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Mega-Ultra
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| 24-01-2008 9:32 AM |
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Servicing your VW Bay Window bus can see like a
bit of chore in the excitement of the new spring season all ready upon
us. Often there seems too much to do in terms of Volkswagen Camper
meets, events and the inevitable road tips that are planned for the
summer, to think about getting ones hands dirty, serving your cherished
Volkswagon(seo) bus. Some or even most of us will take our cherished
bus to a non Volkswagen garage to have it serviced, get charged through
the nose for what’s essentially no more than a regular car service.
Even Volkswagen appointed garages will only undertake a standard
vehicle service and not consider the unique requirements of a 30+ year
old air-cooled Volkswagen Bus.
It is also too easy to forget that VW Bay Window Campers need frequent
servicing; in fact some servicing tasks will require your attention at
a frequency of as little as 2000 miles! It is incredible to think
that most modern cars have service intervals of 10000 miles or more.
The high operating temperatures of Air-cooled Volkswagens’ for instance
require oil changes every 3000 miles to protect vital engine components
from heat and wear related damage.
Take my word for it! I am no mechanic, so I have written this article
not as a definitive DIY servicing article but more as a simple 20 step
guide that you can either use yourself or help your local mechanic to
ensure your bus remains on the road for years to come! I have
scavenged I lot of the material from the web and rehashed it to suit
Class Campers. And I have subsequently referenced at the end of this
article all the sites and printed material that I used.
Thanks
Paul James Gadsdon – Class Campers
Step 1
Changing engine oil
Engine oils should be changed at 3000 mile intervals, to ensure that
your engine doesn’t suffer from undue wear and tear. Some folks even
suggest that it should be changed every 2000 miles. If this seems a
little extreme just think about how much it will cost to replace your
engine should you have a catastrophic failure due to excessive engine
wear! The actual oil change interval is up to you, but I wouldn’t
recommend that you go more than 3000 miles.
Step 2
Tyre pressures
It is important to your tyres are inflated to the right pressure. Your
buses ride will be better and its road handling will be much improved,
which also means that it will be safer. Check your tyre pressures at
least every two weeks and always before a long journey. Make sure you
know the correct tyre pressures for your model of VW Bus. I will be
adding standard tyre pressures to Class Campers technical section soon
but probably after the publish date of this article.
Step 3
Windscreen Washer bottle
The most peculiar set up I have ever seen! The washer bottle on a VW
Bus is located behind the front kick panel to the left of the steering
column. The peculiar part of the set up is the fact that it needs
compressed air to force the water from the bottle to the windscreen.
You can attach a normal air line at your local garage and pressurise to
40psi. Warning, do not pressurise it and more than 40psi because you
run the risk of blowing the pipes of the washer nozzels. It’s a lot of
work to put them back on!
Step 4
Gearbox Oil
Although the gear box should only be changed every 30000 miles it may
need topping up from time to time. The fill plug is located on the
side of the gear box near to the clutch cable. The official
documentation suggests you will need a 17mm Hex spanner, but mines
seems to be 18mm! Use Hypiod EP80/90 gear oil and fill so the oil is
level with the bottom of the hole. It is essential that locate your
bus on a flat surface when you perform this task.
Step 5
Spark plugs
Cleaning your spark plugs should be undertaken every 5000 miles or so.
The electrode gap should be 0.7mm or 0.028in. You can clean the
electrode with a little piece of emery cloth or a fine wet and dry.
Personally I prefer to completely change my spark plugs every 10000
miles and check them every 5000 miles or so.
Step 6
Distributer Cap
When you replace or check your spark plugs it is necessary to inspect
the condition of the distrubter electrodes because they can become
corroded. If so they can be cleaned or replaced depending on the level
of corrosion.
Step 7
Roter arm
The roter arm (inside the distributer), should be checked, cleaned or
replaced every 5000 miles or when you check the condition of your spark
plugs. They are not expensive so I prefer to replace new for old on
every service.
Step 8
Ignition points
The Ignition points should be checked every time you undertake the
general electrical servicing outline above. The points gap should be
0.4mm or 0.016in and should be clean. If they are pitted or corroded
in any way they will need replacing.
Step 9
Fan Belt
Check every time you look in the engine bay! Its easy. 10 – 15mm play
is fine, anymore and you should adjust. There are some small shims
that can removed if the fan belt is to loose.
Step 10
Air filter
The air filter will need to be cleaned and the oil replaced every 5000
miles. Drain the old oil, clean and fill up with new engine oil. Make
sure you dispose of your engine oil properly. Your local council will
have an oil disposal unit.
Step 11
Fuel lines and hoses
Check the condition of your fuel lines every time you follow this
service check list. If they are chapped in anyway replace them.
Remember – no smoking! You can get very high quality steel lines if
you prefer. Whilst you are doing this you can check the heater pipes
for holes or badly fitting joints and repair if necessary. Having
wholes or bad joints will reduce your buses chance of keeping you warm.
Step 12
Brake fluid
Brake fluid should be checked and topped up periodically. The brake fluid reservoir can be found behind the front kick panel.
Step 13
Brake Pads
The brake pads can be checked very easily on a bus, although you will
need to remove the wheels. To do this jack up the vehicle and remember
to always use axle stands. You will be able to see if your pads need
replacing, they should be at least 7mm thick.
Step 14
Axle
The axle will need to be greased every 5-7000 miles. There are
multiple points that need greasing. These are the steering idler that
is located in the middle of the axle and the four trailing arm bushes
at the ends. So a grease gun will be a great buy!
Step 15
Front & Rear Drums
The front and rear drums of your VW bus will require adjusting at lease
every 6000 miles. To do this, you should insert a screwdriver in to
the drum adjustment whole under the hub cap of your bus. More to follow
Step 16
Handbrake
The handbrakes on VW buses are notoriously bad and often hardly work at
all. This is usually because they haven’t been adjusted for years.
This isn’t a difficult task – more
Step 17
Wheel Bearings
Your wheel bearings will to be checked every 10000 miles or once a year
which ever comes first. You should re-grease them every 20-30000 miles
or two – three years. To check them jack up your bus (don’t forget to
use axle stands), and grasp the top and bottom of your wheel and push
the top and pull the bottom of the wheel. If there is any play they
will need to be replaced. If there is any grinding when you spin the
wheel then it is likely that the bearing will need replacing.
Step 18
Clutch
Your clutch should be checked for play periodically and should have
around 20mm play at the foot peddle. You should also grease the clutch
cable periodically to help its ability to work efficiently and to stop
it breaking because it gets stuck.
Step 18
I cant think of any more but if anyone has any other tips please let me know.
Thanks
Class Campers 2007
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