Aircooled twin solex issues/rebuild carb

[jlilford]

Hi all, we have had our 2 litre (brown and rusty) Aircooled van for about a year and live near Brixton. I have found this forum to be brilliant and have fixed a number of minor issues myself from advice on here, so thanks!

Our newest issue is fuel getting in the oil, stalling and general rough running. We took it to a local mechanic (not VW specialist but knowledgeable and reasonable price) and he said fuel in oil must be the fuel pump so swapped it for a mechanical one from Brickwerks. We still have fuel in the oil, from reading on here and the facebook group it is may be the carbs letting fuel through when the engine is off.

I guess firstly, is there anyone in South London/Brixton who can come and see if the carbs are to blame or a recommendation for a mechanic?

Secondly, if the carb needs rebuilding where should we go? Pete at Cogbox said they don't have the facilities for setting up twin solex and the Gasure service sounds great, but I don't want to drive the van far with fuel in the oil and not sure about getting someone in to set them up after I get them back?

Also, are there any Brixton owners on here? I always see a couple of Aircooled vans right near us!

Any help much appreciated!

[jlilford]

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[multisi]

Brickwerks do a rebuild kit for the twin solex, it is the carbs that are the problem not the pump. Don't drive it if the oil pressure light comes on ! The green Haynes manual has loads of info and diagrams to do the rebuild and set up to put them back on the engine.

[jlilford]

Thanks, that gives me some hope! I have a Haynes and have seen the rebuild kits, is this something a novice can attempt? I have heard that the main issue is if the throttle bushings are gone which would need professional fixing, but is the rest of the rebuild process ok?

I don't think loads of fuel is getting into the oil, the dipstick smells like petrol and is wet above the markers, but I am not losing a lot of fuel and the oil level is not going up by much. Thankfully the pressure light has not come on!

Cheers,

James

[multisi]

I had this problem a long time ago with a van that only had about 50 thou miles on it, at first I thought I had over filled the oil when the pressure light came on, so drained off the excess and kept on driving, bad move, the fuel had thinned the oil so much one of the tappets gave out and lost a circlip into the engine with a big crunch. For your carbs maybe a refresh will suffice without sending them off for a major rebuild. I had someone to look at my carbs , cant remember what they did, it was about 25 years ago, and put them on a second engine and they seemed ok again.

[jlilford]

Ouch, that sounds nasty! Don't want that happening... Ideally someone could come and have a look who knows what they are doing, but its difficult finding someone. Obviously don't want to take the carbs off and rebuild them and completely mess it up!

[sarran1955]

Hello,

You will get 2 causes of fuel in oil on a CU engine.

Fuel pump leaky diaphragm. Best replaced with blanking plate and electric fuel pump kit.

Piston rings are so worn that a small amount of fuel is 'dumped' into the oil on start up

These carbs are very reliable, and unless blocked by rust from the fuel tank should not give issues.

Have you checked the state of the fuel filter after the fuel tank.

I would suggest you change the oil and keep a close eye on things..

If you want to play carbs...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=najLc9GlLJ0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

or renew your ignition..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkyBAMMHpa4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Air-cooled Bliss....

Cordialement,

[jlilford]

Hello,

You will get 2 causes of fuel in oil on a CU engine.

Fuel pump leaky diaphragm. Best replaced with blanking plate and electric fuel pump kit.

Piston rings are so worn that a small amount of fuel is 'dumped' into the oil on start up

These carbs are very reliable, and unless blocked by rust from the fuel tank should not give issues.

Have you checked the state of the fuel filter after the fuel tank.

I would suggest you change the oil and keep a close eye on things..

If you want to play carbs...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=najLc9GlLJ0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

or renew your ignition..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkyBAMMHpa4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Air-cooled Bliss....

Cordialement,

The Mechanic who usually works on the van thought it was the pump so we swapped it for a new one. The same Mechanic changed the fuel lines and fitted a new tank last summer so I don’t think rust is getting through.

Thanks for the video links, I have seen some of your videos before on YouTube and they are great, very informative.

I would hope that the rings are not that worn, the engine has 90k on it...

I have read that the carb floats can leak fuel through, but is that not usually the case?

It doesn’t seem like a lot of fuel is getting through, the oil was changed with the fuel pump a couple of weeks ago and since then the dipstick smells of petrol and a day after running the dipstick is wet above the oil level, not sure if you can see in the pic below?

Thanks for the info so far, it’s all learning!


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[sarran1955]

Hello,

Good photos..

Use mineral oil..

and you can top up the oil a tad..

Keep an eye on it...

Go for a good run..

Enjoy..

Cordialement..