Switching to Bike Carbs. Heres a write up!

[yorgerg]

attention to funpig's post....i see this setup run everyday with no issues. here's what i plan on doing...window screen secured with a ziptie. this is nylon screen but i have some metal screen im going to use instead for the sake of backfiring...

[yeayeayea]

now that we are dont conversating about filters, whats the timing should be at?

I have never put a timing light on mine, just adjust it until it feels right. Not too precise unfortunately.

[yeayeayea]

attention to funpig's post....i see this setup run everyday with no issues. here's what i plan on doing...window screen secured with a ziptie. this is nylon screen but i have some metal screen im going to use instead for the sake of backfiring...

Are those cbr carbs?

Also nylon will not last. I burnt up aluminum screen. go stainless.

[zhemel]

So as a carb Newbie, I am planning on running R1 carbs on a 86 1.8l 8v gti. I have read and searched but to no avail. The car has been sitting for 10 years and rather than spending a bunch of money on fuel injection parts i wanna run carbs. Can you list of all the parts I need to make the R1 carbs work on my lil 1.8 8v motor. I have my flame suit on.

[86Franklin]

It'll probably cost less to fix the FI system.

[yeayeayea]

So as a carb Newbie, I am planning on running R1 carbs on a 86 1.8l 8v gti. I have read and searched but to no avail. The car has been sitting for 10 years and rather than spending a bunch of money on fuel injection parts i wanna run carbs. Can you list of all the parts I need to make the R1 carbs work on my lil 1.8 8v motor. I have my flame suit on.

I suggest you read this whole thread. And mine here
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...gh-compression

Then if you still have questions feel free to ask them. You will learn a lot, and will learn what you need to make the carbs work.

[YJSAABMAN]

For those asking about filters, I'm using K&N Part # 62-1480 from their breather line. Chrome tops, perfect fit, just kiss my hood at the outside edges, and about half the cost of anything from the powersports filter line. They average just under $20/ea.

[rysskii3]

^nice.

[rysskii3]

Here is a video of my timing. Before I installed the carbs, the timing was set to 8 degrees by a mechanic that really knows VW. The timing on the cam gear comes put as 8 degrees, but on the flywheel i get over 65 degrees. I do have a light weight flywheel and stage 1 spec clutch. Any ideas what's going on? Thanx.
first shot of the flywheel timing is when the timing gun was set to 8 degrees, and the second is when i turned the knob all the way to 60+.

[zhemel]

I suggest you read this whole thread. And mine here
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...gh-compression

Then if you still have questions feel free to ask them. You will learn a lot, and will learn what you need to make the carbs work.

Thanks for the Info. It will make for some good reading tonight.

[ncbrock]

10-12* at idle 32* total. Whatever that knob does on the msd idle or total do it to that . You should only be checking timing at the fw not the cam gear. I don't know how your getting 60* for timing it shouldn't even run with that much timing. Or is that useless info out my ass too?

[funpig]

attention to funpig's post....i see this setup run everyday with no issues. here's what i plan on doing...window screen secured with a ziptie. this is nylon screen but i have some metal screen im going to use instead for the sake of backfiring...

YoGerg.... did you get this POS running yet?!?! Git'er did man! Time is a tickin'

[rysskii3]

Here is a video of my timing. Before I installed the carbs, the timing was set to 8 degrees by a mechanic that really knows VW. The timing on the cam gear comes put as 8 degrees, but on the flywheel i get over 65 degrees. I do have a light weight flywheel and stage 1 spec clutch. Any ideas what's going on? Thanx.
first shot of the flywheel timing is when the timing gun was set to 8 degrees, and the second is when i turned the knob all the way to 60+.

10-12* at idle 32* total. Whatever that knob does on the msd idle or total do it to that . You should only be checking timing at the fw not the cam gear. I don't know how your getting 60* for timing it shouldn't even run with that much timing. Or is that useless info out my ass too?

can anyone else confirm?

[rysskii3]

havent made any changes to the timing, but i did get the carbs synced yesterday. i was hoping that syncing them will reduce the amount of smoke coming out of the tail pipe. the car usually doesnt smoke when cold, but when it warms up, it begins to smoke. the car also runs pretty rich, and sometimes at idle i can see 3.5 psi on the fuel pressure gauge. i have no idea if the carbs were jetted or not. so i pulled the plugs out, and this is what i got. cylinder 1 and 4 looked fine, but 2 had lots of crap and it was wet, similar thing with cylinder 3 but not as much. whats going on here? could it be that the carbs were jetted and are dumping too much fuel or something else could be wrong?

right to left, 1234

1

2

3

4

[86Franklin]

what color is the smoke? three might be a light lean at the idle screw and 2 looks like its oil fouled. headgasket is my guess.

[rysskii3]

what color is the smoke? three might be a light lean at the idle screw and 2 looks like its oil fouled. headgasket is my guess.

Head gasket is about 1-2 k old, and It's the metal gasket. It only smokes when the car is warm. Smoke is light in color, gray/white/slightly blue. The car also smells like fuel at idle and absolutely drinks fuel. About 1/4 tank is about an hour of idle.

Edit:
It smokes more when It's warmed up at idle and when i take of in first from a dead stop. I didn't notice any smoke under deceleration. Both block and valve cover are connected to a catch can and the catch can is vented.
Valve stem seals were replaced a few thousand miles ago, same time as the head gasket, with Tectonic seals. Before the carbs went in, the spark plugs were fine. It started smoking about a few weeks ago, while the carbs were not synced.
after more examination, spark plugs 2,3,4 had little bit of oil under the metal o-ring and i found some oil (a drop or 2) under cylinder 3/4 mostly 4, where the runner bolts to the head. also, i checked the oil a week ago (less than 50-70) miles and it was full, but yesterday the dipstick didnt show that it was full.

[rysskii3]

The bible (bentley) states that new engine compression test should be no more than 189psi with max of 44psi difference between the cylinders. i performed the test 2 times on each cylinder.
Cylinder 1: 235psi & 232psi
Cylinder 2: 230psi & 230psi
Cylinder 3: 225psi & 220psi
Cylinder 4: 225psi & 225psi

[yeayeayea]

The bible (bentley) states that new engine compression test should be no more than 189psi with max of 44psi difference between the cylinders. i performed the test 2 times on each cylinder.
Cylinder 1: 235psi & 232psi
Cylinder 2: 230psi & 230psi
Cylinder 3: 225psi & 220psi
Cylinder 4: 225psi & 225psi

Mine were over 200 when I tested it back when I bought it. I think the bentley numbers are a little low.

[rysskii3]

Mine were over 200 when I tested it back when I bought it. I think the bentley numbers are a little low.

Now that compression is all good, why would the plugs get all jacks up?

[yeayeayea]

Now that compression is all good, why would the plugs get all jacks up?

Are they wet with oil or gas? if it was gas, it could be running really rich on those cylinders and building carbon on the plugs

[86Franklin]

If it was fouling a plug with gas it would look clean not gunked up. Is it miss firing at all? I don't see how it couldn't be. If it has any blue color to the smoke its burning oil.

Edit: check the torque on the head.

[rysskii3]

Are they wet with oil or gas? if it was gas, it could be running really rich on those cylinders and building carbon on the plugs

its hard to tell, looks like oil but similar color as fuel. the car was running very rich.

If it was fouling a plug with gas it would look clean not gunked up. Is it miss firing at all? I don't see how it couldn't be. If it has any blue color to the smoke its burning oil.

Edit: check the torque on the head.

head torque is perfect, i have ARP bolts in it. it might be miss firing, but hard to tell. it drives fine. its hard to tell what color the smoke is, mostly white, definitely not dark, and maybe a little hint of blue, but it could be my imagination since i was expecting low compression.

i ordered 160, 165, 170, 175 main jets and 4 gauge carb sync kit yesterday, and im getting new plugs in a few minutes. im going to install the 170 jets first and see how she runs. im also thinking of getting an o2 wide band with a gauge to monitor the afr.
im thinking maybe when the carbs were not synced and dumping lots of fuel, that caused it somehow. the gunk from spark plug 2 comes off pretty easily with just a scratch of a nail.

[86Franklin]

Not doubting you but have you rechecked the torque after you drove it the first time. My head bolts were about a 90 degree turn off after I drove mine for the first time. I'd start with syncing them first and making sure the idle mixture screws are all the same amount of turns out. Since 1 and 4 plugs look pretty much perfect I'd say the jets are pretty close.

[ncbrock]

That plug is 100% oil fouled, gas foul would just be wet and wouldn't leave buildup. The two outside plugs are too lean that's why they are white. The middle plug that's not fouled looks good.

[rysskii3]

Not doubting you but have you rechecked the torque after you drove it the first time. My head bolts were about a 90 degree turn off after I drove mine for the first time. I'd start with syncing them first and making sure the idle mixture screws are all the same amount of turns out. Since 1 and 4 plugs look pretty much perfect I'd say the jets are pretty close.

The carbs were just synced a few days ago, but i did put maybe about 100 miles on the car before they got synced. I checked the head bolts a few months ago and they were fine.

[rysskii3]

installed new spark plugs today and let the car idle for about 14 minutes. the following video was started about 1 minute after the car. you can see that there is no smoke when the car is cold, but when it warms up it gets smoky during idle. for some reason its smoking much more under throttle than before. i can definitely tell the difference with new plugs, its holding rpm much steady and less hesitation. the smoke looks blue sometimes and sometimes it doesnt, so i dont know what to think. also, the car behind is dark blue. can it be that the car is burning up all the buildup with new plugs?

[ncbrock]

thats not good at all, check your crankcase ventalation system to see if its clogged or anything.

[rysskii3]

I was advised to change 10w-40 oil to racing VR1 50 SAE since I was dumping too much fuel into the car.
did that, put new plugs in and took it for a 30 minute drive. came home and checked the plugs, all dry and its not smoking anymore.

[yeayeayea]

If you were dumping that much fuel you may have gas washed the rings or just thinned out your oil a whole ton

[rysskii3]

If you were dumping that much fuel you may have gas washed the rings or just thinned out your oil a whole ton

Could be both, but the oil was definitely thinner. I used to run 10w-40 royal purple. I'm still going to pull the head eventually and replace the rings, and maybe the pistons. But next I need to change the main jets to 170 and see what happens. I maybe have 150-200 miles on the carb setup.

[rysskii3]

I was messing with the carbs today. This is the best I sync the carbs and keeping the rpm at about 1k. Below that the vacuum gets below the normal and above 1k the gauges sit about half way into the green.

[oldschool eighty8]

Got mine to fire up last night for the first time! Still need to do some tweaking, it starts hard and dies shortly after.
Also I have a question about the Carter 4070, are the + and - terminals reversible? For mounting the pump as a pusher or puller. Reason I ask is I'm barley able to get 3 psi out of it. It's mounted in the bay as low as I can get it.

[YJSAABMAN]

Got mine to fire up last night for the first time! Still need to do some tweaking, it starts hard and dies shortly after.
Also I have a question about the Carter 4070, are the + and - terminals reversible? For mounting the pump as a pusher or puller. Reason I ask is I'm barley able to get 3 psi out of it. It's mounted in the bay as low as I can get it.

Reversing the polarity won't change the characteristics of the pump, it will pump fuel back into the tank. The 4070 is more of a "pusher" style pump, so your location is decent, but not ideal. What year/model is it installed on and is there still an in-tank pump to prime it?

[rysskii3]

Reversing the polarity won't change the characteristics of the pump, it will pump fuel back into the tank. The 4070 is more of a "pusher" style pump, so your location is decent, but not ideal. What year/model is it installed on and is there still an in-tank pump to prime it?

totally agree on the pusher part. it also needs to stay cool, so engine bay may not be the best location for the pump.

[YJSAABMAN]

totally agree on the pusher part. it also needs to stay cool, so engine bay may not be the best location for the pump.

Also just want to make sure you aren't trying to pull through the old fuel pump, has it been removed/bypassed? All of these things can cause low pressure numbers with high pump noise and will eventually damage the pump.