First hint: Don't fall asleep on the job!

How do you get a VW Bug front hood that's jammed open? You cram Patrick's hand thru the access hole in the spare tire well with a screwdriver to pop the latch. (We eventually got Patrick his hand back.)

MISCELLANEOUS TECH TIPS AND TIDBITS

Rust Bubbles
Wonder why the area behind the rear side windows keeps popping up rust bubbles???? At the factory, VW shot foam into the area for sound deadening, thus inadvertently creating a great breeding ground for moisture and metal to combine to form rust!! Sometimes drastic surgery (this bug sacrificed some good sheet metal to repair another), but you can also pick a lot of the foam out thru the upper corners of the engine compartment. Takes a heavy wire rod with a 90degree hook at the end and a lot of patience!

Removing the majority of the foam and shooting in a rust inhibitor helps hold back the gates of rusty metal and those unsightly bubbles in your paint!

Ground wires!!!!!!
Even tho you have positive flow going to a component , a faulty ground can be just as deadly. Especially on later Vanagons and Westies..... The ground for the computer is under the back seat, and can cause havoc when corroded or broken. Same with a ground from the body to the motor on ANY water-cooled VW.

Glowing generator lite on your 6 volt Bug or Bus???
The Idiot Book says cover it with red fingernail polish, so it won't be seen until truly lit. Try a 12 volt bulb from a later VW.... the higher voltage keeps it from glowing, but when it lights up, it looks just like a 6 volt bulb showing an issue.

Hard to remove Lug Bolts on your VW???
You can "Impact" them loose with a ball-peen hammer and another hammer. Put the ball end of the ball-peen against the head of the lugnut, and hit it hard on the other end of the head with the other hammer. This "shocks" the threads and loosens the lugbolt so it can be removed, and doesn't damage the head for fitting a socket.

Think hard about using "fix-a-flat" for flat tire repair.
It can sometimes coagulate in one place and throw the tire offweight and off balance. Good for use in a needed situation, but do weigh your options for having the tire properly repaired.

Bug Wiring Woes??
Just because a push-on terminal looks connected, it can be the source of your agony. Female terminals on older Beetles tend to become brittle with age and "crack" down one side, leaving the terminal connected but without the tension needed to conduct the current. Wiggling on the terminals will let them show themselves, plus eliminate any problem of just a corroded terminal from sitting still for years and years!

Your New VW Project has a Stuck Drum??
Lots of time, old VWs being drug out of the garage or back field have stuck brakes from sitting. The shoes bond to the drum surface and won't let go! A couple of good smacks with a sledge hammer on the drum face will usually "shock" the shoes into submission and let the wheel start to roll.

Water Cooled Vanagons and Westies
This might creep out the purists, but time to time we will go up front to the radiator fan thermal switch and "switch" the fan speed wires. Instead of your cooling fan coming on at a low speed at stoplights, it kicks on the high speed instead. It sounds like an airplane ready to takeoff on the runway, but it does give an extra boost to cooling down the system with faster wind action. If your A/C is operational and in use, best leave the wires alone. This is a good tip for the non A/C or non-working A/C crowd.

Der Wipers Not Der Flippin????
Most of the VWs that have wiper arms with a nut at the top of the pivot shaft use a "pressure fit" to have the wipers move with the motor/pivots. If you hear your wiper motor working, but your arms aren't moving or "trembling", the nut needs to be tightened on that wiper pivot. Sometimes a washer behind the nut helps push the arm harder on the pivot, but be careful you don't overtighten and snap off the pivot! We see a lot of this in the winter time, when the blades are frozen to the windshield....owner turns on motor, blades don't move, pivots do, "voila" stripped out! Don't be afraid when you see splines on the pivots and nothing on the arms..... the arms never had any!

MORE TIPS AND TIDBITS TO COME...