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What did YOU do to your van today?
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big swifty
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2015 12:13 pm    Post subject: Re: What did YOU do to your van today? Reply with quote

My timing was off this year.

Took advantage of the unseasonable warmth and gave the $yncro it's christmas gift..Fluid Filmed the bejesus of the undercarriage.
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Evan
1987 Vanagon Syncro // Westfalia pop-top graft // Factory new ALH. 11mm IP. AFN 110 RC 2,3,4 // S7 turbo// Titan P502's
2013 Golf 4d TDI. No mods. Yet.
[1991 Jetta coupe TD. Giles Superpump. Custom tall 5 speed. SOLD
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Whydah
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 27, 2015 4:53 pm    Post subject: Re: What did YOU do to your van today? Reply with quote

First, I got the gas lines upgraded. Not today, but recently.

Today I installed the stereo and four replacement speakers our sons gave us for Christmas, blue tooth and all.

The previous owner replaced the VW radio at some point with a Mitsubishi unit they got from someplace and they buggerd all the wiring up. What a mess! Took all afternoon with one son and I working to straighten all of it out. Good sounds, now, though.
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oldhuldy67
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2015 5:18 pm    Post subject: Re: What did YOU do to your van today? Reply with quote

Finally...got around to rust proof the suspension. I used a little less than 2 cans of Fluidfilm on the front and rear suspension points, all I had on hand, ordered 4 more to finish the job when they arrive.
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Then, used the peanut oil fix for the muffler. It should season just like a skillet, heat it up with a drive, repeat that process few times.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Thanks all you Sambanistas for making me feel like a real mechanic..
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Currently:1980 Westy Westfalia Poptop (a total stock-look rebuild with all my favorite camping mods)
1967 stock Sunroof Beetle
Formerly:
1978 Westy Campmobile, the"EM50 Urban Assault Vehicle" code named "The Pickle"
1973 Squareback (sold on a lark)
1973 Super Beetle (crashed..walked away without a scratch)
1972 Standard Beetle (lost in a relationship..)
1966 Beetle (the Black Beauty, my Dad's)
1964 Beetle (the Beige Bug, my beginning beater, also my Dad's) Thanks, Dad.
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SonnyApril
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2015 9:18 pm    Post subject: Re: What did YOU do to your van today? Reply with quote

Just put cut in a new location for the portable toilet, also had to raise the bench seat a few inches. Next we need to add a cover and some paint
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GTIII86
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 30, 2015 4:05 am    Post subject: Re: What did YOU do to your van today? Reply with quote

At the airport right now eagerly awaiting a flight to go pick up my first van - an '85 Wolfsburg Weekender MT, 2.1 wbx. If all goes well, I'll be driving her back from Boulder to Chicago via St. Louis this week.

Have packed and baggage checked - tools, jumpers, zip lines, duct tape, AAA, Bentley, sleeping bag, and plenty of other misc. per recommendations in these threads.

Many thanks to all for your posts and information and a special thanks to ELO78 for helping me find the van and watering this idea.

Boarding now..STOKED!!!
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dobryan
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 30, 2015 7:50 am    Post subject: Re: What did YOU do to your van today? Reply with quote

GTIII86 wrote:
At the airport right now eagerly awaiting a flight to go pick up my first van - an '85 Wolfsburg Weekender MT, 2.1 wbx. If all goes well, I'll be driving her back from Boulder to Chicago via St. Louis this week.

Have packed and baggage checked - tools, jumpers, zip lines, duct tape, AAA, Bentley, sleeping bag, and plenty of other misc. per recommendations in these threads.

Many thanks to all for your posts and information and a special thanks to ELO78 for helping me find the van and watering this idea.

Boarding now..STOKED!!!


Check the roads along the rivers on your route for flooding and closures. Travel safe.....
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'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

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https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646

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oldhuldy67
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 30, 2015 3:52 pm    Post subject: Re: What did YOU do to your van today? Reply with quote

The dash lights have been one of the upgrades I tackled early on..need to see the speedo, so I installed the GW LEDs and later the circuit board replacement for the fragile foil instrument wiring.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

To my surprise they are noticeably brighter and slightly Amber in color resembling stock lights.
The socket in the heater control panel was broken...so, I cobbled a piece of fuel line, a dab of adhesive to make this
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The original wires were there but without terminal ends so I picked up a stereo terminal kit at Walmart with the tiny connectors....
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Replacement socket and bulbs from GW..
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and the brilliant, stock lighted panel is ....barely visible...and restored to its original condition...barely visible condition..BUT, my OCD has been satisfied...for now.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

_________________
Currently:1980 Westy Westfalia Poptop (a total stock-look rebuild with all my favorite camping mods)
1967 stock Sunroof Beetle
Formerly:
1978 Westy Campmobile, the"EM50 Urban Assault Vehicle" code named "The Pickle"
1973 Squareback (sold on a lark)
1973 Super Beetle (crashed..walked away without a scratch)
1972 Standard Beetle (lost in a relationship..)
1966 Beetle (the Black Beauty, my Dad's)
1964 Beetle (the Beige Bug, my beginning beater, also my Dad's) Thanks, Dad.
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Zeitgeist 13
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 30, 2015 4:31 pm    Post subject: Re: What did YOU do to your van today? Reply with quote

So, I just got done upgrading my lighting with new headlights (80/100w bulbs), relays and my long installed but never wired Hella 500 driving lights. Immediately upon pinning that up, I found that my system voltage would drop dangerously low when these items were turned on, so I assumed voltage regulator was shot. Even before the light upgrade, I had noticed that my gauge was registering lower voltage than I like, but I just assumed I had used a bad ground on the gauge wiring itself.

Anyhoo...when I was trying to access the regulator today, I snapped the adjuster bolt right at the housing, so I ended up pulling the entire alt. I don't think I've ever removed that alt in the 12 years I've owned the van. I swapped in a good used regulator, but I suspect my old one wasn't bad--they both had the same amount of carbon remaining. Turns out that when I was prepping the alt to be re-installed after drilling out the broken bolt, I found that every one of the contact surfaces on the alt housing was glazed over with accumulated aluminum corrosion, rust residue and oily dirt. This glaze was tough to cut through, and probably accounts for the trouble I had getting good voltage readings with my multimeter when using the housing as the ground. I cleaned those glazed surfaces up, and now the voltage readings with both the multimeter and my installed gauge are up to spec.


Today's life lesson:
If you're finding that your alt isn't fully charging, don't discount improper contact with the engine block and/or contact between the drivetrain and chassis.
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'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?
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DwarfVader
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 30, 2015 4:54 pm    Post subject: Re: What did YOU do to your van today? Reply with quote

GTIII86 wrote:
At the airport right now eagerly awaiting a flight to go pick up my first van - an '85 Wolfsburg Weekender MT, 2.1 wbx. If all goes well, I'll be driving her back from Boulder to Chicago via St. Louis this week.

Have packed and baggage checked - tools, jumpers, zip lines, duct tape, AAA, Bentley, sleeping bag, and plenty of other misc. per recommendations in these threads.

Many thanks to all for your posts and information and a special thanks to ELO78 for helping me find the van and watering this idea.

Boarding now..STOKED!!!


Safe travels... I hope to make a similar trip of my own in the coming year.
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kamzcab86
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 01, 2016 2:30 pm    Post subject: Re: What did YOU do to your van today? Reply with quote

Yesterday... Installed a new aux battery to replace the dead 28Ah Odyssey: Sorry, GW, but bought the 50Ah Power Patrol direct from Interstate (it was cheaper to begin with, plus they were offering an additional 15% off Xmas discount Dancing ). Had to install a longer ground wire off the solar charge controller, and made studs to use nuts to tighten things up (much easier!) instead of using bolts. Also installed a new Noco Genius charger/maintainer in the kitchen cabinet; now, whenever the van is parked in the garage, it'll be plugged in so that the battery will be kept alive.

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BCE56
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 02, 2016 1:50 pm    Post subject: Re: What did YOU do to your van today? Reply with quote

Spent an hour or two looking at posts here to get inspiration for the next round of projects on my Syncro.
Many of the big ticket items were completed last year- suspension, brakes, CVJs, exhaust, paint, window seals, tires and rims.
Thanks, Samba!
Oh, and bumpers. Man, don't get me started on freakin' bumpers.

*Takes deep breath*

So it was time to get on the road.
In the last month or so, I put almost 3500 miles behind me with no failures of any kind. I am very pleased (and a little surprised.) I did try to prepare adequately.
Still, there are some things I will want to do in the near future:
*Rebuild squeaky/crunchy clutch pedal assy. I am not looking forward to this.
*Rear heater and related plumbing. I am contemplating removal, as I find I never use it. Shutoff valve has been closed for years now. Hoses under chassis are softer than I like. However, no leaks, and plastic coolant tubes in good shape.
*I did encounter some inexplicable temp. fluctuations. May be plumbing or thermostat. Possibly sender/wiring/ground? I will seek professional advice.
*Some work under the engine hatch- plugs, wires, IACV/MAF service etc.
*J pipe won't last forever. It has been repaired at the flange and is holding up. For now.
*Little stuff- adjusting window seals to minimize wind noise, and addressing that aggravating rattle at AC tubes.

I assume there will be other things to add to this list before I get to the bottom.

----------

Just looked out the window.
Van looks pretty official with all the accumulated road grime.

Shall I wash it?
Nah. Not for a while.
Who knows- it might rain soon.

Happy New Year folks!
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Mike760
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 03, 2016 10:47 pm    Post subject: Re: What did YOU do to your van today? Reply with quote

Replaced fuel lines with the Van Cafe kit (w/ firewall adapter). Lines outside of the firewall were pretty bad. Happy to know they are new and overall a rewarding project.

While I was working on it, I also cleaned all the grounds.

Bought the van in November (1984 Westfalia 1.9L). Knocked out shocks and front suspension so far. Next I think I need to get the CV joints! But then I might as well replace the seals to stop a leaky transmission...
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dobryan
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 04, 2016 7:08 am    Post subject: Re: What did YOU do to your van today? Reply with quote

Mike760 wrote:
Replaced fuel lines with the Van Cafe kit (w/ firewall adapter). Lines outside of the firewall were pretty bad. Happy to know they are new and overall a rewarding project.

While I was working on it, I also cleaned all the grounds.

Bought the van in November (1984 Westfalia 1.9L). Knocked out shocks and front suspension so far. Next I think I need to get the CV joints! But then I might as well replace the seals to stop a leaky transmission...


Very good! Welcome to the samba. Very Happy
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Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646

Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371

The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794
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bobbyblack Premium Member
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 2:14 pm    Post subject: Re: What did YOU do to your van today? Reply with quote

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Got to put my Flossie back into "daily driver" status, as the shot above clearly shows why my Toy won't start. Died on 7 Mile Bridge in the keys. Was fun calling 911 -- "I have a disabled vehicle in the middle of 7 Mile" . The officers were pretty nice. My kids didn't enjoy it at all tho.
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kamzcab86
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 3:00 pm    Post subject: Re: What did YOU do to your van today? Reply with quote

Added quick-access storage for phones, iPods, bottles, sunglasses, etc. to the pop-top:

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Total of 6 pockets: 3 deep, 3 not-as-deep. Complete rip-off of what Bus Depot sells, but I wanted more pockets and had the material in stock, so I made it myself. Very Happy
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1986 Cabriolet: www.Cabby-Info.com
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Alex Proulx
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 11, 2016 5:42 am    Post subject: Re: What did YOU do to your van today? Reply with quote

On the weekend I replaced the stock fresh water pump that was located outside the tank by a boat submersible sump pump. The stock set up (or maybe it was not stock?) was not working very well, the suction line was very long and required manual priming by sucking the water up to the pump with your mouth via a hose installed on a T junction just before the pump. Once it was going the flow and pressure were minimal (a trickle).
I removed this whole setup and replaced it with a "Rule Non-Automatic Bilge Pump 360 GPH" directly in the tank. I'm still using the stock faucet and power distribution.
This new pump does not require priming and delivers plenty of water at the faucet almost instantly. The pump cost me Can$34 at Bass Pro and a few bucks for the hoses and 3/4 to 3/8 reducers. I also replaced the mess of crummy bits of hoses by a single line directly from the tank to the faucet.
Much more simple and effective that way.

Edit: And I should mention that I ran the hose inside the cabinets so I could angle it all the way down from the faucet to the tank, basically it's self draining back in the tank, no more rotting pools of water in low points while not camping.

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vanis13
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 11, 2016 8:28 am    Post subject: Re: What did YOU do to your van today? Reply with quote

nicely done. did that a number of years ago. actually had to reverse the polarity to the pump to make it run backwards in order to reduce the high flow in the 'correct' configuration. its been working well since.
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Alex Proulx
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 11, 2016 9:37 am    Post subject: Re: What did YOU do to your van today? Reply with quote

vanis13 wrote:
nicely done. did that a number of years ago. actually had to reverse the polarity to the pump to make it run backwards in order to reduce the high flow in the 'correct' configuration. its been working well since.


Thanks Smile
I took the smallest pump there was and it's just right (6 GPM at the outlet), the small 3/8 tubing and the 2 feet of head adds enough resistance to give roughly 2 GPM (my guess) at the faucet. I was surprised the pump was pushing water in the same direction on both polarities, I was assuming the reversed polarity would not move water at all.
I'm happy with this mod, great improvement over stock.
Alex
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campism
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 17, 2016 6:57 am    Post subject: Re: What did YOU do to your van today? Reply with quote

When I replaced the exhaust system several years ago I was a little worried about the joint between the two crossover pipes and the collector. The face of the collector was flat but the two pipes did not meet it parallel, resulting in a very shallow V angle that would have to be filled. I worked with multiple gaskets and a terrific Permatex product called Copper Spray Gasket. That combination worked until recently when I began hearing a leak and it turned out to be that joint.

I managed to get the pipes apart and set about fixing it. After I'd completed the previous install someone recommended belt sanding the flanges so I thought I'd try that this time and it seems to have worked to even up the two divergent surfaces but it was a tight fit working with that power tool under the van.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


I also took a piece of soft copper flashing about 2mm thick and cut my own gasket to be used in conjunction with the two new standard ones. This photo taken at the fitting stage.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Sprayed all mating surfaces with the copper stuff and bolted it all back up again, and now I'm ready for state inspection.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Also, my wheel hardware arrived from T3 Technique so I'm ready to begin mounting up the CLKs that have been in my garage for two years.
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djkeev
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 17, 2016 7:51 am    Post subject: Re: What did YOU do to your van today? Reply with quote

Looks great! ^^ I also fought that joint to get it to seal. When it fails I'll do your belt sander trick!
Kudos on the split copper nuts! Hopefully they're on the manifold studs too?

Dave
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