[T3] Trouble home from Bugorama

Tue Sep 8 21:49:38 PDT 2015

Thank you, Doug.  At the end of the day, I am sure it was my pride that
took a far bigger beating than anything else.  Now it is time to pick up
the pieces and move forward.  Along my drive to/from Sacramento, I passed
by two other air-cooled VWs that were off to the side of the road and who
must have faced a similar fate.  Both were bugs--a white one that almost
made it to the host hotel on Saturday, and a yellow one that pulled off on
that I-205 ascent towards Livermore on Sunday.

I think I recall seeing your Notchback at the show.  There were quite a few
Notchbacks, and I was pleasantly surprised to see a T3 Ghia--the first I
have ever seen in-person.  Mine was the Orange '72 (the only Orange
Squareback in the show area).

Jacob

On Tue, Sep 8, 2015 at 9:13 PM, Douglas Campion <campiondouglas at yahoo.com>
wrote:

> HI Jacob,Sorry to hear about your car.  As far as presence at Bug O Rama i
> was there  with my daughter Laura.  Two tone grey Notchback in the show
> area.
> Doug
>       From: Jacob Adam Schroeder <jacob.schroeder at gmail.com>
>  To: "type3 at vwtype3.org" <type3 at vwtype3.org>
>  Sent: Tuesday, September 8, 2015 3:00 PM
>  Subject: [T3] Trouble home from Bugorama
>
> I drove my '72 Squareback from San Jose to Sacramento this past weekend for
> the Bugorama.  The event was great and I saw many beautiful T-3s (any list
> members present?).  I even picked up some great parts for dirt cheap at the
> swap meet (quote a bit of T3 stuff was available).  After a big hill (on
> I-205) in the mid-day California heat on the way home, however, my car was
> running so bad that I decided to call AAA for a tow rather than risk
> further damage.
>
> Here are my observations:
> Drive there (Saturday):
> Car drove strong
> 24mpg (my average on prior tanks had been 18mpg)
> Oil was down maybe 1/5 qt. after the 150 mile drive (odd for me), so I
> topped off
>
> Drive home (Sunday):
> Smokey exhaust on startup, but quickly stopped.  I had never had this issue
> before.
> 1.5 hours of driving on fairly level ground, everything great.
> After a big hill on I-205, a noticeable loss of power. I could not
> accelerate in 4th gear on flat ground.
> Stopped to check oil b/c I consumed or leaked on the way there.  Oil low
> again (bottom line of dipstick), so I added about 1/4 qt.
> The next hill (Sunol) was brutal and I had to take it in 2nd gear (it is a
> steep grade, so maybe this is normal).
> After hill, and while cruising on flat ground, my oil light flickered.
> Immediately shut off key and pulled to the side of the road.
> Checked oil and did not see any on the dipstick, so I pinched the dipstick
> and it was hot but not enough to burn my fingers.  I added more oil to get
> it in the right range.
> I drove it far enough to get my car off the interstate, car backfired a few
> times (weep), I then stopped and called AAA, heart broken, for tow.
>
> My plan for diagnosing the issue:
> Change oil
> Check valves
> Adjust timing
> Compression test
> Report findings to list
>
> I had the stomach to look at the car this morning.  I observed nothing out
> of the ordinary (leaks, holes, etc.) from my visual inspection under the
> engine.  I checked/adjusted the valves.
> Each was loose.  The best was .008 (intake on 4), whereas the worst was
> .013.  I had set these all correctly about 500 miles ago. My engine was
> recently rebuilt (maybe 1200 miles ago) if that matters.
>
> Thoughts on what happened?  Thoughts on next steps?  Why are my valves
> loosening up like this?  Thanks in advance,
>
> Jacob
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