[T3] thermostat issue

[Bryon Garvin]

Everything's back to being adjusted properly and it's all working.  Thanks!

I'm so glad the spark plug wire holder, once removed, provides that visual
on the flaps.  I was happy to see that the spring was working.  That hole
allowed me to push a screwdriver down there and hold the flaps shut so I
could get a good grip on that horizontal rod and hold it while I tightened
the screw.

 - Bryon, '71 Fastback

On Fri, Oct 14, 2011 at 3:18 PM, Jim Adney <jadney at vwtype3.org> wrote:

> On 14 Oct 2011 at 11:29, Bryon Garvin wrote:
>
> > I am not sure how long this has been going on, but I suspect not very
> long.
> >  My flaps don't seem to be moving.  This was all properly adjusted some
> time
> > ago with a new thermostat and I have all of the linkage, fortunately.
> >
> > I made a mark on the shaft so I could tell if it was turning or not.  Not
> a
> > cut on the end like some of you do because I haven't had the engine out
> > before.  But anyway, this mark showed that the rod was turning.
>
> I like to make the mark in parallel with the flap, so I can see at a
> glance which way the flap is pointed. There's also an advantage to
> making a slot, because then you can use a screwdriver to try to turn
> it. If it won't turn, then you know the shaft has seized; if it turns
> freely, you know the adjusting screw has come loose.
>
> > My Fastback will sometimes idle-hunt for about 1 minute as I leave the
> > neighborhood on a cool morning.  Runs fine when you press the
> accelerator,
> > but at a stop sign it will surge up and down.  Car runs great when warm.
> >  But today, the hunting continued for much longer than it usually does.
>  It
> > eventually stopped but I was thinking about this problem while driving
> and I
> > wondered if the thermostat was working.  I got to work which is only 3-4
> > miles away and looked at the mark.  I can't remember if the position of
> the
> > mark meant "open" or "closed" but came back an hour later to inspect and
> the
> > thermostat was retracted, yet the mark didn't move.  So, I am looking at
> the
> > flaps being either open or closed and I can't remember like I said, what
> the
> > mark meant (stupid move, I know).
>
> The odd idle behavior probably has nothing to do with the thermostat,
> but it might.
>
> > Is the most likely scenario here that the adjustment nut that holds the
> > throttle flap rod has loosened ?  I will have to look into this this
> > weekend.  I think I have the adjustment procedure saved somewhere so I
> will
> > review that.  I hope the spring isn't broken.  I assume anything beyond
> this
> > nut coming loose would require dropping the engine to remove tin and see
> > what is going on?  I adjusted it all before by blinding working in the
> > access hole when you remove the "goggle" piece.
>
> My first suspect would be the fixing screw that you reached thru near
> the #2 SP. I've never seen one of those spring break, but it's
> important for it to be there, because it forces the flaps open if the
> fixing screw comes loose. Open is a much better default than closed.
>
> There's a plastic clip for the SP wires on the sheet tin just in
> front of the fan housing, under the rear end of the air filter.
> (front is front, rear is rear.) I think you can remove that clip and
> peek thru the hole and see the flap if it is open. If it's closed,
> you probably can't see it, but you might be able to feel it with a
> length of wire.
>
> Once you get this fixed again, it's not too hard to saw a small kerf
> in the end of the shaft while the engine is cold and the flap is
> close to vertical.
>
> --
> *******************************
> Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
> Madison, Wisconsin, USA
> *******************************
>
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