What did YOU do to your van today?

[RCB]

Kept my mechanic a little busy today. They installed a NOS Vanagon muffler, tail pipe,Catalytic Converter, NOS EGR filter, O2 sensor and the correct California drivers side heater box. All installed in my 1982 Westy and she purrs like a kitten.

Thanks to Jan over at Blair&Sons in Arizona for a rust free,dent free,really clean looking drivers side heater box.

[RCB]

[Paulbeard]

Replaced the OG rear speakers with a pair of little 4 inch Fosgates, mentioned elsewhere in this thread. Wish I knew how they sounded but my house battery is acting up and that's where the radio's power comes from.

By "acting up" I mean showing a low charge (8v or less) and then somehow recovering to 11+ without my driving it, and then dropping again to below 8. Figuring out the drain is one thing but the gain is a little perplexing.
_________________
Currently -> Frida: 87 Tizian Red (mostly) Vanagon GL Westfalia w/ 2.0L ABA conversion
Formerly -> Steward of a 73 Super Beetle (Beater) and 67 Beetle 1300 (Little Max) both names by POs

[Tom Powell]

bad gauge/meter

Aloha
tp

[Paulbeard]

Nope, meter is good. If the radio works, the battery is good. If it doesn't, then no. In other words, the meter corroborates what I see from the battery. Tomorrow I may take the battery back to FLAPS for a checkup and then see what I can find out from there.
_________________
Currently -> Frida: 87 Tizian Red (mostly) Vanagon GL Westfalia w/ 2.0L ABA conversion
Formerly -> Steward of a 73 Super Beetle (Beater) and 67 Beetle 1300 (Little Max) both names by POs

[fxr]

[Paulbeard]

[fxr]

[Paulbeard]

[alohah3]

Repaired the doka's Valeo alternator voltage regulator (made in france). Alt. had stopped charging during a road trip and suspected worn brushes. Found cheap brushes on ebay europe and a cheap soldering iron at harbor freight. Good how to video on you tube helped. Back in biz.

_________________
1988 DOKA Transporter
1989 Twin Slider Syncro
1984 Green Machine 4x4

[vanadom]

[RCB]

In the past there has been a few debated opinions of the various types/kinds/Brands of fuel lines. Without opening up a can-O-worms, the ones Ive been happy with are the Goodyear or Gates fuel lines. The SAE J30R9 is rated for today's fuel additives.

If you make a few pots of coffee or crack a bottle of good wine or if your really in the mood, a fine bottle of Scotch do a search for fuel lines/fuel hose and get ready to be entertained.

[Big B]

Rebuilt motor on my 1991 GL Tin Top Day Camper.

[dyldebus]

I finally got around to fixing my rear locker with some silicone fluid and patience.

I'd like to have a few words with the engineer who designed the actuator bracket... way to phone it in, jerk.

Now I need sand to test it out!

[Alaskaberrys]

Been wet in the northwest lately.....getting faster with the draining of the headlamp ritual.

Any good sealant recommendations for glass to metal? Or better to try to drill a drain hole? Ideas welcome, been getting some funny looks.
_________________
'91 Westfalia, Bordeaux Red Pearl 2.1L 2wd Auto
'91 T3 Syncro Doka, Escorial Green 1.9L TD AAZ “Gremian” (to provoke, irritate, exasperate, vex...)

[Jake de Villiers]

[AndyBees]

A few weeks ago, my starter bit the dust. Using another starter, I took the two and came up with what I thought was a good starter.. It worked fine for about 10 days. Luckily, each time my Van (1989 Carat) was sitting in the drive-way when the starter wouldn't operate..

So, after shopping a bit, I come to the conclusion that a Reman from AutoZone was the best price.......... quality, I had no clue.

But, when I picked it up, to my surprise, it is a Bosch Reman.

Works great.... for under $100.00 including tax..

_________________
'84 Vanagon Tin-top, ALH TDI. 1989 Tin-top
1983 Air-cool, 225k miles, 180k miles mine. Seven trips to Alaska from 1986 thru 2003.

[BCE56]

Rotated wheels yesterday. While it was up on the lift I lubed the shift linkage, and filled the A-pillar cavities with plugs made of closed-cell packing foam. This I am told may reduce wind noise at speed.

I have noticed some unusual temperature fluctuations recently, so I snooped around for problems. I found two small coolant leaks: one at the front heater valve and another at an unknown small hose at the right side of the motor, above the coolant pipes. (I have no idea what this hose is.)
The plastic pipes appear sound but the heater hoses are pretty sketchy- one is soft, and the other is crunchy.

I have been expecting to have some cooling system maintenance done in the near future. The radiator baffles are tattered and the Van is way overdue for a coolant change.
I have also considered removing the unused rear heater. This would eliminate some possible failure points and free up some storage space.
I'll discuss this with my mechanic. He may find some other issues I have overlooked.
If we decide to remove it, I will have a complete heater, blower, valve and cover assy in good working condition up for sale. You may PM if interested.
_________________
=BCE56=

'86 Syncro tintop
EJ22, OBD II early SC adapter plate conversion

Side project: '69 Frankenbug "It's alive!"

[86scotty]

Brought home an 86 Westfalia, complete with records and one owner (basically. A second owner just had it a few months). Anyway, smelled like mouse piss so the interior came apart completely today. I've got all the cabinets out, some have water damage on the bottoms, couple of rust holes to fix, attached the bottom to a new canvas which came hanging from the top.

Tomorrow, start cutting new floor and wall panels, reinsulate and try to get it driveable ASAP! Full day but I learned a lot about my new toy.

Oh, 19k on remanned motor. Cleaned the motor and engine bay today too.

Full day!

[bobbyblack]

Even though its still only about 34F in my garage, I needed to attend to my Toy's MAINT REQD light (oil change)... While it drained, I hooked up the charger to the Vanagon's batt, and put my hand down on the floor. Gooshy carpet! Oy Vey! I had accidentally left a half jug of water on the floor, and it froze and broke, and now was wetting itself all over my carpet So, after I pulled the carpet out, I mopped it all up as best I could. A month ago I had smelled a little sweetness under the back seat. I didn't see any drip or puddle, but I figured I needed the O-Ring fix, so had that sitting on the underseat blower box... I should have taken care of it right when I got the part, because after mopping up the water jug leak, I peeked under the seat too.... Gads! green pool there -- CRAP!!!

Pulled the heater unit, pulled the core out, split the box and cleaned it all up. Put in new O-Ring after I flushed out a bunch of foul looking crap from the core. Tomorrow I will take the core in to my radiator guy to see if that was all it needed.

The worst part is that my delay on the heater fix ended up being enough of a leak of coolant to turn the flooring a bit green. Im also betting that the underfloor has gotten soaked too. Yuck!

UPDATE: Guy at radiator shop let me have at his tank and pressure system. Found that the new O-Ring had done its job, however the leak was coming from the on/off control valve at the lever end. Looks like two of the the big vendors have recreated them, one for around 45 an the other around 65. Got me scratching my head wondering if I really need that heater, or if I can leave the stop-gap jumper in place until I can budget for the valve.
Also, would love to hear if there are smaller vendors with solution for less $ OR if anyone has successfully RnR'd the crimped on valve somehow?

_________________
'87 Westy 'Flossie','86 Westy 'R1','86 tintop GL - Subi2.2 'J2','83.5 stock tintop L 'ZoomBus','74 Karmann Ghia, '63 Notch