[T3] Old Type IIIs

[Keith Park]

Well I rebuilt mine for reliability in 1988 when I got it and drove it daily
thru 2007, when I rebuilt it again.  At 320Kmi now its quite reliable and I
will drive it anywhere.  In all those years, It has never left me
anywhere... at least not a T3 part problem... the Mark 10 quit 30 miles
outside of Carthage but I got it going again and don’t really count that.

Heres my Reliability FAQ:

Reconditioning your Type 3 for Reliability

By Keith Park

	Are you one of those people who are constantly twiddling with this
or that? Wondering if your beloved T3 will get you to where you’re going?
Car just doesn’t feel right?  Fed up with the FI?  Well
 after over 25 years
of operation, neglect or Bafoonery in the engine compartment, things usually
need a good going over and perhaps even a subtle upgrade or two.
	This article will center on a guide as to which areas need attention
and what to do but the Bentley Official Service Manuel is a MUST when doing
the service work on the car and I wont try to duplicate procedures from it.
I drive a 71 Squareback with 266K miles on it and don’t think twice about
driving it across the USA.  It has been many years since I’ve had to do
anything more than general maintenance and this car gets a lot of heavy use
in the summertime.

CHASSIS AND SUSPENSION:

	First off, let’s start with the chassis and suspension.  The front
suspension really needs to be totally disassembled and checked. This can be
done with the beam on the car but you should really check and make sure the
beam hasn’t rusted through under the clamps allowing water to enter it.
This is a common problem, especially in the rust belt. They do last forever
but when rust penetrates the beam under the clamps or its lowered or not
greased properly problems develop.  You want to check the condition of the
torsion bars (if you can get them out) for rust or cracks and coat the
entire length with grease to protect them from future corrosion.  Fastback
and Notchback owners can upgrade to the Squareback larger stabilizer bar.
Check the lower torsion arms for bending (bar should emerge from the inner
section in the MIDDLE of the circle) or pitting from bad needle bearings or
excessive scoring from poorly lubricated inner bushings.   Upper bars should
be checked too but are less likely to have problems or get bent.  The upper
left arm should be checked to make sure the stabilizer hasn’t been chucking
around in there and tightened properly.  Any looseness in its joint on the
bar and both bar and arm should be replaced.  GREASE EVERYTHING!!  Any
problems and the parts should be replaced.  
Check to be sure the grease fittings are accessible through the holes in the
beam clamps.  Next make sure the ball joints and tie rod ends have NO play
or rust in them and that the boots are good, if not replace the boot or
joint now.  ANTISEIZE everything as you reassemble!!  Make sure the front
shocks are good and that the stabilizer is good.  You will probably need to
replace the rubber bushing where the stabilizer enters the steering arm,
this should be absolutely tight, the bushings are available anywhere.  Early
cars with grease fittings on the ball joints or tie rod ends should grease
them but DON’T blow the boot off!!  Lastly, replace the front wheel bearings
and grease seals, they are cheap and available anywhere.  A lot of work?
YEA! But you’ll never need to go in there again if you keep it greased
unless you hit something or have a lowered car.  Finish off the process with
a good professional wheel alignment.


REAR SUSPENSION:

	Rear suspension
MUCH easier!!  Inspect it for bad rubber bushings or
mounts and make sure the bump stops are intact and that’s really about it!
They are very robust and will last forever. A sagging rear end can most
easily be raised with air shocks, adjusting the torsion bars is a real pain
and they are sometimes frozen in place.  I know that Monroe shocks are too
fat for the mounts and Gabriel were fine but the Gabriel’s have been
discontinued so look for the skinniest air shocks you can find. Rear wheel
bearings will be covered in the section on drive shafts.

BRAKES:

  If the car has been sitting rebuild and replace ALL the rubber seals and
boots. Calipers often seize so make sure both pistons are working freely and
that the rubber brake hoses are good (sometimes its good to just replace
them).  Make sure your pads/shoes are good.  If you do overhaul everything
covert to Silicone Brake fluid NOW! You won’t be sorry. 
Wheel cylinders on the rear are cheap so replacement is preferable and make
sure all the springs are there and not too rusted. You will probably have to
heat the adjusters to get them free and take them out.  Clean them and
antiseize the threads and housing during re-assembly. Make sure the
Emergency brake cables aren’t cracked and are freely functioning. Check the
condition of the rear brake hoses and ALL the steel lines.  The rear brake
line that runs next to the accelerator pedal often rusts out at that
location from moisture and debris from the driver’s foot.  Peel back the
boot on the master cylinder and make sure its dry in there and not leaking
where the actuating rod enters it.  Adjust the pedal free-play as per
Bentley, this is often misadjusted.  Lastly, lube the pedal assembly if it
doesn’t operate freely, this requires removal of it and disassembly.

WHEELS AND TIRES:

 Stock works best, larger rear tires will give better stability in turns
with less over-steer but will reduce gas mileage so I don’t really recommend
them.  Fronts should be run at 21-23PSI for stability and good tire wear.
Narrow or skinny tires on the front will greatly decrease stopping ability,
and increase shock loads on the beam bearings (if they just plain don’t get
you killed!) and should be avoided if reliability, longevity, and safety are
desired.  Stock rims are best but make sure there well balanced and not
bent.  Aftermarket rims are usually fraught with stupid ways of attaching
them or change the offset and should be used with caution.  They aren’t
usually bolt on.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:

	The stock harness is fine, even if it’s a bit butchered you just
need to recondition it.  ANY spliced connections need to be soldered and
over-coated with shrink tubing
 tape will eventually start to come off.  ALL
scotch locks or other quickie type connectors should be removed and any
spade or lug connectors you replace or add should be soldered.  
The average person cannot duplicate the factory crimps even if they did have
the $300 crimping tool needed so soldering is a necessity.  These pointers
are even more important on the 6V cars where there is twice the current. 6V
systems are no problem and will behave just as well if everything is done
right.
Pre ’68 ignition switches need to have a heavy-duty relay installed to off
load the solenoid current from them.
Early push-button dashes also desperately need this and is why most of them
are gone nowadays.
Rear window defoggers are bad in 95% of the cases and require an aftermarket
installed.  Just do a neat job and lay the new lines over the old ones as
the originals were etched in the glass and cannot be completely removed.
The early Fuel gauge clusters need to have a separate ground installed to
ground the housing so you don’t have all those strange ghosts in there.
The pre 72 defogger switches are also rather crappy and should be checked
out.
	Voltage regulators should be BOSCH only, especially with FI, and
checked to make sure they aren’t getting corroded on the underside from rust
holes that develop in that section of the car.
	Wiper systems are sometimes a good candidate for rebuilding and
reconditioning, the shafts can seize up and the arms can get worn out and
floppy too.  They come out fairly easily.  
	The steering wheel should be removed and the 4 screws that hold the
directional switch assemblies tightened and a little locktite used, as they
tend to loosen.  Clean contacts and lube things while you’re in there and
make sure the wheel goes back on in the same position on the column, as
there is no keyway or offset.

TRANSMISSION AND AXLES:

  First off.. The shift rod bushing in the tunnel beneath the shifter will
need replacing; a pain as you have to remove the shift rod but things will
be a world better when it’s done.  Transmissions are pretty bulletproof with
a few minor and a couple major exceptions.  Major ones.. The old swing
trannie’s have a bad tendency to stick in 2nd when the linkage gets worn,
sometimes in cars with less than 100K on them.  They can sometime be freed
but your reliability is gone after that.  Reverse gears tend to wear out if
abused, put it in reverse and listen to it as it glides down an inclined
driveway with your foot off the gas, sound chunky? It should be an even
whine otherwise your looking at reverse giving up in the next 20-30K or so.
If you get a little grinding on downshift the problem is that the synchro’s
may be worn but they can go that way for a long time. Other than that, if
its quiet, doesn’t pop out of any gear, and shifts smoothly your OK for
quite a while.

DRIVE SHAFTS:

 The Swing people will want to make sure their boots are good and replace
the axle seals if its never been done. They will also want to redo all the
bushings on the stabilizer bar, I don’t think replacements can be found
anymore but with some creativity something can always be fabricated to
replace them.
	IRS Folks need to re-grease their CV’s and inspect the boots and
such every 30K.  There should be NO pitting on the balls or races and
anything other than minor discoloration is time for replacement.  I have
found that very worn joints with deep worn marks on the races are good for
another 30K but no more, so long as there is no pitting or galling.  Boots
seem to last forever in the North but should be checked carefully in arid
climates.

REAR WHEEL BEARINGS:

 I don’t have any personal experience with the Swing axle bearings but am
not aware of any real problems either.  IRS should be re-lubed every 60K,
Bearings and seals are all still available and if there is any question
about them should be replaced.  The most important part of servicing them is
that the axle nuts get torqued back to the factory spec of around 250 ft-lb.
If they are loose then the assembly chocks around in there and eventually
the splines will strip out.  If the nut keeps loosening after properly
torqued (it will loosen but not back off with the cotter key in place) then
your bearings and the spacer as well as possibly the hub will need to be
replaced as their surfaces have worn down too much from being loose. , Rear
wheel bearings on the IRS are usually good for 150-200K if properly
maintained.  Lastly the rubber bump-stops should be checked to make sure
they’re still in place and secure.

THE ENGINE:

	The Type 3 engine is the most likely thing to give you problems but
only if its neglected or not repaired properly. Type 3 engines are
essentially the same as the T1 engine but the cooling system has less
capacity.  The engines don’t really run hotter but they have less capacity
to overcome loss of cooling air from plugged oil cooler fins, missing tin,
dirty fins, etc. and have less ability to deal with larger displacement. The
absolute largest cylinders you want are 90.5mm and with those you decrease
the life expectancy of 100-125Kmi by about 30%.  Ideally the largest for
reliability is 88mm and NOT the slip in’s, the thick walled ones are the
only ones suitable.  Stroker Cranks are OK but are expensive and it becomes
important to do other upgrades when increasing the HP output of the engine
that much.

Examining and evaluating the engine you have.

	Well, Ill start by assuming the engine you have is stock or close to
it. There are several things to do to take an old engine and make sure its
ready for many more miles and won’t let you down.  First off, the best
indication of the condition of the lower end is the oil pressure, it will
slowly drift down about 15 lbs over the lifetime of the engine starting at
around 40PSI at 3400 RPM at operating temperature.  It should not
drastically drop off when cruising on the highway as this indicates a case
that is out of round and worn out.  The oil light should not flicker at
idle, if it does try another sensor but I find that by the time the light
comes on you have practically no pressure at all.  There should be no noises
on startup that go away with oil pressure, this indicates really shot
pressure-fed bearings.  If it fails any of these tests it needs a lower end
rebuild, a lot of poorly rebuilt engines will have these problems and
sometimes its amazing just how far they will go like this but your
reliability is gone and that’s what were aiming for here.  No Pressure
gauge? Then you’ll have to use the light but I always recommend a gauge.
	Pass so far?   A compression check will tell you the condition of
the cylinders as well as any gross problems with the valves.  The Valves can
be checked for excessive play in the up and down direction of the valve
guides but should be done every 60-70K, especially if aftermarket valves
have been used. More than 3 times the play in the exhaust valves compared to
the intake and its time. Cheap valves can lead to one getting swallowed and
then your engine is generally totally junk so if in doubt pull the heads and
go through them replacing the valves and guides with genuine VW ones.  Your
heads should not have any inserts or helicoils in the spark plug holes,
sometimes this works out OK but being in the sticks and having a helicoil
come out with the plug is a show stopper not to mention that I’ve had one
leak and melt out the spark plug hole.  Reliability requires good original
threads.  Replacement heads need to be of quality material too, look for
signs of valve seat collapse, cracking, or bad exhaust manifold studs.  If
your heads don’t have the original step where the cylinder sits, or some of
it has been machined off (new ones had about 1/8”) then you need to cc your
heads and calculate the compression ratio.  See the Gene Berg technical
articles on this as too high a compression ratio results in detonation and
greatly shortens engine life. .  Check the pushrod tubes for excessive rust
or leakage and replace as necessary. If not overheated the original heads
should last a long time.
	If not pulling the heads you should pull the upper tin and torque
the head nuts.  If one of the studs comes loose it’s a show- stopper too but
reliability requires all of them to be in good order.  While the tin is off
inspect the oil cooler, if there is any seepage remove it and replace the
seals, being sure to use the correct ones.  Check to see that all the fins
on the cooler are clean and not obstructing air flow at all.  The final song
for many a T3 engine is when the cooler seeps oil, gets plugged up with dirt
and cuts off the cooling air to cyl#3.  Check to make sure all the fins are
clean and clear.  Check the thermostat linkage for proper operation and that
everything is there, if not replace the missing items and get it working.
This is critical for proper engine life in ALL climates.

Crank Seals

	Check the rear of the crank and fan for oil contamination, there is
NO rear crank seal so if its leaking then either the breather is plugged up
or your rings are shot and that would have likely showed up on the
compression test. Black Front main seals don’t tend to last too long, look
for leakage and ANYTIME the engine is out of the car should be replaced with
the Red type.
	If your engine has passed all these checks and has all the tin
intact then you should be good for many more reliable miles.  I recommend
adding a quality 1.5 Qt sump as this prevents starvation on turns and
dilutes the contaminants better then 2.5 quarts of oil do. The sumps do
however hang down there so you need to keep that in mind and NOT use them if
the car is lowered in the rear. I also recommend full-flow filtration but
installing this on an engine that is not already apart is probably not worth
it.


NOW FOR THE PERIFERALS:

	The Generator: The brushes should extend beyond their holders and
the springs holding them shouldn’t be too rusty.  There should not be
excessive sparking when running and don’t forget to check the belt.

	The Starter: Brushes should have some meat left on them and the
little piece of braid that goes the solenoid should be intact and in good
shape.  Starter drive should operate smoothly.

	The Distributor: Disassemble and clean it, be sure that the springs
don’t get lost or put back in the wrong location.  Use very little of the
special cam lube.  Make sure the ground strap for the advance plate is
intact and in good shape.  Install Standard Ignition Ventilated Lubripoints
and you won’t have to touch it for another 15K mi. or so.  Check the vacuum
advance with a small vacuum pump or strong lungs and the Fuel Injected
people should clean the trigger points with alcohol and a business card,
never a file.

	The Carburetors:  I refer only to the stock ones here as anything
else is likely to have problems I’m not familiar with.  Get Kits now while
they’re still avail and rebuild them, it’s not difficult as these are a
straightforward Carb.  Adjust and balance as per the Haynes manual and make
sure the isolator blocks between them and the manifold are in place. Linkage
should be tight and the throttle shafts not worn. Lastly make sure the
access plug for the main jet (located on the side) is firmly in place, they
have a nasty habit of coming loose.  You’ll never get the chokes to track
properly but with enough fiddling you’ll get them so that its driveable.

Fuel Pump:

	The FI folks never have to worry so long as the pump doesn’t sit for
long periods of time but the Carbed people have no way to really see how the
pump is doing.  Early models were rebuildable but the kits are long since
gone.  Later replacement pumps are just a crapshoot; best bet is to carry a
spare.

Fuel lines:

	FI lines need to be of good quality and less than 10 years old, if
in question replace them all, they carry 30 PSI of fuel.  Carbed cars don’t
have the pressure but should still keep them in good shape and changed about
every 10 years.

Injection System:

	This is the part where people soon forget that it’s the simplest and
most straightforward system ever made.  There is usually a lot of hack work
done, which really gets to me when its done by mechanics who are supposed to
be competent working on today’s sophisticated FI systems.  Where to start?
Well start by assuming that the system is operational, if it’s not see the
FI FAQ or go through this procedure and see the FAQ if it still is in
trouble.

Harness:
	Depending on the condition you may just want to take the whole
harness out of the car, it’s a separate entity from the rest of the car and
only passes through one hole to the control unit and is designed to come
back through that hole WITHOUT cutting anything.  Connectors look ratty?
Brittle? Insulation cracked?  It may be time to SOLDER (not just crimp) on
new connectors and inserts for the gang plugs.  The little inserts come out
when the tang is CAREFULLY released, just DON’T lose track of where they go,
all the wires and connectors are numbered but make sure the numbers haven’t
worn or been cut off.  Remember that all cut wires and connectors must be
soldered for reliability and use of a good flux is recommended in this.  If
it seems daunting there are many Electronic Tech’s that can do it for you.
If your harness seems good just clean it up and replace any rubber boots
that are bad (many replacements are avail), examine the connections and
replace the corroded ones and use something such as shrink tubing to
strengthen the joints onto the connectors.

	With all this done you should be able to really depend on your T3
now.  Mine have never left me anywhere in 15 years, and I drive them a lot.
I have had occasion to need to pop the lid and rig a couple things to get me
home but about half the time I even need to do this is when I’ve used cheap
aftermarket parts and not really getting what I needed.  Next Ill include a
list of things to carry with you to get you out of a jam, some will be more
advanced things only needed for really long trips but with just a few items
you can almost always get yourself going again. 



1)	Fuel Filter
2)	Fuel Pump (FI or Carbs)
3)	Length of Fuel line with Clamps
4)	Fuel Injector
5)	Control Unit
6)	Spare Pressure Sensor
7)	Trigger contacts
8)	Ignition Points, Cap, Rotor, Condenser
9)	Generator Brushes, (or spare rebuilt generator)
10)	Generator Belt (Gates 7395)
11)	Fuse Assortment
12)	Bulb Assortment
13)	Regulator (Genuine Bosch)
14)	Can of Brake Fluid
15)	Set Brake Pads
16)	Couple Quarts Oil
17)	For the Truly prepared long Trippers: Set Front Torsion bars and
Front main seal, extra Cylinder & Piston.




Isn't it the case that all Manuals on how to take care of a Type III are
assuming that New Parts are available, and assuming a certain age for
existing parts?

None that I've seen talk about "Are your wires and connections 40 years
old?"...and what to do about that.   What IS the life of a wire or connector
or Control Box or the rest?

How to know which parts, incl wires, connectors, other components, MUST be
replaced after X number of years to be reliable?

Bottom Line:    How to make a 70's T-3 a "New Car"...good for the next 40
years....or next trip to Mexico or the boondocks elsewhere....body problems
aside for now?

Fear is that T-3's will become just Show Cars, trucked to Car Shows,
unreliable for actual use.   That would be a tragedy for one of the most
practical cars ever made.



      
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