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shadetreetim
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Joined: January 10, 2011
Posts: 1994
Location: Riverside, California
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PostPosted: Mon May 21, 2012 8:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey mfpongs, glad to see another Riverside dweller here on the Samba. Definitely keep an eye out for my Vanagon, I drive it everywhere when I’m not working. Skill? Not so much. Just dumb enough to believe I can do it myself.

Well the eye-bolt didn’t work to remove the old bushings. It’s a ½” bolt and it is slightly too large to fit through the bushing sleeve. I returned to using the C-clamp instead. Old out, new in, brake line changed, control arm reinstalled in an hour and a half. Then it was time to bleed the brakes. I pumped a lot of fluid through the lines until it ran clear and bubble free, longest line first again.
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After tightening the last bleeder down it was rewarding to have a firm pedal.

When I pulled the passenger CV I found the axle seal had fallen out. Fortunately I have a new one I purchased a few months ago.

After reinstalling the CV’s I’ll have one more bushing to install. The Powerflex kit from T3Techniques, courtesy of Syncrofest included a transmission mount bushing. I’ve read the reviews on this bushing and it seems it transmits a lot more vibration and/or noise than the stock mount. I’m debating on whether to install it or not. Another debate I’m waging in my head is whether or not to drop the trans mount 1” to compensate for the CV angles brought on by the 18”-18-1/2” hub to fender ride height. Dropping the trans may allow the CVs to last longer. Any thoughts?
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Tim Potts

Doing my best every time I drive it to dispel the myth these Vanagons have to be slow!


'89 Vanagon Bluestar/Country Homes 1.8T & .77 4th
'74 Jeep CJ5
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shadetreetim
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PostPosted: Tue May 22, 2012 10:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It is done. The crawling under the van working overhead part anyway. I know, post without pics suck, but I finished tightening the CV bolts and radiator hose clamps by flashlight. Tomorrow all I need to do is fill and burp the coolant and it will be ready for a test drive. I've decided to remain undecided on the trans mount bushing and 1" trans drop. Confused

I tried to snap a pic of the heater valve I mounted under the van. It is a pull to open cable operated heater valve. I've been needing to buy one for my '57 anyway, so I ordered two. I plan on adding a cable, but for now I can lean under the van and operate it, its mounted near the fuel pump. It only needs to be adjusted twice a year so it's not too big a deal.

I can't wait to find out how these urethane bushings affect handling.
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Tim Potts

Doing my best every time I drive it to dispel the myth these Vanagons have to be slow!


'89 Vanagon Bluestar/Country Homes 1.8T & .77 4th
'74 Jeep CJ5
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shadetreetim
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PostPosted: Wed May 23, 2012 10:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

On tonight’s agenda was adjusting the shifter linkage, filling the coolant, and taking a test drive. I was in San Diego all day so I didn’t get home until 6:30PM, but when I did, I quickly began my task. The nice thing about a lifted Vanagon is it’s easy to crawl underneath it. I still had the marks on the shaft from when I replaced the shaft bushings, so I took note of the current location, loosened the clamp and rotated the shaft about an 1/8”. Now first gear was easy to get, but second was too far off the detent. It was back under the van where I split the difference. That was the ticket, it now shifted easily into first and second. When I started the engine to add coolant, the lifters were clattering horribly. What the hell? That’s not usual. But then I haven’t started it for over a week, which isn’t usual either. A quick check of the oil pressure to see it was normal. Guess I’ll drive it and see if they pump up. Pulling out of the driveway the brakes felt strong and it was shifting beautifully. The first thing I noticed about the ride was it was smooth. With all the grease on those bushings it didn’t have much choice. I drove around for a few miles. It wasn’t earth shattering better, just better. The quieter, smoother, tighter, crisper kind of better. A "man this Vanagon sure drives great" type of better. Driving through a parking lot it handled the speed bumps with nary a squeak. Taking some medium speed turns it tracked well. I haven’t hit the freeway yet. And I still need to take it to get aligned. But it was rewarding to experience the overall improvement in performance that was a result of all the work. On my punch list is a minor adjustment to the rear brakes and to run over all the suspension bolts with a wrench. I’m happy to report the lifters quieted down after a couple of blocks. I remembered during the last oil change I didn’t add any Marvel Mystery Oil so I stopped by my FLAPS and picked up a quart. As I was a ½ quart low on oil, I added a ½ quart, and poured the remainder in the full tank of gas. I will admit I’m happy to be done with slathering grease on parts. My next project, dropping the AC unit shouldn’t be quite as greasy. It’s a timely project as the weather turns warmer. I need to clean all my tools before I start it though.
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Tim Potts

Doing my best every time I drive it to dispel the myth these Vanagons have to be slow!


'89 Vanagon Bluestar/Country Homes 1.8T & .77 4th
'74 Jeep CJ5
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shadetreetim
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PostPosted: Fri May 25, 2012 8:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I got Vinnie out on the freeway today for a few miles. Still haven’t had time to get an alignment. I hope to maybe tomorrow. On the freeway it was very stable. Lane changes were crisp. With a few more miles now on the bushings I am even more impressed with the improvement in handling and ride. It’s best described as an absence of wallow.

But on to the next project. I rigged up the table and a couple of chunks of wood to allow me to unbolt the AC unit without it falling on my head. It worked well. I unbolted both sides, then pulled out the 1X6s.
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There was enough room to get in there and swap out the expansion valve.
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I had purchased an AC O-Ring kit from one of our vendors last year, so I have plenty of O-Rings for all these fittings. The O-Rings in the Expansion Valve fittings were hard and squared off from being compressed for 23 years.

I got the low pressure line out and found the problem.
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Where the hose lay in the fenderwell it had cracked and leaked. I’m told that’s a common place to develop a leak. There’s a company called Hose Man a few miles from the house that should be able to make me a new one. I hope he’s open tomorrow morning with it being Memorial Day Weekend. The condition of this hose really makes me question the integrity of the remaining hoses. At least the other lines, including the long ones running to the front, do not display this deterioration.

It’s an interesting phenomenon, but all this work I’ve been doing, although it can’t be seen easily, makes the van look better to me. Cool
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Tim Potts

Doing my best every time I drive it to dispel the myth these Vanagons have to be slow!


'89 Vanagon Bluestar/Country Homes 1.8T & .77 4th
'74 Jeep CJ5
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tencentlife
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PostPosted: Sat May 26, 2012 7:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The exterior appearance of a pressure hose is not indicative of the condition of the inner tube and fabric reinforcement that actually contain the pressurised fluid; the outer tube is just sheathing that keeps the reinforcement from shifting and protects it against physical damage. A lot of panicky raving about fuel hoses might be avoided if people took a look at the basic construction.

That said, I really think that at any Vanagon's age all the original AC hoses need to be rebuilt with new rubber. Every Vanagon AC I have serviced has needed the refrigerant topped up a year later, due to permeation of the aged hose walls under pressure, multiplied by their unusual extent (a front-engine car has about 1/4 as much AC hose). If you want it to work like new and need service only once a decade rather than yearly I think you would be wise to pull out all the hoses and take them to House of Hose or Casa de Josè or whoever.
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shadetreetim
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PostPosted: Sat May 26, 2012 2:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the clarification tencent. You make a good point; the visual inspection of the rest of the hoses wasn’t an accurate indicator of their integrity. And the AC lines are like every other piece of rubber on the van… old and dried out. It may not have been visible in the photo, but this hose had split open, losing the Redtek charge and dumping AC line oil into the fenderwell. After having a new hose built I cut this one apart to view the internal damage. The split was over an inch long. It does illustrate the point you are making. Look how much rubber is inside the reinforcement and how thin it is outside of it.
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The Hose Man made the new hose this morning for $50 and took two hours. I should have asked him how much a 15 foot hose would be.
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All buttoned up.
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The table and wood structure made it easy to get the AC unit back in place. I was not looking forward to dropping the unit and reinstalling it but it turned out to be easy. I reinstalled the AC compressor next. Unfortunately, to bolt the stand back in place I had to move the intake runner out of the way. While bolting the manifold back onto the head, I had a momentary lapse in attention and wound up with this.
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I’ll install the new dryer and vacuum the system down overnight, but I can’t start the motor until I get a new gasket.

I found this while I had the AC unit dropped. I think it’s really cool to find this kind of documentation.
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Now I know exactly when my Vanagon was on the assembly line.
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Tim Potts

Doing my best every time I drive it to dispel the myth these Vanagons have to be slow!


'89 Vanagon Bluestar/Country Homes 1.8T & .77 4th
'74 Jeep CJ5
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berkeleyjack
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PostPosted: Tue May 29, 2012 6:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oh wow, that inspection tag is an awesome find!
Cool little piece of your van's history.
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shadetreetim
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PostPosted: Wed May 30, 2012 6:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree completely berkeleyjack, which is why I put it back where I found it after taking a picture. Who knows, it may be found again 24 years from now.

I rigged the broken intake gasket enough to be able to drive around the block. Just a little masking tape holding it together for today. Hey, I just admitted it was rigged Embarassed...whatever. I have new gaskets coming from Van Cafe that should be here tomorrow. Driving around it has developed a new problem. It now cuts out horribly. Loss of power. Around 3000 RPM it was really bad. Not a slight miss here, we’re talking complete shut down for a second every 15 seconds. I started reviewing what I touched while installing the AC compressor. I verified I hadn’t pinched any wires putting the compressor stand back on. Then I took a look at the distributor and Hall Sensor wiring. The plug that is supposed to be mounted firmly within the distributor housing was broken, falling out, and allowing the Hall Sensor wires to short against the housing. There is just enough connector exposed on the back side of the rubber plug to allow it to short. I wrapped those wires in tape and zip tied the plug back into the distributor housing where it’s supposed to be. This time when I took it for a cruise it ran very well. Problem found. The zip tie should hold it well, tomorrow when I replace the intake gaskets I may use some form of sealant to glue it in place as well.

While I was ordering from Van Cafe I picked out their Front Door Glass Weatherstrip Kit. It includes the inner and outer scrapers and new felt around the back and top of the windows for both doors. I figured with the AC working I would attempt to get rid of the small whistle the passenger window has.

I also ordered some more Redtek and ProSeal this morning from the supplier in Tennessee. The nice lady on the phone asked me where I was calling from and told me they have a distributor in Colorado now that I could call if I preferred. Unfortunately I didn’t get their number.
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Tim Potts

Doing my best every time I drive it to dispel the myth these Vanagons have to be slow!


'89 Vanagon Bluestar/Country Homes 1.8T & .77 4th
'74 Jeep CJ5
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shadetreetim
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 02, 2012 6:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I’m happy to report progress today. Applause At first I wasn’t sure if that would happen. In my last post I confidently declared that I had found the problem in regards to the cutting out. I truly believed I had, it was running perfectly that evening. I didn’t drive it again until last night when we loaded up some stuff to take down to the Relay For Life event my wife had entered. Our neighbor, a mechanic, rode with us to help set it all up. It was a six mile trip to the event, and the van bucked and jerked for four of those six miles. Shocked We analyzed when it would do it and discussed possible causes. It seemed worse on uphill sections. It did it from two blocks from the house until about four miles into the trip, then ran perfectly. It was worse the more throttle I gave it, and would idle perfectly. Thirty minutes later, when we went to leave the venue, it took about ten revolutions before it started. It usually starts with just a bump of the starter. It ran poorly about half the time on the way home. But it was mostly downhill this time. My mechanic friend was suspecting the fuel pump. I thought it may be the fuel filter, and I wondered which of the injection sensors may be the culprit. Confused

This morning I pulled the filter, it flowed freely. I wiggled and jiggled wiring, and didn’t find anything wrong. I triple checked the sensor wiring connectors. I replaced both intake gaskets because I had broken the one a couple of days ago. It was time for lunch. The poor van jerked and lurched its way to my favorite burrito stand a couple of miles away. I mulled it over while munching my burrito. It didn’t seem to matter if it was cold or hot, uphill or down. I also was thinking about the fact that this motor has always seemed to have minor variables in the way it ran. Sometimes it would be perfect, other times it would be slightly off. This erratic behavior had me thinking electronics. Was this current problem an extension of that? I remembered I had purchased a used ECU while at SyncroFest, it was under the back seat. I popped it in while in the parking lot and headed home. Amazing. Literally night and day. Idle was smoother. Accelerated nicely. No hiccups, coughs, stumbles or cutouts. Cross my fingers and pray it continues to run well. Pray

I let it cool down for 4 hours and then took it on another ten mile cruise. It continues to run well. After that I swapped in the window felts and scrapers I had purchased. Now it’s time to head back over to the Relay For Life event and support my wife. They’ll be there overnight.

But before that, one last update. Last weekend I had pumped the AC system down, closed the valves on the gauges, and checked it the next day. It had lost quite a bit of pressure. But then I wondered if the lost pressure was due to a leak in the gauges or the AC system. Thursday evening I pumped down the AC system again, removed the gauges and waited until today to test it again. I had put masking tape on the gauge to mark it. This time the needle had only moved one mark. Some of that may be attributable to reattaching the gauges. When it gets here, I’ll add a can of Redtek’s Stop-Leak before I fill the RedTek. Should be good to go.

Okay, heading out now to see if the window seals leak. Embarassed I mean, head to the event to support my wife…
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Tim Potts

Doing my best every time I drive it to dispel the myth these Vanagons have to be slow!


'89 Vanagon Bluestar/Country Homes 1.8T & .77 4th
'74 Jeep CJ5
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shadetreetim
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 7:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just a quick update this morning. The window seals work great. The right window had a high pitched whistle at freeway speeds. That is gone now. I added the RedTek Stop Leak and 2 cans of RedTek last night, then took off on a 25 mile cruise. The AC was blasting cold, windows were quiet, steering was precise, suspension was supple, brakes were firm, shifter was slick, and the motor sounds smoother throughout the RPMs than it ever has. Very Happy I've been concentrating on individual systems and was finally able to appreciate the complete package. What a nice drive.

I had said many months ago that I wasn't going to try to fix the wandering idle issue as it wasn't that big a deal and I may someday inadvertently fix it. The idle wasn't too bad, it would usually spike to 2500 RPM 2-3 times while sitting at a typical light. Much better than a few months ago when it would do it every 30-45 seconds. But now it seems to be fixed. The idle drops to 850 RPM and stays there rock steady ever since I changed the computer.

Now I need to decide what to do next... before Vinnie the Vanagon decides for me. Wink
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Tim Potts

Doing my best every time I drive it to dispel the myth these Vanagons have to be slow!


'89 Vanagon Bluestar/Country Homes 1.8T & .77 4th
'74 Jeep CJ5
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kuleinc
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 5:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mine typically sits at about 1000 or so, I'm pretty sure its the leaky throttle body shaft... nice to hear all that can be fixed! I'm about to take on the A/C since its summer dirt road time, will work wonders for keeping dirt out of the cab when the windows are down Laughing
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shadetreetim
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 5:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Being able to run the AC is fantastic Kuleinc. I highly recommend spending the time to repair yours. And I can't say enough about the RedTek product. On Sunday I had a chattering teeth request to turn the AC warmer as we were being froze out with the Fan on the 3rd position and turned to the coldest setting. It was a cool 85 outside at the time. We’ll see what happens in 100 plus weather. Wink

On Sunday my son-in-law, who does not have any appreciation for older vehicles at all, got out of the Vanagon after our second 100 mile drive in two days, and was praising how comfortable it was. I'll convert you yet Bill. Laughing Next thing he knows he'll have a Vanagon parked next to his house. Shocked

I took the old computer apart today to look at the solder joints. The first thing I noticed is there is no “D” in the part number. I had assumed an ’89 had a “D” unit. Oh well, the replacement computer I bought wasn’t a “D” either. I put 200 miles on the new computer this weekend. It continued to run flawlessly. The motor has never sounded smoother. Idle was consistent at 850. Ran out on the highway at 75 MPH. Lugged through parking lots without jerking. Nice improvement overall. It does seem to make a little less power than the other computer (when the old one was at its best anyway). But back to the solder joints… I took it apart and there seems to be multiple bad solder joints on the main board. The secondary board looks great. In the pictures of the main board there are multiple discolored joints that indicate they have been overheating. The easiest to see is the 40 connections where the ribbon cable is connecting the two boards. Every solder joint has overheated. Then there are 15 other solder joints with overheating marks. I plan on cleaning out the old solder and repairing those 55 connections. Tedious work? Sure. But I’m interested to see if this computer performs better than the other one if it has good solder joints. And at this point this old computer is worthless to me. If I fubar it up, so be it.

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Tim Potts

Doing my best every time I drive it to dispel the myth these Vanagons have to be slow!


'89 Vanagon Bluestar/Country Homes 1.8T & .77 4th
'74 Jeep CJ5
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shadetreetim
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 5:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I’ve been putting miles on the Vanagon the past few weeks. Happy to report the AC is still blowing cold. And the computer is working extremely well. Coming to a stop is a new experience. Push in the clutch and the idle drops to 850 and stays there, rock steady. The motor sounds so much smoother throughout the RPM range. I had imagined that the ratio rockers and turbo muffler was contributing to the slightly ragged idle. Turns out with the computer swap the exhaust sounds much more civilized. I kind of miss the old exhaust tone. Before, several of my friends had made comments about how aggressive it sounded; now I doubt they will even notice it. But this new exhaust tone inspires confidence. The off idle hesitation is gone. Bucking at parking lot speeds, gone. Dying when it’s cold, gone. Wondering how many more miles are left in this old waterboxer… not gone but certainly not as frequent.

I did a quick run across all the overheated solder joints on the old computer, just heating them until the solder flashed. After that I swapped it back in to see if it made a difference. It seemed a little better, but still had problems, so I swapped it back out. I still plan on re-soldering each bad connection, but it’s on the back burner of things to do for now. Of course it may be a bad part on the board causing it to overheat. We’ll see.

I’ve been gathering a few more parts. I had a leak in the old used oil cooler / filter adapter I had so a while back I pulled the auxiliary oil cooler off. I picked up a new adapter and plan on putting the cooler back on. I may find a new spot to mount the cooler to get better airflow across it.

On the topic of oil leaks, one of my push rod tubes has a slight weep. On top of that I have 7 factory style tubes and 1 oddball spring loaded tube. That bugged me so I ordered a new set from CB Performance. They came in today.
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I’m still waiting on the SPAL Electric Windows Conversion Kit from A1 Electronics. I’ve been waiting impatiently ever since I ordered them yesterday. Laughing They’re only coming from Torrance. Come on. Get here already. My Vanagon came with electric door locks and electric mirrors, but manual crank windows. Not for long. I’ve read good things about the SPAL kits. A1 had the kit, with flush mount switches included, on sale for $149. Not a bad price.

My electric locks don’t work so while I have the door panels off I want to have a look at that. I know the slider lock is missing the arm from the actuator to the latch. Who knows what they did on the front doors. I don’t care too much about the slider, I just want both front doors to lock and unlock when the driver’s door is. And I don’t care about a remote either. If need be I could live with a lock/unlock button on the dash. We’ll see what I find missing or broken beneath the door panels.
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Tim Potts

Doing my best every time I drive it to dispel the myth these Vanagons have to be slow!


'89 Vanagon Bluestar/Country Homes 1.8T & .77 4th
'74 Jeep CJ5
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shadetreetim
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 27, 2012 8:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Checking the tracking status of the SPAL Electric Window Kit, I saw it was scheduled to arrive today. That’s pretty fast, I just ordered it this week. Good job A1 Electronics. Knowing it would be getting there, I rushed home from work this afternoon. UPS hadn’t arrived yet, but I went ahead and got started taking the door panel off. I wanted to check out the non-functional electric door locks anyway. I think I found out why the driver’s door doesn’t work… it’s missing. Shocked
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About then UPS showed up with the parts. Thanks dude. The kit looks pretty complete with instructions and parts for many different vehicles.
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Picking through the parts I found the adapter for a VW crank and got the 1st motor installed. In this picture I still need to put in the locking screw between the small adapter and the large adapter.
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As I was installing the motor I was studying on where to put the switches. The best spot seemed to be under the mirror switch because there was a big relief area in the door metal.
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The spacing of the switches under the mirror control was critical. Too high and the mirror wiring would interfere. Too low and the switches would be into the cloth area of the door panel. Aesthetically I didn’t want that. I measured and marked out the opening I needed, then cut it out using a box knife. Ready to install.
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Moving back into the van, I needed to run the wire through the boot. I should have done this before mounting the motor. I pulled the motor back out to get access to the boot through the jamb. I managed to push this piece of #12 TW Wire through the boot from the dash side. It was difficult because there’s a 90 degree on both ends and under the dash it’s awkward to reach.
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Once I had the #12 through I taped the wires to it and pulled them through, then routed them though the dash. I waffled between connecting them up to a constant hot, or through a key-in triggered relay. I decided on the constant hot for now, although I may still change my mind.

Driver’s door complete. The switches provided in the kit look pretty good. They’re lighted as well, tied into the dash light circuit. I’ll have to wait until it gets dark to see how they look.
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The passenger side was easier to run the wire through the jamb since I could move the glove box for easy access. The single switch was simpler to install without the mirror control wiring in the way. This side went very fast since I was copying the side I just did.
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These motors are very quiet. You can’t even hear them with the door panels in place. Both motors move the windows smoothly and quickly. What a nice upgrade for a few hours work and it’s relatively inexpensive as well.

Now the door locks are a different story. Mad I don’t want or need a remote but I may buy the kit from A1 just to get the actuators.
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Doing my best every time I drive it to dispel the myth these Vanagons have to be slow!


'89 Vanagon Bluestar/Country Homes 1.8T & .77 4th
'74 Jeep CJ5
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shadetreetim
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 1:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was given an Addco Rear Sway bar the other day. It came with most of the mounting hardware, but it is missing a couple of small brackets that bolt to the suspension arms, and the u-bolts. Looking at others install threads it doesn’t look like it will be hard to make something that works. The sway bar itself doesn’t look like it has ever been installed.
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I also got this throttle body off of the Karma thread. It looks to be in pretty good shape. I plan on cleaning it up and installing it. I don’t know how worn the one on the motor is, but with over 200K it is probably worn more than this one.
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I found these at Kmart today on sale for $9.99 each. A solid wall conversion kit and a screened enclosure conversion kit. Even though they are a different brand, they look like they should fit my EZ-Up. At this price I thought it was worth the gamble.
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Now all I need to do is brave the heat and get outside to do some actual work. Laughing
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Tim Potts

Doing my best every time I drive it to dispel the myth these Vanagons have to be slow!


'89 Vanagon Bluestar/Country Homes 1.8T & .77 4th
'74 Jeep CJ5
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kuleinc
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 3:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Awe man, I JUST missed that throttle body, mine is worn enough when I come to stops it idles at like 1200 RPM, but if I blip the throttle ounce or twice it usually settles down. No hard feelings, I did sort of just buy a 1.8T jetta Laughing Its throttle body works just fine Very Happy
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shadetreetim
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Location: Riverside, California
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 25, 2012 6:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My Saturday has been eventful. But the story begins during the week. I’ve been up in Los Osos since Tuesday on a jobsite. Los Osos just happens to be the home of GoWesty, so every morning heading over to the jobsite I would cruise by and ogle the Vanagons. For lunch I would hit Sylvesters Burgers a block away from GoWesty. In the evening… you get the picture. Well if there is one thing looking at Vanagons makes me want to do, it is work on mine. I was finally able to get back home to Riverside Friday night about 11:00 PM. My wife informs me she needs to work on Saturday. Perfect, I can wrench on Vinnie. I’ve had an oil leak for a while (the size of a quarter) and want to put on the new push rod tubes, new oil cooler adapter and re-plumb my oil pressure sending unit.
I needed to pick up a couple of AN barbed fittings this morning, then it was time to work. I got the push rod tubes ready.
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Then it was time to get dirty. I started on the drivers side.
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I was only able to slide one push rod out because of the coolant line that runs directly in the way. The one I could get out was bent. Shocked I got the others out by bending the tubes enough to slide them past the coolant line.
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I hopped in my 57 to see if Blodgetts Repair in San Bernardino had a replacement. They do repair work for Pop Top Heaven in Yucaipa so they see plenty of Vanagons. In my haste I neglected to check my fuel. I hate the feeling of cruising in the fast lane and the engine dies. I coasted to the side. Fortunately I was only a block from a gas station.
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To top it off, Blodgetts was already closed when I got there. Mad
Returning home I pulled off the passenger side. When I removed the rocker arms, my year old swivel foot fell off in my hand. This job is going to take longer than I thought.
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So I can’t finish either side until I get a couple of parts. Time to quit for the day before I find something else. Laughing
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Tim Potts

Doing my best every time I drive it to dispel the myth these Vanagons have to be slow!


'89 Vanagon Bluestar/Country Homes 1.8T & .77 4th
'74 Jeep CJ5
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GrindGarage
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 25, 2012 7:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I look forward to seeing updates on this thread. Not this time. Hope you get it sorted out. It is a reminder of why my van is part suby. I know this can start some chatter on this forum and I respect that you keep the van OG and look forward to seeing your fix.
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shadetreetim
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 1:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks. I have to admit an engine swap is enticing. I vacillate between a desire to keep the waterboxer, drool over turbo diesels, consider the 1.8T, and last on my list is the Subie. All of which I can make excellent arguments (in my head) for which one to choose.

So far, the waterboxer has been my cheapest option and I'm not tired of it yet. And there are several mods still available to improve its performance which I would like to explore. The RMW/10cent exhaust being one. A 2.2/cam upgrade being another. And this new option for an ecu from GoWesty is interesting.

Whichever path chosen means investing at a minimum another 5K into it. So for now I'll keep wrenching away until I can narrow down my choice to one.
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Tim Potts

Doing my best every time I drive it to dispel the myth these Vanagons have to be slow!


'89 Vanagon Bluestar/Country Homes 1.8T & .77 4th
'74 Jeep CJ5
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shadetreetim
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Joined: January 10, 2011
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Location: Riverside, California
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 10:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In the interest of getting back on the road quickly, (I have to make it to the Bus Movie this Saturday in Temecula) I decided to remove the ratio rockers and reinstall the stock ones. Should be easy right? I got by Blodgetts on Monday and picked up a used push rod for $4.00. Got everything bolted back together and went to start it up. It cranked a couple of times and didn’t catch. This is where I feel the need to insert a couple of disclaimers; a) I had taken allergy medicine, and b) I also have my old truck with a carburetor and electric choke. So I mindlessly gave it a couple of full throttle pumps without thinking. Embarassed Wrong move. After that I cranked for a long time and it never even tried to fire. Figuring it was flooded, I headed inside to curl up in my recliner and enjoy my allergies. Brick wall

Tuesday evening it fired up after a couple of revolutions. Great. Only problem was it was clattering and would barely run. I’ll drive it around the block to pump up the lifters, I thought. It didn’t get any better, so I backed it in the driveway, sputtering the whole time, went inside and curled up in my recliner again. Damn allergies. :2gunfire: Damn hydraulic lifters. Why can't I adjust them with it running like I do my Chevy's?

Tonight I figured I would drive it for 10 minutes and see if it would start running better. So after work I hopped in, fired it up, and, it was running perfect. What the... Shocked So I took off on a 10 mile cruise and it’s running great. I thought I would see a substantial drop off in performance but it wasn’t that much.

I’m going to think about the ratio rockers a bit before I reinstall them. Think Before I do that I need to buy a set of Rhino Feet adjusters. Their design looks to be far superior to the ones included with the CB Performance ratio rockers. The CB ones have a little ball with a flat spot that faces the valve. Orienting that flat spot was a pain. Not to mention the fact that one broke off. But before I spend any money I need to decide if I should build a custom set of rockers. With the stock cam, would a set of 1.1 intake and 1.25 exhaust work better? The all square 1.25's may be creating too much overlap.

Things to ponder. Meanwhile Vinnie’s back on the road. And so far, no oil leaks, Dancing which is why I began this particular journey in the first place.
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Tim Potts

Doing my best every time I drive it to dispel the myth these Vanagons have to be slow!


'89 Vanagon Bluestar/Country Homes 1.8T & .77 4th
'74 Jeep CJ5
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