TheSamba.com :: View topic - Finally purchased my first Vanagon....WOOHOO!!!!!

Sat Jun 16, 2012 6:48 pm

I finally purchased my very first vanagon today! I am super excited!!

The vanagon is a 2wd 86 Tintop and is a pewter color. IIRC there are 136k miles on it. It has some body damage where it was backed into a pole and there is rust around the rain rails and some other places. The interior needs a redo, but thats not a big deal for me considering thats what I do for a living. The van isnt pretty, but Im looking more for functional right now anyway. Future plans once in driving condition are to get some lowering springs, rims, and a roofrack. If this motor goes out, Im going for an ABA motor swap.

I found it sitting in a field near a junkyard I was visiting last weekend while hunting for MK1 parts. My girlfriend (who loves getting her hands dirty w cars) and I stopped and I asked if it was for sale, but the owner was out of town until Monday. I got in touch with them this past week and made arrangements to check the vanagon over. He told me it had been sitting for about 2 years but it was running when it was parked. The reason it had been parked was due to a frozen clutch pedal (van is stuck in neutral). Owner said he was driving it and it popped out of 4th gear and then the pedal locked on him. When I called yesterday to arrange for a look today, the owner told me that he actually pulled it from the weeds and fired it up.

Now for the questions. Does anyone have a pic of the air meter right in front of the air box? The owner told me they opened up the air flow meter and adjusted it to compensate for a plug that was unplugged. The vanagon runs super rich and I would like to get it back to stock if possible.

Looks like Im ordering a Bentley, clutch master and slave soon. .....and the fun begins!! :lol:

Sat Jun 16, 2012 6:57 pm

No pic yet, but I'll try to get one if someone does not beat me to it. Congrats on the find. Keep us posted on your progress, and hang onto that girlfriend.

Sat Jun 16, 2012 7:15 pm

I have some parts in VA if you need any.

Sat Jun 16, 2012 8:19 pm

congrat's.you'll will have fun when you get it running the way you want

Sun Jun 17, 2012 10:36 am

Congrats on the van AND the girlfriend!

Sun Jun 17, 2012 7:40 pm

I didnt get to mess with the vanagon much today. I ran to the junkyard and pulled an inside door handle for my dads truck. I broke it off yesterday when I went to pick up my vanagon, lol. I replaced it today, so dad was happy about that. I also epoxy primed the front of my 87 cabriolet this morning. i really need to finish it up and paint and reassemble the darn car.

What I did do to the vanagon this afternoon was crawl underneath and check things out on the transmission shift linkage. It looks as though the linkage is good but I see some things that may definitely need attention. It looks as though there is a clear plastic line that runs to the clutch slave that has become hard and possibly brittle. I most likely will be replacing that. Also, the slave and the rod that comes out of it to the transmission is super rusty. The rubber boot has shredded and is falling off. I sprayed them up really good with a PB style lube to see if that will free them up. If nothing else, I hope it frees up the slave bolts for ease of removal when I replace it. I dont think Im going to have to replace the brake/clutch master at this point but we will see. I just hope I dont need to pull the transmission to replace the clutch assembly. I wanna drive this thing so bad right now!!

Sun Jun 17, 2012 7:49 pm

Fuel lines, anyone??? :wink:

Sat Jun 30, 2012 3:30 pm

Today, my girlfriend and I put in some time on the vanagon. I installed a new clutch slave and bled the system thoroughly. Getting the one nut on the rear bolt is a MoFo!!! The clutch pedal seems like it moves freely now and the slave actuates properly.

I ran into a few issues though. It seems as though the transmission wines when I shift into gear and let out on the clutch. The gears grind when I try and shift into a gear after that. Im not sure if it is from sitting for several years or what. The little plastic trans timing plug is missing so Im thinking that it may have rust inside there.

The other issue I have is that the dummy light for the oil is flashing and the gauge does not function. It sounds like there may be a tick like the lifters are not getting oil. Its hard to tell since there are exhaust leaks and some squealing belts that need attention. Not to mention the fact that I didnt want to run the motor long because I wasnt sure if the motor was starving of oil. Trying to decide if an oil pump install should happen considering the fact that I dont even know when timing belt and water pump were done.

At this point, I am truly considering building another OBD1 ABA motor (girlfriend is currently building hers and Im watching :D) and installing it in the vanny. I would also put a new clutch in the 4spd at that point unless I can find a 5 spd trans to use.

Sun Jul 01, 2012 5:56 am

KDI CUSTOMS wrote: The other issue I have is that the dummy light for the oil is flashing and the gauge does not function.

:bay_blue: That happened to me friday, well it was the sensor connecter in the engine compartment . Corrosion ,hit it with contact cleaner all is well. But anyway I ordered a van cafe oil gauge kit friday, need cookies. I hate the flashing light, now I can add a gauge to the van! Welcome to the fun $30,000.00 later it's still fun! I never said they were reliable or economical just fun! :D

Thu Jul 05, 2012 10:13 am

I am seriously leaning toward an OBD1 ABA swap in this soon. I received title to the vehicle the other day and now I just want to drive the damn thing :D !! Im not sure if I want to go with the KEP adapter or see if I can find the ever elusive Diesel Bellhousing. I also need the diesel carrier bars apparently.

Looks like I will be hunting parts for this swap now and doing more research on here as far as swap info. I know you guys/gals will keep me in check with what I need.

Thu Jul 05, 2012 10:42 am

www.vanagon.eu

Good vendor, parts might not be spotless when they are shipped but Jergen is a honest guy.

Sat Jul 07, 2012 5:23 pm

Thanks for the link BlackDogVan. If I am correct in what I have read in other posts, I will need the following diesel parts from there to bolt up the ABA motor:

- Bell Housing
- Engine Bars
- Oil Pan
- Engine Mounts

Tue Jul 10, 2012 7:42 am

Should I spend the $ and run the above parts or should I get a KEP adapter and attempt to fab my own carrier bars? Im on a tight budget right now since I just recently opened my shop in a commercial area. Id like to get this van up and running ASAP so I can use it as my shop runner.

I have a HF pipe bender I have yet to use and a good mig welder I like to play around with.

Tue Jul 10, 2012 12:42 pm

Whoo Hooo--
You bought your first money pit.

Advise for the criminally insane?

Get the cards limits cranked up--you'll need that for sure.

Tue Jul 10, 2012 1:36 pm

Terry Kay wrote: Whoo Hooo--
You bought your first money pit.

Advise for the criminally insane?

Get the cards limits cranked up--you'll need that for sure.

T.K. I already have several money pits. Between my girlfriend (Tag-Along aka Tag) and I, there are several builds going on currently. 87 cabriolet, 82 jetta coupe, 81 rabbit, and 84 scirocco are all under the knife in some way or another. We also have 3 rabbit parts cars, and a 96 passat tdi parts car (1Z motor is going in my jetta coupe). Tag-Along is building an OBD1 ABA for the rocco and an AHU tdi for her rabbit shell. Yea, we know all about throwing money at cars!!

Fri Jul 27, 2012 11:45 am

I found a 90 or 91 vanagon in the junkyard about 2 weeks ago. It was pretty stripped out but it had a MAF in it still. I swapped my messed up MAF with the new one and the van runs 100x better. Only issue is that now the van has a high idle. It sits around 2500 rpm. Any ideas what it may be? Im reading it could be the O2 sensor or a sensor or plug that it near the passenger taillight.

Looks like I also need to rebuild the shifter. Mine has fallen down to the floor and is always finding reverse. I have to pull it up to get it to go into normal gears.

I also may have sourced all the parts needed for the ABA swap. I cant wait get started on the swap, but I need the stock motor to be in good running order so I can drive the van while building the ABA motor.

Fri Jul 27, 2012 12:10 pm

KDI_CUSTOMS wrote: Only issue is that now the van has a high idle. It sits around 2500 rpm. Any ideas what it may be? Im reading it could be the O2 sensor or a sensor or plug that it near the passenger taillight.

When mine did that I replaced the Idle Contol Valve first, and when that didn't do it, I changed out the Idle Control Unit behind the right rear tail light, which did fix it.

Fri Jul 27, 2012 12:19 pm

the shifter is the "plastic parts" package from van cafe. Just did that two weeks ago. I am in Maryland also. I am no expert but PM if you need anything.
Welcome

Mon Jul 30, 2012 11:39 am

I did a little playing around and cleaning. I cleaned the ICV with some carb cleaner and it opens and closes freely and quickly. I also checked the TPS to see if it is functioning properly. As I move the throttle open, it clicks and then clicks again at about WOT. From what I have read, this is properly working. the ICV also vibrates when the van is on but not running. The only other thing I can think of here is that the ICV electronic unit is bad. I cleaned the connectors with a wire brush just to make sure everything has proper contact. At this point, I feel as though Im ready for the ABA swap and some new fuel lines. I dont want to put any more time and money into this obsolete paperweight called a wbx.

Mon Jul 30, 2012 12:40 pm

Unplug the Idle control and see if the idle drops.