Too much to do!

Work has been crazy but I've still been working on the van.  Right now I am ankle deep in electrical, rewiring the dashboard and auxiliary battery connections.  Also converted the dashboard to LEDs where applicable and all in all just cleaning up the mess.  It's all in great shape, just needed some TLC to bring it back up to snuff.

Been hot here too and that hasn't helped either, so it's early morning work only.

Oh, also fixed a slight hole in the coolant sensor cap, wired it up for warning light, added the engine warning light, alternator warning light and more. Once the electrical is done I will be back at the body, cleaning it up a bit before some spot painting before putting the interior back in.

More soon!

Junkyard trip

My buddy and I went to the local VW junkyard and I bought a ton of parts.  Lots of little interior things, but hey.  Sliding door handle, under steering wheel cover, foam pads for the front doors, a couple of relays, and more.  I'll post photos when I take them.

So many updates!

I've clearly been behind in my updates.  Lots has been going on and it makes it difficult sometimes.

So - it's plated and tagged and we went on a day trip to a local park.  Very fun, even tho it was not far away.  The funny thing is that my buddy backed into it and dented the same part of the front bumper that was bent before!  So I went through that and straightened it.

I also tackled cleaning the sliding door track.  It's actually much worse than I had feared.  No rust holes but definitely something I need to take a look at.  I cleaned it, wiped the old sticky grease from it and then used car wax to lube the run.

I also used some hose clamps to silence a slightly rattly muffler shield.  It works but I need to tighten it a bit more.

Another big deal for me was I realized the side vents didn't work.  On 1984's (and probably earlier too), the side vents both permit outside air in to the cabin.  You can't heat or cool it, it's just outside air whatever the temperature.  Thats fine with me as I like to have a breeze in my face.  However, neither sides worked and I found that both hoses in the dash were disconnected.  I wrestled with that for a bit and got them back on.  Works great!

I also straightened the back bumper.  I don't have the "after" pics so will post later.  But it looks much better than this.

Tagged, Plated! ON THE ROAD!!

Huge step this weekend - got it inspected, new plates the whole enchilada!  This is a huge deal and meant we were able to motor around in it this weekend!  I also added the resister to the fuel pump which worked well I believe but may also contribute to a slightly more difficult start - we will see.

I also took a few minutes to straighten the front bumper.  About 8 hex bolts and it was free, I saw that the bracket was bent slightly and so bent it back.  After reinstallation it's MUCH better but I still need to bend it down a bit more.

A good effort this weekend!

Not out of the woods yet but was able to get a lot done this weekend:

• New radius rod bushings (HUGE DIFFERENCE, the old ones were in really bad shape)

• Adjusted the radius arm, I found the drivers side was 1 cm shorter than the passenger
• Replaced the heater control for the front - the old wire was bent and so you couldn't control the on/off heat.  Works now!  I lubed it with tri-flow first to keep it working well.

• New fuel filter - trying to track down loud fuel pump.  I will try to backflush the pump this week.  This is the old filter.  I also replaced a small section of hose that had a small crack in it (thought I changed them all already).  I still don't like that crappy metal strap.

• Speedometer works now.
• Tachometer works.  I finally tracked down the issue.  If I disconnect the battery the signal drops to the tach.  The only way to fix is to take a voltage across the alternator.  I need to focus on the alternator harness, I think that the ECU is simply not getting a signal that it's running.
• Horn works
• Scuffed front disks with 40 grit, and will inspect the rears soon.  Brakes are SO much better (but not perfect yet).
• Labeled wiring in the dashboard.  This should help the next owner some day.
• Headlight high beam and turn signal dash lights work.  So do the night time dash lights!

 Took to the local park to throw the ball for the dog.  She is still getting used to it!

Goal: Inspection + plates this weekend

If I can get the dashboard back together, it *should* be ready for inspection on Saturday.  Fingers crossed!

Getting gas, happy it is running

To celebrate the brakes working better, I called my neighbor (also with a 1984 westy) to go fill it up.

Of course I took the photo of the good side!

Dashboard updates

Now that the brakes are "fixed" and it runs again, it's time to jump into the dashboard.  This means tach, warning lights, and night time lights.

I don't have photos of all the steps, but I have the tachometer working, and the warning lights are wired.  Turn signal light works and high beam light should work.

Won't start

Of course in the middle of the break debacle, I try to start the &^%$! van and it would not.  Start that is!

I had messed around with so many wires I had no idea where to start looking.  This was mildly deflating to say the least.

WHAT NEXT???!!!

So, after I licked my wounds, I dove in.  Checked spark, fuel and found that the fuel pump was supposed to turn on briefly when turning the key to prime the system.  It was not.  So I decided to track wires.  Of course, I found crappy broken wires that would not do in the long run at all.  I ran new power and ground to the fuel pump and back to the ECM.  In the course of this I found a broken wire in the harness that I am sure I caused, but realized that I MUCH rather have it happen in the driveway than out on the road somewhere.

I also investigated more of the wiring and found a corroded combined lead in the engine compartment that looked like hell and was asking to fail.  I cleaned, replaced, soldered and heat shrink wrapped (my normal routine for ALL the wires I find).

Did that fix it?  Nope.

So I started investigating the fuel pump relay (tested ok) and finally jumped it directly.  Van started right up!  So I knew I was on the right track.

Messing around with the three wire bundles to the ECM I noticed that the connections looked crappy at best.  Then I found that when I moved one of the bunches, it would start the fuel pump.  Holy crap what I time bomb!

So I unwrapped it ALL and cleaned, soldered and heat shrink wrapped.  Suprisingly, it still did it.  I then traced it back to a slighly loose B134 plug.  I need to hit a junkyard to find a replacement, but found that if I shimmed it, it was very steady.  So that is what I did.

insert a lot of time here -->

Pain in the butt, but I feel better that it's more consistent now and looks much nicer.  Next step is to buy 2 inch wire loom and wrap the whole thing so that it's more weatherproof.

Brake update (and more)

Brake update!

Ok, we may have "decent" brakes now.  What an ordeal!

New when we bought it:

• GoWesty Big Brakes
• Master Cylinder
• Shoes, Pads
• Rear cylinders
• Drums
• New lines
• New stainless steel flex lines up front

This was all very awesome!  But when we picked it up the car had severe brake warp that almost put the nix on buying it.  Once we made it home 800 miles later, I started to dig into it as you have read on the blog:

• Turn front disks
• Turn rear drums
• New rear shoes (I noticed the original were peeling off from backing!)
• New rubber flex lines rear
• New used brake proportioning valve (likely unnecessary but I was at a loss)
• Bleed like 15 times, each time something new

After this, still the same crappy pedal feel (no wobble, but just mushy).  I was pulling my hair out.  Next:

• New master cylinder
• New south african drums (the old had been turned past spec) yes I had to remove and install new wheel studs.

Bleed bleed bleed!  Same thing.  Crap!  Then I noticed a couple of things - one was that I believe I had the adjustment rod installed backwards on one side (the side with the notch, not the side with the fork in the photos below).  I noticed that when it was reversed, pushing on the brake introduced a bit of a moment arm making ONE side of the shoe touch first.  I think this was key in the brake feel.  

Wrong:

Right:

Second was that I finally bled the master itself by pushing on the brake pedal and opening slightly the top most line.  This allowed any air to escape...

Brakes are better now!  Not perfect, but better.  I will readjust once they have seated a bit more and I think we are on the right path.  

But the story is not over...

Wiring next steps...

So, brakes have to be on hold for a bit till I get the wiring figured out.  My current plan is to inspect all wiring in the harness and solder/repair as needed.  I already found one broken line (to fuel pump!) and another to starter in the engine compartment.

All in all these were likely strong enough connections but I like things bullet proof so they will be repaired correctly.  Solder and wirewrap it is!

It better start after this.  Then I can return to the brakes.

Brake parts arrived!

Soo - I ordered the south african drums for the rear because it seemed they are the most apt to be true, and perhaps longest lasting (and more fade resistance).  Ordered last week from Van Cafe and arrived today!

Old:

New in box:

Nice!

Very pretty - too nice to install.  I may have to paint with clear coat to keep them shiny.  I noticed right away that they won't fit over the shoes as they are, which is good and tells me there is some difference from what I have now.

You may have noticed that the studs are short.  For one I don't have the drum all the way in.  But yes, they need to be replaced with longer studs.  So, next step is removing the hub and studs...  but that is for another day.

New fuel line - crack in bend on engine intake

While I was troubleshooting my wiring issues, I found that I needed to disconnect fuel line to route wires more easily.  This was a good thing because I found this:

Hardly noticeable unless removed.  I've since bought new line for most of the engine and am debating to replace it all they way back to the tank on both sides.  The hard plastic line looks fine, but you never know and it's cheap insurance.

Won't start

If it rains it pours.  While I've been waiting for my brakes, I have been working on wiring.  Well - went to start it and no love!  It turns over but nothing else.  After my initial unhappiness, I started to jump in and see what happened.  I realized that in my wiring zeal I must have pulled on the harness and possibly disconnected a key wire or two.

Couple things on this - in my opinion I shouldn't ever be able to pull on wiring and have the van stop.  Ever.  So I'm glad it happened while I am in the driveway.

As a result, I believe that the wire in question was to the fuel pump.  I rewired and re-grounded the wire to the pump, and totally cleaned up the routing as needed.  I now need two new weatherproof connectors to the + and - on the pump, something to research soon.

Haven't tried starting it yet.  On to next post.

Brakes - next step, vacuum booster

Tonight I deglazed the front disks and pads, then did the same on the rear shoes and drums.  I also reversed one side of the self adjusting fork which I hope makes a difference.

Probably most important was that I believe I eliminated a vacuum leak in the brake booster vacuum line.  In the engine compartment there was a junction with a crappy gasket.  I removed it and added new hose.  Then took my small vacuum tester and pulled 200psi for a good hour (it's still on now and I'll check in the morning).  I'm hoping that it still holds b/c this SHOULD mean that my booster is fine.

Wiring! Cleaning it up and organizing

Taking a break from wrestling with the braking system (don't get me started) and doing some things that I know I can actually finish.  I've added 8 wires from the Subaru ECU and the vanagon dashboard and it's really cleaned things up.  Things like Check Engine light, Tach, Oil Pressure, Oil temp, water temp, AC switch, all that are now wired.  I don't have them actually connected to lights or anything on the dash but they go from here under the rear seat:

A shot of my labeling and adding ends (with heat wrap):

Wires being routed under dashboard:

To this today. Not done yet at all, but much better than it was.  It will all be working when I am through with it!

Wiring

So, in the midst of it all I am rewiring the subaru engine to the vanagon dash.   Wiring is basically all there, except not as nice as I need it to be.  Having the wires routed cleanly and labeled really helps with troubleshooting.

Not done yet by a long shot, this is just a "in the middle of it all" photo.

More brakes

I swear I've bled the brakes 5 times and done through the configuration the same amount.  I've decided at this point that it HAS to be the master cylinder.  Reason being is that the brakes are bad no matter if I pull on the brake cable or not (setting the shoes closer to the drums), or if I pump the brakes (indicating air in the line), etc.  No matter what they are bad.  SO, new Master Cylinder here we come.

Here the brake adjustment fork is backwards, but they have since been fixed.

Interior rip apart

Been some time since I have been posting - work has been busy.  Past weekend I have needed to rewire the guages up front, and since I am waiting for a new Master Cylinder, figured why not now.

Of course to access wiring, I needed to pull cabinetry.  Ok, it wasn't required but I wanted to see what was behind the "magic curtain".   It's not if there was rust, but rather "how much".

Ouch.

I didn't show the actual sidewall where the real holes are.  Unfortunately the outer paint did cover up some real rust holes (some not so nicely covered!).  But overall it was not as bad as I feared.  Hopefully it won't cost too much to repair.  It's still able to be camped in the meantime.

ScanGauge II has arrived!

Cool stuff - the Scangauge has arrived.  I've plugged it in but have not really used it.  This explains the network cable I found routing to the front dash.

Should be helpful to track down trouble-codes.