This is going to take a while, and is somewhat tech heavy,
so if you want to skip to the end, I won’t blame you.
In October of 2010, I drove out to Colorado and back. Around
100 miles outside of Reno, my red warning light came on. I pulled over, checked
everything I could, and found that I just wasn’t charging. (A.K.A. the belt was
fine, so I didn’t need to be towed) I made it to Sacramento before I couldn’t
drive anymore, and left the car at a mechanics.
They replaced the voltage regulator, and the generator. I
made it fifty miles before the red light came on again – bad generator. They
replaced it again, this time I made it 100 miles before it froze up. Again, bad
generator, I replaced it this time at home after pulling it out in my garage.
My third new generator lasted me until a week ago when the
fan started to rub against the housing. This is where my warning tale begins.
I “tweaked” with the fan housing – slight adjustment of the
screws, repositioned the generator strap etc. None of the tweaking would keep
the fan from rubbing. I reached behind the fan housing, and grabbed the fan
with my fingers. It lifted and lowered and rattled each time I pulled gently on
it. No amount of tweaking was going to fix the problem, chances are pretty good
the bushing in the generator was bad.
So I pulled apart the engine as much as I needed to and
remove the fan-generator. The generator has been replaced, and all is back and
working. It cost about $100 for a generator and misc parts, and about 6 hours
of my time.
Then there was the nagging question – why did the bushing
fail? I could assume that it was assembled poorly – based on previous
experience, this wouldn’t have been a bad guess.
However, Dr. Watson, let’s examine some other evidence.
-I had been replacing the fan belt far too often. It kept
stretching beyond normal. For some reason, I didn’t think too much about it.
-The startups had been unreasonably shaky. The engine shook
more than it had previously. Again, I didn’t think much about it as it became
smooth once the engine warmed up.
-During my last long drive, I noticed a resonance, a pulse
if you will, at various RPM’s. Again, didn’t think much about it.
But what should have slapped me in the face was the pulley.
The pulley had been a problem ever since I got it replaced from the shop back
in 2010. The metal was softer than it should have been. It bent each time I
removed and replace the fan. I never used more than 2 shims even with a new fan
belt. This should have been an ugly warning sign, but in my haste to go back
and forth to L.A., I just didn’t pay attention.
Here’s a picture. Notice the gaps in the metal where the pulley
front half slides over the armature. The two halves of the pulley rattle back
and forth – there should be no movement – it should act as one solid piece once
they pulley screw is tightened.
So in order, let’s deduce another possibility.
-The pulley is loose, rattles, and because of the soft
metal, it heats up.
-As the long consistent drives wear on the pulley/belt, the
rotation of the engine reached a point where a consistent resonance is starting
due to the speed of the belt and the vibration of the generator
-The resonance begins to gouge the generator bushing – ever
so slightly – but enough to cause the bushing to fail.
The fan then begins to rub, and the problem becomes
apparent.
Another note about pulleys and poor-performance parts.
You can buy a pulley for about 8 bucks. You can also buy one
for about 20. I am going to assume that the difference between the 8 dollar one
and the 20 dollar one is the quality of the metal, method it was made, etc. For
a 12 dollar difference, I could have saved myself an afternoon and a new
generator, not to mention all the belts that I ate.
And while I’m on the topic, the generator strap cracked too.
I didn’t find that out until I tried to reinstall the new generator. Yet
another trip to the parts store.
Lessons learned (again):
Listen to your experience. I knew that the pulley was a
problem. I ignored it.
Listen to your engine. I did hear this problem. Glad I
caught it before it became too serious.
Buy the best parts you can afford. Seriously – there is no
excuse for a crappy pulley, not when it is such a crucial part to the engine
operation.
Drive your Bus. This problem was identified after three
trips up and down the California coast. Much of it was on a freeway where I had
time to zone (zen) out and just listen to the vehicle. I recognized the problem
aurally, but like an idiot, I ignored it. Don’t be me.
Happy travelling. Did I mention that you should check that
pulley? And your fuel lines?
-Peter
Post script: While at the VW show at the California auto
museum, I ran into the mechanic who has sold me all three bad generators. He
sighed, rolled his eyes, and said to bring it back and he’ll cover it under warranty.
He also mentioned that I am not the only lucky one, a few people have had this
problem. So, in all likelihood, this problem was just another bad generator.
However, that doesn’t negate the pulley issue.
VW people like to mention bad mechanics and bad experience with bad shops. I'd like to mention the other half.
Justin at Kombihouse in Sacramento has been honest, fair, understanding, and has stood behind his shops work from the moment I took it there back in 2010. Their work has been good, it is unfortunate that the parts have been crap, and not their fault. Highly recommended, consider this an endorsement.
