carabiner to see if it could hang from the rafters and stay clear of the garage door. It worked perfectly. I’ll replace the nylon with some metal cable now that we know it will work. The ride into work sure was a lot quieter.

simple, custom exhaust for Buster

Troy Wical — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 05:00:22 +0000

I’ve had quite a few people ask me what my exhaust setup is on Buster since I’ve ditched the stock system. A week or so ago I had slightly more restrictive mufflers put on and I managed to grab a picture. The oil on the passenger side muffler was from a valve cover leak I had. The tin that sits around the push rod tubes etc are still in place and oil temps have not been a problem. The BN4 under the rear bench supplies heat.

There are obvious draw backs and advantages to this system. On the plus side, the design is extremely simple. Any future exhaust work should be trivial if its after the headers. On the flip side though, this is obviously not a stock replacement system. If you reside in an area that is more stringent with emissions and registrations, there is a good chance they’ll chuckle when they look under the engine…..if they know what they are looking for.

Buster’s back

Troy Wical — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 17:25:00 +0000

Quick tune up including adjusting the air/fuel mixture. Running a bit better now. Looking forward to camping for Turkey Day. Related posts:Buster goes in for service Related posts:

Buster goes in for service

Buster goes in for service

Troy Wical — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 05:00:46 +0000

His engine is coming up on the one year mark. Seems like it was just a couple months ago that we had it rebuilt. How time flies. But, since I had a one year warranty on the engine if the builders shop did all the maintenance during that time frame, I am letting them do one last tune up on it. There is about 1500 miles on it and the valve train is getting a little noisy on the 1/2 side. Also, it’s running a bit rich. So they are going take care of that, do an oil change, check the timing, etc. We dropped him off yesterday and hope to have him back Monday afternoon.

A leak haunt’s Buster

Troy Wical — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 13:38:15 +0000

It rained today while I was sleeping. No big deal. But, as I headed out the driveway, I heard this sloshing sound. I swear it sounded like someone was shaking a 5 gallon bucket of water while sitting in the passenger seat! Looking around, I realized it was coming from the floor, just in front of my feet. There is a cavity up there that runs the full width of bay window vw buses, and mine was sporting about 5 inches of water in it.
What the heck!? That’s a bit of water, so I need to figure out where it came from. I am suspecting the windshield seal since it’s pretty crusty. We’ll see what happens.