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Greetings from the Canada!


oprn
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What "is" that thing? I'm guessing something wild buffalo use for scratching on? Only ever seen a buffalo on TV. And it had been moved from its original location? How very odd.

VCDS is indeed diagnostic software mostly used for volkswagen group cars, deleveloped by Uwe Ross from Rosstech now in the US. Started years ago as a 'hack' originally called VAGCOM. It's now the main decent alternative to the genuine VAG VAS system. It's popular because the free unlocked version can diagnose and change/clear settings, with most of the data having labels so you know what you're looking at. Works well with many USB-OBD2 standard interface leads. I used to have the genuine article but i wrecked the lead... so now use a cheap chinese thing- but same software.

Love the look of a canadian number plate on a Lupo :)

 

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Yes it is a stone that the buffalo rubbed until it was round. In the spring they get itchy with their winter coats still on and look for something to rub on to help shed the extra hair. In treed areas wildlife use the trees and with the process of time and life these trees die and disappear. On the prairie there are no trees so the next best thing is to find a big rock to rub on. These rocks then bare witness of this activity for thousands of years.

There are no wild buffalo here anymore, some bright enterprising Europeans decided it was better to kill them all off and bring in cows that you have to feed and house all winter and help to calve in the spring or they will die. The buffalo were completely self sufficient and acclimatized. The natives here knew that but the white new comers were so much smarter... 😏

There are a few farmers here that have switched over to raising buffalo. They are zero maintenance and to tell you the truth, taste the same as cows to me, just a little less fatty. The downside for farmers is they are harder to fence in and harder to handle when it comes time to ship them for slaughter. When they do get away it is nearly impossible to get them back. A cow will tire out quickly but a Buffalo will settle into a 45 km/h lope and go for hours. They can easily be 150 km from home by morning!

These are on a farm east of us. You can see the yellow ear tags.

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Edited by oprn
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They used to roam this country by the millions and over thousands of years... ya it happens. Water can wear away stone too over time. It's hard to believe that a few foreigners could lay waste to such a huge natural resource in a couple generations too but there you go!  

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The weather has warmed up a lot. We were off to the city today with Franklin and he bucked and misbehaved all the way there and back. It was only -9 in the city too so it's not the cold. Tomorrow I will lift the bonnet and start the investigations. When it was random it was hard to find but now that the problem is here to stay I should be able to find it... I hope!

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Might have found it. Pulled the spark plugs and they looked ok. Next was the wires into the coil pack - hoo boy! We have an issue! 3 out of 4 badly corroded and the 4th one the connecting pin broke off and came out with the wire. Looking for a coil pack now and a set of wires!

 

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I was thinking condensation on HT, but @Rich's suggestion is probably closer to the mark. There's a youtuber in the US who's collected all the temp sensors from vdubs he's worked on since '98. Has a large bin full- like a lot (1000's)!

Edited by mk2
Posted at exact same time as reply... :)
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Funny! it ran just fine on the way to the shop this morning, I put my OBDII reader on and no codes. 

Well I cleaned them up as best as I could with a nail, greased them up and it's running fine again but I know what I need now! The shopping starts...

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Parts on the way from Autodoc. Cost more to ship than the parts are worth but that's the way it goes. The coil pack it turns out is common here and readily available but the HT leads are not so might as well get them all in the same shipment.

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While waiting for parts I will continue with putting a fresh engine in the sand rail. The old one was just a well used core that I used initially when I built the Buggy and it gave us 6 years of service well above and beyond what I expected from it so time for renewal. Out with the old and in with a fresh one I rebuilt last summer. 

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Edited by oprn
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  • 2 weeks later...

Parts are in! Came directly from Germany! Franklin has been running just fine since the clean up with just a bit of a rough idle. Tomorrow the new coil and wires go in.

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Looking sharp. Nice. Air cooled is just so much easier... I love the way beetle engines just pop in and out as required. Minimum effort. Do you have any issues in Canada when the air is well below freezing?

Importing... Hey at least you're not having the 'fun' we're going through here in the UK from Brexit importing car parts. The rules are pretty straight forward, but everyone seems to be getting them wrong. Double taxes, returned parcels, extra paperwork fees, all when nothing is meant to change for us (for under €150 transactions). I don't get it.

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The air cooled ones ran very well in the cold as long as the thermostat, carb heat riser and air cleaner pre heat is still in place and working.

Franklin has a new coil pack and plug wires now. Running and idling like new now!

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Another update. Sandra loving the way Franklin is running, got his old zip (well - as Lupos go) on the hills again but... got a call yesterday - she shut him off and no start!

She had abandoned him in a farm yard and got a ride to get the Forester due to my cell phone not receiving calls through a double tinned shop wall. I went home, hooked up the truck and trailer and found Franklin. Turned on the key - nothing - no dash lights, no clock. Cold north wind, threatening snow, not fooling about here so winched him into the trailer. I opened the door to set the park brake... what the heck? Dash lights and clock so hit the key and he is alive and running!

Back home and go to drive Franklin out of the trailer - dead! Has to be battery posts and clamps but no they are tight and look clean. What I did find on removing them was a thin white film on the contact area so a good cleaning and some anti seize and 6 starts later all seems well. Looks like he is at the age of chasing connection corrosion issues! First the HT leads/coil towers now this.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

No more phantom running issues! Franklin is performing well.

There is however a small problem I should have investigated a while back. The driver's door limit strap has a loud snap noise. Getting worse so I pulled it apart. The bolt was loose and the bushing is past salvaging, Also it appears there should be a nut on the bottom. The threads on the bolt and in the little bracket on the door are in poor nick, not sure if I can save them. Is this a common problem?

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