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Thu Nov 19, 2009 10:05 am

I'm in the process of stripping everything out of my 87 Westfalia because of a mice infestation problem. In order to remove the closet, the ceiling cabinet where the a/c unit is needs to be removed. Is this something I can do alone or will I regret not having an assistant?

Thanks to all of you in advance,

Will

Thu Nov 19, 2009 10:12 am

It's much easier with an assistant. Then again you may have long arms and Magilla Gorilla strength. Do you have a Bentley?

Thu Nov 19, 2009 10:40 am

It can be done alone, with some planning. You need to rig up some temporary scaffolding type arrangement to catch and help hold up the assembly after you loosen the last bolts. I used some 2x4s I had laying around to build something, but I think others have gotten away with stacking different combinations of paint buckets, rubbermaid bins, plastic blocks, government employees, just what ever you have around.

Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:09 am

Yes zimzam I am following the Bentley and have removed so far, in this order: bed/seat, water tank cabinet, refrigerator cabinet. crossbar cover, storage shelf, front bed board and both cushions, fresh air duct. Next is the ceiling cabinet.

Ok, hiram6, I can build something but I have a question. Should it be in two stages? According to the Bentley you first "remove two screws while second mechanic supports ceiling cabinet" (this occurs with it in the fully up position.) Then, "pull ceiling cabinet slightly downward and remove cross wall" (thats the grill like thing at the back). Then after removing a closet carriage bolt you "carefully lower ceiling cabinet and disconnect left and right speaker wires," and while in this slightly lowered position "disconnect water drain hoses". Finally, "continue to lower ceiling cabinet and support on backrest". My backrest is out of the car, so this might be a lower stage, where I can go on to disconnect the terminals and series resistors.

So, two stage, with one about the height of the backrest in position and the second maybe 3-4 inches from fully up? Think it would work?

Thanks

Thu Nov 19, 2009 12:06 pm

Two milk crates stacked are just about right, then you can shim the remaining space with thin boards to be removed as necessary.

Thu Nov 19, 2009 12:24 pm

campism wrote: Two milk crates stacked are just about right, then you can shim the remaining space with thin boards to be removed as necessary.

Kind of what I did as well. I had my 2x4s built up to a certain point, and then a few extra boards laid on top. What you want is it high enough to allow the cabinet to drop, and then give you space/room to reach inside and disconnect stuff.

Thu Nov 19, 2009 12:50 pm

That's really helpful. Thanks

Sat Sep 10, 2016 9:28 am

Trying to devise a shortcut to remove only the "cross wall" (so i can inspect the evaporator). I removed 5 fasteners: 1 carriage bolt from the clothes closet and 4 countersunk machine screws (2 in the cross wall and 2 from the ceiling cabinet underside). The ceiling cabinet drops down a half inch or so in the back and it seems like this should be enough to remove the cross wall. However, the upper edge of the cross wall still feels like it is attached to something. Can any of you give me detailed insight on how it is attached? (Tab-and-slot like the engine access hatch or an actual fastener of some type?) Any photos of the disassembled cabinet?

Sat Sep 10, 2016 7:38 pm

Andrew, If you are talking about the rear board that has the intake grill in it, there is a bit of foam on the top of that board to seal against the upper bed board. It is probably just sticking. The only thing that holds that rear intake grill board on is 2 screws and being a little bit wedged in there.

There are some pics in my gallery in the first few pages, or in my Full Westy Conversion thread. You can probably also do a google images search for vanagon ac cabinet and I bet you see lots of detail.

Dave

Sat Sep 10, 2016 7:58 pm

Not sure if this is helpful, but here's what I did a month ago. The drain hoses may be caught up and impeding progress downward.

Thu Sep 15, 2016 3:02 pm

I was able to remove the cross wall with confidence after seeing the responses here. (Dave was correct in that some foam was sticking.) So I was able to inspect the evaporator and nothing there seems amiss. :)