friend of mine bought this 1969 vw bus but did not want the removed engine on the ground. so l grabbed it. lets see what it will take to get it running or why it failed forcing its removal from the bus. check out 5150mxvw video on the bus itself here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv6uSsZvMRo

So jay was hoping that his his new bus purchase right. There would have the original motor back here, but he found out that the numbers do not match and he's not that interested in it. I think it looks like it's been sitting here. What do you want to say 40 years 30 years? Oh, i changed my mind.

I think. Maybe we should bring that home. Maybe try to do a will. It run on that.

You guys came yeah, maybe bring that one back to life. You come down. You get a free vote now you're getting a free motor, which i know you're gon na have running. I don't know what i was thinking next in like 24 hours.

Are we telling me? I already got it in one of the vehicles. It's the best running motor i've ever had. It was new yeah. It was yeah, it was new inside you should have seen it.

That's why it was wrapped up. I'm gon na pay for this, but it'll make for good entertainment. All right. I think we're good about rip the front bumper off of this thing.

Is it caught under it? No, we just got ta slide it out. Oh yeah, it's definitely under it. I think we have to lift the front end up and get it out. You might have to take the car, yes, oh yeah, oh, it's got a brand new clutch and flywheel.

Oh man, no mice were hurt in the removal of this engine. I wouldn't even worry about mine. I think i just saw a mouse run. Did you yeah? It's going towards you yeah, oh, i should have aired up that tire for you it's time for me to put the camera down.

Well there it goes you want to handle this thing yeah all right. Will it run little push hey guys and how's it going. It is a good eight months later from the time that we grabbed this engine. It was just put on the back burner where we were dealing with the boat, some other stuff that came from that video, but anyway this was a freebie that was on the side.

It was stuffed away in the end of that open garage with a tarp over it and i believe it's gone underwater, maybe once or a couple hundred times where it was sitting at least halfway up. It is not looking very healthy, but that's. Okay. The price is right, it was free.

I believe it is a single port 1600. It was a coat on it. It's pretty rough in there. I think that is a b, so a b would be bus bay window bus, early, 68, 69 and 70.

should have holes for the mustache bar. It does it's that one there there and there there's a external brace that bus motors big window bus monitors need it does have that. I do not know anything about it, don't even know if it turns i figure we'll turn the camera on we'll have a little bit of fun, we'll see if we can rejuvenate it, possibly if not we'll find out why it was taken out of whatever was taken Out of it and how it failed and uh just give it our best attempt, possibly to get it to run. So, let's get set up in the camera, stand we'll grab some tools and uh.

My tetanus shot have some fun we'll see what uh makes this thing? Tick i started getting some of this stuff off of it. The air cleaner might be just sitting on it. It is let's go see that looks like the heater box on this side is automatically removed itself. Honey.
There's no mice in this all right will. It turn turns a little that's a good sign. Let's see if you got some fluid in it, don't need that looks like an oil that has turned turned red, but at least there was something in it. So i know the whole thing has to come down.

Everything has to get taken apart anyway, so i'm not that concerned. I just don't want to damage. Maybe some of the internals all the stuff on the outside is pretty much toast or nothing more is really going to happen to it. I think we should probably see even get the spark plugs out of it.

Let's see what that looks like and they're buried in there and get some oil down in the cylinders. Maybe we'll purge a little bit of the mouse enough anybody home. There's this hole and usually builds up behind the fan too more nest down there. I'm gon na go take a air gun in the vacuum.

We're gon na blow some as crap help them around these spark plug holes and see if we can get the plugs out of it. A little bit oil down the side and care to squish over a little bit and make a full rotation. But i don't want to do it with nothing in those cylinders, because i have a feeling that they're a little on the dry side, you may want to hold your breath. I think it's moving day for the nest.

You can find any cartridges or live ones or hopefully. Well. You got one needs to get an idea what's happening inside it. Look terrible.

Let's get inside of water down the side. That's the biggest concern nope that one's definitely gon na. Take some finessing. How about a little half inch drive and a breaker bar there goes do not want to snap it off.

What happens? The heads are aluminum, it's gon na take the threads with it, and the plug is steel and over time the dissimilar metals come into play. It's no different. This is generally the worst cylinder on a vw. This is number three.

There is a on the early engines, there's a a starving for cooling air that happens, so it always runs hot and usually be your worst condition. Cylinder yeah! You see the threads that are on there what it starts to pull out and you just run a tap over it most of the time you can get it to come back and hold the plug. No problem yeah there's an oil cooler that stands up in the way of the airflow going over to that side that restricts airflow. On that end, oh, it's like they've disintegrated, get you in there there's no supposed to click.

When you take the plug wires off. That did not happen, seeing a little face in there poking back at us. That might be that right there and you'll blow that out too we'll get those plugs out and number one number two cylinder number one: that's gon na do the same thing and i'll see water signs on that one. That's good, see rust on the tip of it.
Then you really could be concerned. It did have the air cleaner on it the whole time, so that did kind of save the intake side of things i just when we saw how rotted out that exhaust was you can tell like you know. Water was coming up on it all right, i'm gon na force. My have my way with this one and she's locked right up all right, pretty shiny on that one too, you see, i shoot some oil down inside i'm gon na use, uh some breakaway and the reasoning why i'm using this is, i can kind of usually when You pour oil in it just kind of dribbles down and sits on the bottom of it granted.

That's where a lot of the damages, but at least this i can get in there. I can kind of squirt it around the cylinder wall all the way around. Just to have some kind of you know initial lubrication yeah the true test. Hopefully we can rotate all the way around see what we get look at the belt.

Let's get them bind up on this in a second dig that out with a screwdriver yeah, i think we're gon na save that belt now keep going. Let's make it all the way around. You don't have any valves hitting good. I think we're gon na omit the belt option, so there we go.

That's fine, we'll save that for later, let's go pop. The distributor open, take a peek. What we got going on inside there this already. Oh this is the vacuum advance.

You can get that off of there. Let's see closer cap looks fine, oh look at those points. These are frosted over a little. It's been a day or two since uh they've made some spark peek at the rest of it real, quick.

Just some corrosion see if we have any looking for mechanical beings, looks like they're bound up a little bit this mechanical on the bottom set of weights. That turn it and then there's a vacuum advance here when, as the engine changes, rpm draws a vacuum, it has a diaphragm that can pull a linkage for you right. There move that linkage in the whole plate that the points are on we'll turn. It's a good setup for a bus.

I kind of like the vacuum advance more than just the 09 without the advance gets rid of that flat spot. That's real common in them all right. What do you want to do next? Let's see if we can get ourselves a starter set up on the back of it and spin the engine over all right. So we've got one of these.

That bolts onto the flywheel got one of these that bolts onto the hole that goes onto the flywheel, and we got one of these that connects us to that to make power to make that go to the hole that goes into the flywheel. So, let's hook those up all right, i think i'll put a jumper on it and that will make it so i can dot the crosstalk just hit a button to make the crank we're gon na need ground. Well, that might be entertaining trying to find that in itself, let's uh, we may have to clean off a section to make a ground hold on. Let's try the generator strap there we go and you ready listen to her.
It's got a little bit of clunkiness to it. Hmm, i wonder if it's just the pieces of the belt hitting on the front pulley no yeah, it sounds like it's got a knock in the bottom end. Well now we know why it was taken out. I have a feeling this is uh not long for this world.

As far as the bottom end is concerned, but we're going to continue to move forward and have fun with it. Uh, i'm gon na go, take the oil pressure switch out of it and we'll crank it over we'll see if we can get any oil pressure coming out of it, and so we got something there. Let's see we'll give her a couple of cranks. If you get a good squirt coming out of it all right this next we'll see if that carb moves, i think i found my answer: no yeah! How about the choke will the choke open up and the choke open, but the throttle is stuck in one position: let's go give that a gentle persuasion see if she'll move her and she's totally stuck yeah she's.

Definitely stuck. Let's go give a little more fluid it'll, be on these pivots kind of like down in here. That gets it kind of nice that the the choke was closed too. That means a good chance that you know there's no acorns and that kind of stuff down in there just give her a couple of love taps.

You can draw it in a little and then sometimes when you do that, a little bit movement going back hit a little more juice. Yeah i see she's froze. I should have clamped already shouldn't be clamped on. That's.

Why hey why? I say we try to get spark back next and if we just go probably pop those points right out of there, we'll take them out and clean them. Let's get that out of our way go pull those right out of there not lose the screw. Okay, see, if you can see it better now, yeah they're a tad corroded. They might need a bath they're.

Fine, though there's just some brake clean. I already hit it on a wire wheel, just to knock off the heavy crap that was on the outside of it, but give her a drag or two should probably go for a little bit. Finer sandpaper, but sometimes you got ta work with what you got right. Take a quick look at them pop them back in dark in there ain't it.

Let's go see if we can get that the cam on that a little less pathetic looking, it's definitely got a bunch of magma growing on it and we'll eat the point. The little bakelite plastic on the points we'll burn that right off. You put a little grease on there yet, but that's better still got some rust on it, but you guys seen these little screw holes. I've shown a couple times before, just when you're trying to deal with stuff like that, just a little cam that locks the center of the screw keeps it from flopping all over the place and just plop right in there and give it a twist as it gets.

So much it'll just pop itself off: that's it put them at top dead center. Give myself about 16 hour gap. You know, put some power to coil and keep the power of the uh see the rest of it's okay, let's roll plug! In again, we need to place the ground off, so this is hot right here, let's hook that to the coil, and if things are working, you might get sparked. Let's go crank her over.
You got spark nice, i got ta go take a minute and uh take the wire wheel. All these spark plugs clean the threads off, put some lube on them and see if we can get them back in that's right about 52 years late for this. But this is anti-seize and we're just going to give a little bit of love on each section of the threads there. I don't want to overkill it, but it's a little something to help maintaining certain metals to stay on certain sides.

That was smooth. Wasn't it? Let's get them in which one was the messed up, cylinder number one or number two. This will be number two see if she just spins in there that one's fine, let's go see how that one works good, they did not get thrashed. We go one more on the other side number four spun right in, so that's not an issue.

This is, i think, one that really fought us. That's a good feeling too good our chances. Are that don't exactly say the locking into place kind of throw it in front of it, how's that that one clicked a little bit, let's try the other two. Let's move this! This should be number one, so yeah that was not clicking on neither one of the four clicks into place.

It'd be a good place for tape. All right, when i see she'll go actually, let's go crank it first and listen to and get the power off the coil. Let's just go: listen to the compression real, quick and see if we have it on four cylinders. What am i looking for? We need the ground jumper.

Where doesn't sound. Great sounds like an engine with no spark plugs in. We got a lot of valves that are not sealing. Let's go uh run some fuel, sometimes, as you ride a little bit, you get them to cough and fart and slowly they'll come back to life and they'll, surprise you and if they run a little bit, they just kind of blow the crap out.

That's sitting around the valves further ado power to the coil, so we can spark. We need a little fire juice. Where is it there? It is a little, oh that now insider look for fire. Let's go for a plug and see if we still have spark, or at least go put a screwdriver on it, we'll find another spark plug and see.

If we can spark, let's see what we get. Oh man, we missed it. She shot a ball of fire out of this time. All right.

Let's regroup, have some fun yeah, let fuel in one of the mufflers. Let's go yeah she's firing a little late on that one, i'm going to throw the jumper pack on a charge and regroup get a little bit more fuel in the bottle and keep going you want to try to do is as it pops and fires like that. Sometimes it pushes pressure against the valve, it kind of pushes it up against the seat a little more and once you get compression on like water too, it can kind of fire, then the rest sometimes clean up, but we're gon na keep trying that for a little Bit and if that's a fail, we'll pop the valve covers off and see about adjusting valves, we know where fuel goes. I don't want to bump the timing or anything because that should actually be fairly decent because it, you know well hard to say, but it wasn't taken out, try again we're getting pretty all right.
Let that battery charge up again to start to cool off a little bit, maybe we'll try dumping some oil down there, and maybe the oil can kind of help work the sealing capacity of it a little bit more to get things kind of you know moving around And shaking about this is just two-stroke oil straight oil that you would mix gas with, but not mixed we're going to let that kind of go inside there and coat some things. I think we might have to get rid of a battery too. Let's get another battery and get the spin a little faster, and that will help our situation out too, as far as compression lovely home. In the background, as a battery charger doing this thing see if we can get it to sit a little more level.

The reason why i say that is the gas goes in when i pour it down, it's either all going to leak into the front cylinder nothing go to the back, so you can get kind of level you can get down into both on both sides. Okay, my you hear one cylinder's got good compression you're we're almost like stalls where it goes to go over. That's one cylinder kind of coming back on compression hey! Let that charge up a little bit. I'm gon na take the plugs back out and go clean.

The ends of them really good, i'm sure i got a bunch of oil on them. Gon na eat a little spark plug holding help, throw a tie, wrap on that. Let's go try it again. I'm gon na put any gas in it yet, but let me go.

Do this thing? Oh you know what i'm gon na uh plug you take leak on that side. All right, where's our button see we got good fire. We had one good thud. Let's look at another come on baby.

Oh she'll go we're gon na. Let it cool down a little bit. Uh get refueled up, get let's go turn out, get a little bit better angle to get the whole motor in i hook the power to the so there's like an idle shut off and choke. This is the back of the carburetor.

This is where the float ball is it's a breather horn that goes to that area. So i'm gon na go fill that up just in case the carburetor does work somewhat. It'll have some fuel in it all right. Then we give a little down the center of it back.

Yep give it another shot see if she goes, shall we let go full throttle, no spark hold on man there we go come on. It does not have much suck to it. That's not a good sign. It means it is a major intake leak or balance is just not closing.

So that's why it's fighting us a little bit. Let me take a quick look, make sure we have nothing really bad on the intake. You should suck your hand in, but probably what's happening is there's a cylinder, that's not closing somewhere. So, instead of sucking in through there, it constantly keeps blowing back from the other one which will make it harder to start for us.
I saw that when i plugged that all right, let's go run it some more see what we get hey, get some rpms out of there. We do that then it'll fly too much that should shut that choke off there. We go that little clicking to relay the sound right. I was talking about one more close that choke in the throttle up some.

Ah, let's sit, i say we have a go at it one more time, so we can get it to like try to stay running. If that does not happen, we'll pull it apart and pull it apart. We'll do a compression test and see what we have for numbers all right, a little bit of look at that that guy's got to go he's arcing off the bench ow. I need one more hand, definitely sounds like a firing on just one on my side.

For the most part, let's go pop the plugs out of it. Do a compression step uh test, see what we got for cylinders and what we can do, maybe to start improving some, maybe adjust some valves. This is side one and two, and it has uh no heat. When the plugs came out, the sign plugs three and four had some warmth to them.

They were, they were doing something especially number three, which i'm kind of surprised. Let's go twirl this in make sure the throttle is open, see if this compression intestinal works. That might be a problem for that cylinder. Huh.

Let's um, i'm gon na pop my finger off the internet. This is a new compression, tester yeah. So that's dud! That's got nothing number two! Now there goes why uh one or two are called i'm gon na say it's probably got stuck open valves and probably the exhaust valve can be my guess. Judging by all the corrosion that we saw on the other side, let's go flip over check out the other two number three should be something because this one felt like it was firing on and one tennis, that's pretty good again, that's usually the worst cylinder, probably what It was, it was probably when it was stored.

That was the cylinder it sat with the valves closed and the other ones are open. I think we may get a little bit out of this one too one cylinder sound like it was running on one because it was running on one all right. Let's go pop a valve cover off and it will see if a valve is not coming up. All the way is be my guess, and that might be with that deep clunking that we were hearing was the uh lifter just being stuck up against the case and haven't play in it, because the valve's not pushing it back.

Yeah, that's why it had no um. No suck on the intake yeah, they need some breakaway too. If i got down far enough to get the valve cover off. Okay, we're gon na look that valve is apart.

Check that out, that valve is literally not even on there. The valve is not connected. There's the clunk right there, the valve is off the keepers, so we need to get that cylinder top dead center to go fix it. Look at that the nuts backed off too.
So this is what happened to this engine when it was put away, because that just did not happen. So it has. The jam. Nut has backed off the jam.

Nut cylinder head nut just run all the way out that stud might have pulled and run that in look at the threads, it's common that they happen. Okay, that's stud! That thread one more time, um that stud head stud may have pulled out and there's an issue right there. Judging by i, just put it in hand tight, it's already showing more threads than the one next to it, but we're gon na go find out in a minute. Let's go pop the valve cover off the other side and see what we're dealing with you know.

If we see the keepers should be in here somewhere too, there's one right there, so this this thing was having this thing was removed because it hadn't years the other initiative - and that was like that for a long time that was good into its place. Yeah. Let's look at the other side see what's going on with that. What surprises do we get on this side? I'm gon na have to put that piece of wood, some on it rust, yeah weather, got in on this side.

Boy, let's go, let's go crank it over! For a second and see if the rocker assembly is even moving, it's nasty, they may the rockers may be what's stuck look at the rest right in there. Oh they're nasty outside filled up with water. At some point that is off. That's probably what happened is they're bound up, and this is staying in the down position and so that's not pushing anymore.

Let's go bump it with the key a little bit. We've already been spinning it like crazy, like it really matters right see if any of those are moving, not a single one. There's some oil pressure, but not a single one, moves well, there's a problem on that side. Let's go pop the rocker assemblies off on both and uh.

I can't get a better idea. What's going on, i said we're still in like play mode. I know it all. Has to come apart and everything needs to be done, but again we're just having some fun.

I shut the battery charger off, so we have to listen to it, washer broken half and it came off come on out of there. It's got, the valves are holding it. It's probably cocked a little and now they're moving forward all right, so that is, they are bound up tight. Let's put the push rods in crank it and we'll just feel the push rods where's, our cord keeps hiding on me there.

It is all right, let's go see if the push rods move. Yes, all right! Good! I'm gon na go clean. Some of the schmuchma out of here with a little bit of wire wheel, cased in carb cleaning, we're gon na rinse that crap out of a way a little bit, and i think i have one that it's already kind of freed up. Instead of screwing with this one, maybe we'll just uh fast forward and get some rockers on it that are moving, then we still have to go deal with the other side.
Yet, but first, let's go give them a little bit of who's. Your daddy see if they're moving free, that one's good that end one. It's got more of a b-flat. I think that one has an issue.

I think that one broke a valve or it has a broken valve, because how far sticking out and the stem is still attached to the head, you can see how far that popped out unless yeah, so that one's got a beet valve it uh broke off at The stem and the valve is probably sitting inside the cylinder weather just literally broke off now, but it had a different sound when i was hitting it. I have a feeling it was: it's probably corroded on the back side of it and it just fell in i'm going to try turning it over by hand real slow, we'll see. If the piston comes up and hits a valve there, it is just fell off. Go the other way yep! That's it time when you want to call it she's dead, she literally dropped a valve tapping on them with a hammer, so i have no problems with us tearing into it and getting the rest of the crap off.

You want to go see what the insides look right. Well, why not? Let's go get a bunch of the crap off the top of it and uh. It was free and yeah, possibly a couple parts of ease off it. Possibly the bottom end is fine and that clunking was on the top side, which in that case you could just put different cylinder heads on it and you know all the tins, but we're not going to know that.

So we get into it and we have to take it apart anyway, because that valve is off it's not out of the the guy, but it is definitely off so, let's uh without further ado me yap and get some hardware off of there. Well guys, i decided to actually take it and we're gon na go break it up, we'll make the next one of it tearing it down we'll see. What's going on on the inside on a separate video i'll try to not make two hour videos which is my starting to become my norm, you know we would wrap it up for this one i'll get it in the engine. Stand we'll continue on we'll tear it all the way down, see what happened to the internals, so stay tuned, we'll get into that one soon later.

I think this cylinder the jug's gon na come with it. That's okay!.

By Mustie

12 thoughts on “40 Years Later, Busted VW Bus Engine. Will It Run?”
  1. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars KALI KASAN says:

    why dont you guys just tear it all up, clean every single piece, treat it with rightful chemical, paint it and put it back together, and see if starts, just like the right restoration video we watch with no lots a lots of talking, that way is effective rather than trying to start it, wether it will start or not, all of its of its components are stuck in very long time,,

  2. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars thomas says:

    When you shoot enough car cleaner and the throttle that damm stuck try throw a match in it. Heat alway loosen it up.
    I remember once turning the engine a tap with the lose Holley carb on the ford distributor that perfect place flat in front and had a nice fire. LOL but had a fire extinguisher close bye but save the day

  3. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars David Spriggs says:

    In the early 70's, here in Australia, my mates had their heads in the backs of Kombies, Bugs and Superbugs…it wasn't my cup of tea but after coming across your vid's, I'm beginning to see how some people are so attracted to these engines…but I still think you are all crazy
    ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚

  4. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars John Knox says:

    That 205 model of distributor is a vaccum only. It's a sweet setup, you can just slowly let off the clutch and just idle across the yard with no gas input.

  5. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Shipwright Ball says:

    Take it apart #1 clean sand everything #2 replace all broken electronic and fuel system parts #3. What you should've done before all these steps removed crank and cam and fixed cylinder seals rear main seals and fixed sanded and replaced any broken valves any broken valve stems seats or keepers.. old = fix it remodel it refurbish it all in one

  6. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars daewooparts says:

    Remember back in the early 2000's, my friend would export tons of them VW Buses ,Bugs & Beetles & send them to Japan for total restoration or get perfect ones as well, he also bought engines & parts as well, I towed quite a few of those to the Port of Long Beach back then

  7. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars geeder says:

    The best way to prevent having threads seize up on those bubs is to crank the plugs down TIGHT. This usually happens when plugs are left LOOSE out of fear of stripping threads — then the threads get super hot dur to poor heat transfer to the head & carbon does the rest. When they're tight like that I've often had better results by first going tighter, then back & forth with WD after backing off the seat. I've never had to helicoil a plug that I've changed in a VW — and I've had some majorly seizes ones too in 10 years of tune-ups.

  8. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Al Grimm says:

    I worry about you breathing in all the dust from using the air to blow out debris in these old engines. Can't imagine it is good for you.

  9. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars hansa says:

    It truly is fun to see a guy that gets SO MUCH ENJOYMENT out of getting old engines to run! Your fundamental approach to getting these engines to run is very refreshing, especially in our โ€œthrow away societyโ€!

  10. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars philip mc donagh says:

    I would have changed plugs, points and the lightening hoses, just to be sure. On second thoughts should have kept my comments to myself until I'd seen the whole clip.

  11. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Glenn Findlay says:

    just wanted to say thank you for your videos. I find them the most informative and entertaining on you tube. I have never been very mechanical but after watching almost everything you have done I enjoy pulling down small engines and trying to fix them. Thank you.

  12. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Douglas, Hello from Arizona says:

    Evere heard of liquid wrench ? This engine should have been presoaked in something like that. Save on the old frustration of bolt removal.

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