total newb, road trip drive home, exhaust fumes 1st vw van

[morgoon]

On to my tech quest (stolen from my road trip story in the intro section
)
The bus had sat for almost a year tires cracked, old gas, etc, before I bought it yesterday
PO offered to drive the bus two hours from his home in Manitoba to Kenora for a safety inspection..

There is some rot underneath, but all cosmetic, and very fixable ( or soooo I think right now )all kiding aside the bus is in great shape for its age

The suspension and steering feel like it just left the lot, what ever that felt like, I drove home relaxed and feeling very secure

The engine is where I have trouble

Bearing in mind that yesterday is the first time I have ever seen a vw motor up close!

I have mech experience, building a custom jeep, but I am going to have toss any chevy knowlege I have in favour of the VW way of life

Last year he PO drove the van to Georgia and dropped a valve along the way..He knew a vw shop down there, so they redid one side of the motor, two new jugs ( why he did both and not just one I am not sure) new valves, and the rest on just the one side

The van ran like crapat first yesterday..so fumey and rich smelling..I had to duct tape the top engine hatch closed and open the bay windows to prevent co2 poisioning..I was hoping a good highway run and fresh gas would do some good, and it did..the van is driveable and much much better smelling than it was

but the smell is still quite noticiable, the stink rather is more accurate, at low speeds although is noticable till about 55 mph..and last night my wife (while sitting in her car, acting as the damsel with a gas can to the rescue kind of girl stationed behind the vw. Got engulfed in a blue cloud of epic proportions,as seen by car headlight at midnight...

so I wonder if the carbs are out of tune..or my valves on the otherside of the engine need redoing...I will say that cruising at 60 mph ..the van only gets better, and along as the wind blows the right way, it is all good..low speed is a killer tho

Driving it for the first hour and gradually as time went on I noticed a remarkable increase in power and response, that continued to increase as the drive went on..

It drives nice, feels tight and strong..(although I am a poor judge being sooo new to this) but it doesn't hesitate..seems to have good throttle response..

but the exhaust is rich beyond belief

Any suggestions..

Nice to meet all of you..and thanks for your time

Morgan

 

[Clarkson46]

Welcome to the world of VW. From your comments I assume you're in Canada. Get yourself a manual, Bentley Publishing do a good one and will explain a lot. It sounds as though your engine could do with a good service, new oil, plugs, points, condensor. Adjust the tappets, check the timing and tune the carb, it's all in the manual. On the fumes issue check the seals around the tinware in the engine bay and that all the various pipes are in place.

Good luck.

 

[ProfessorWheeto]

Firstly as clarkson says check all seals are in place.
If its an exhaust smell inside the vehicle the heat exchangers could be knackered.

By you saying the top engine hatch, I'm assuming its a late bay, so if its a petrol smell inside the vehicle the fuel tank breather could be perished. If you take off the black panel behind the engine you will see a tube coming off the top of the fuel tank. It's usually the pipe with the 90 degree bend nearest the tank that is leaky. There might be some evidence of a leak, stains on the tank or the dirt around that area might be moist.