The light bulb is a good idea - but finding an incandescent bulb can be a problem these days! Here in humid Austin I had the same problem with our boat in storage, and found that marine stores carry an equivalent device: a low power heating coil in a box that you place inside the stored area. It provides just enough heat to lower the relative humidity - since warm air can hold more moisture. The advantage over a simple bulb is ruggedness and a deisgn that keep the heating element from contacting anything that could be harmed. Here's a link to one that is similar:
http://www.amazon.com/Davis-Instruments … amp;sr=8-3
1 2012-01-13 06:21:12
Re: How can I stop mold? (3 replies, posted in Technical)
2 2012-01-06 17:41:39
Re: Talk about a little haitus! (4 replies, posted in General)
Indeed, nice to have it back. Also nice to have the spam epidemic cured. (Just had to delete one spam post since the change.) Thanks again Darren.
3 2011-12-26 09:33:51
Re: Back after a little Hiatus. (7 replies, posted in General)
Enjoy the guitar making class! I've enjoyed building guitars and other acoustic stringed instruments for 40 years. A nice hobby.
4 2011-12-21 09:06:38
Re: What kind of brake fluid--this ok? (23 replies, posted in Technical)
Changes to the master cylinder size normally balance changes to the wheel cylinder and shoe/drum designs. More force isn't always good, if it causes the front wheels to lock too easily and prevent steering while braking.
The rest of the world got front disks on the Beetles while the US got the "double-jointed" rear axle (because people like Nader claimed the swing-axle was dangerous). Even the standard Beetles made in Mexico through 2003 had front disks.
I have the Mexican disks on my Mexibeetle, and they work well. The front end of the Beetle is so light, the advantage isn't braking POWER but braking FEEL, as you can control lock-up better. A front brake booster would be worse, as the wheels would lock up way too easily.
5 2011-12-03 05:14:06
Re: What kind of brake fluid--this ok? (23 replies, posted in Technical)
As I recall the brake line runs inside the cabin along the outside of the tunnel at the edge of the floorpan under the rubber mats. I've heard of them rusting through from outside-in due to moisture trapped under the mats. Peel back the mats to the tunnel (driver's side) and check for oily fluid - especially since you notice the smell inside the car.
Much easier to change this line than the gas line in the tunnel. If the line is leaking, there are now stainless replacements available.
6 2011-12-02 13:28:51
Re: What kind of brake fluid--this ok? (23 replies, posted in Technical)
The Prestone "synthetic" DOT4 should be OK, as they call it synthetic mainly for marketing buzz. Be careful though of other Synthetics that are DOT5 and are silcone based. They are not compatible with the common fluids and brake seals. A friend used this once and his brakes became seized and inoperable when the seals swelled.
7 2011-11-18 06:55:57
Re: what is this plug in case near oil pump??? (17 replies, posted in Technical)
Burr is likely right - if this plug is right at the output of the oil pump where the pressure would be the highest.
Oops - looks like it is the input side of the pump. Never mind...
8 2011-11-18 06:54:40
Re: what's with the leaking hole in my tranny. (10 replies, posted in Technical)
I assume he means the seal on the shift rod?
9 2011-11-17 05:43:06
Re: what's with the leaking hole in my tranny. (10 replies, posted in Technical)
The vents should be open to equalize pressure. Otherwise when the tranny heats up the air and oil would expand and raise the internal pressure, and force oil out the seals. When cooling air would be pulled in, so over time oil would slowly "pump" out.
10 2011-11-10 05:29:00
Re: Spam (26 replies, posted in General)
At least 3 times yesterday I could tell we had teamwork going on. I normally ban and delete from the bottom of the list up, and meanwhile one of the other mods were deleting from the top down!
11 2011-11-08 04:11:46
Re: Spam (26 replies, posted in General)
Seems like I clean a dozen ea 3 or 4 times a day
12 2011-11-02 05:25:10
Re: Dual Vacuum Distributor Timing? (6 replies, posted in Technical)
Yes, 5 ATDC when checked at idle with a strobe timing light and both vac hoses connected. ATDC would be to the left. Often the single vac distributors are set with static timing (engine off). but dual vac is set with the retard vacuum applied - which pulls it back to 5 ATDC.
13 2011-10-02 17:33:26
Re: Converting a Mexican Beetle to get it registered in the US (3 replies, posted in General)
The legal conversion is to refurb the pan from a US-titled Beetle (73 is ideal - closest to the Mexi design) and swap all the parts from the Mexi onto it, so it becomes a re-manufactured (73) with the US title for that year. Darby Milnor in the Chicago area has converted several Mexis, and I ,believe he started a VW restoration business, so he may be able to help. His username here was DrDarby (but I haven't seen a post from him for a while).
14 2011-09-12 10:12:26
Re: Hoo boy (8 replies, posted in Technical)
http://www.vintagebus.com/wiring/index.html
Scroll down to BUG and 1971 Super
The Bentley manuals are the best, but are a bit light on Super-specific stuff, but great for engine, trans, etc. (Supers vary mainly from the dash forward, but the 71 shares dash design with the standard Beetle.)
Also check out BugMeVideo.com. These are a good "watch how it is done" resource, and are available from the on-line parts places like CIP1 and Aircooled.net
15 2011-09-07 05:37:16
Re: Shifting Problem (Automatic) (4 replies, posted in Technical)
A good source for questions on these later models (any watercooled VW) are the technical forums at BentleyPublishers.com. One big advantage of the later cars like your 2002, is that even the transmission controller has a lot of built-in diagnostics that detect many errors and store "Diagnostic Trouble Codes" (DTCs). These can be read by interfacing a laptop to the car's diagnostics port using an interface and software from Ross-Tech.com. Besides the stored codes, you can also watch the output of sensors and switches as the vehicle operates.
You could have a transmission control module problem, an electrical connection problem from the controller or internal to the trans, or a valve body or other mechanical issue. How may miles, and when was the last time the trans filter and fluid were changed (and level checked)? Many of the later VWs don't have an ATF dipstick - but are checked using the diagnostics connection to check level at a certain fluid temperature.
Again, I'd suggest the Bentley forums for advice.