1991 Multivan TDI build

[Jon_slider]

thanks for funding further research
I hope you will add your experience and impressions once your SPOT Trace has some use.

btw, I do not get royalties, but, Im open to them.. LOL (my kids say I should start a blog so I can get free samples.. hmmm)
_________________
My Soapboxes: Inflation; Handling; Gearing; Decoupling; Swepco

[Multiman mv]

We just took our van off island for another weekend adventure. We were lucky enough to get a ferry reservation to and from the mainland which isn't easy to do in mid august. We drove up to a wedding on the north shore of Massachusetts in Gloucester. It was a beautiful drive and the van performed wonderfully. I was able to really test out the new SPOT trace. It's a pretty neat device.

A screen shot of part of our track.

While parked near the head of Gloucester harbor, visiting a friend before the wedding, we came back to our van with this note stuck under the windshield wiper. From afar, I thought we got a parking ticket. It ended up being a note from a fellow Vanagon enthusiast who looked out their window, saw our van and just wanted to talk Vanagon for a bit. The people ended up being a really nice couple who had just bought an 87 tintop and were possibly considering a conversion. I of course directed them to the FAS website. They both greatly appreciated all of the work that went into the van so far.

All in all it was a good trip. My wife and I camped out in the van and both slept very well, though awaking early to the sounds of squawking gulls and foghorns from our campsite at a friends house in Beverly farms.

[Multiman mv]

Finally got to test out the eberspacher this morning. Hard to believe that I'd need it on September 2nd but it is pretty crisp out here. I parked the van by one of my favorite beaches, watched the sunrise, and had a relaxing morning while watching the news, drank a cup of tea, (coffee turns me in to real jackass) all in the warmth of the van with the thermostat set to 70 degrees. I had the iPad hooked up to the stereo and listened to the tv in surround sound. A poor mans waterfront property. Sounds a little crazy but these fleeting moments of serenity are greatly appreciated especially after a long week at work.

The van has been running great. I just took it in for its first, well I guess third oil change if you count the first couple of changes up at FAS. I also had them install a new speedometer with correction for gearing and tire size. My original speedometer worked though the odometer and tripometer were both broken.

While at my local mechanics for the work stated above, they found some oil in the coolant. My heart nearly sank as visions of failed head gaskets and cracked blocks swirled through my head. My fears were quickly assuaged as both my local mechanic and FAS suspected a failure of the oil cooler. FAS said that they encountered maybe two out of 1000 conversions with a failed oil cooler. Unfortunately it is just one of those things that happens. FAS uses the absolute best cooler that they can get their hands on and this one just failed internally.

I have to say that FAS was awesome in how they dealt with the issue. They offered up lots of support and concern and were great in communicating with my local mechanic Matt. They are taking care of the invoice without hesitation. Long story short, the new oil cooler was installed and the coolant is free of any traces of oil. Crisis averted and thankful that I went with such an honorable company.

[Multiman mv]

Well thanks to a string of tropical systems in the Atlantic, the waves have been pumping. We've had weeks of swell and I've been able to use our van as I always intended. Boards loaded on top, early mornings with the eberspacher set to 70 degrees while getting into my wetsuit with tunes going. It's been such a great base while on local surfari. I have everything I need and it's a great thing to come back to after a long session and a great way to shake the chill. I've had the endless supply of cold beers in the arb and me and my mates have been doing some serious hanging at the beach. While we've been having the endless summer up here in the northeast, my thoughts go out to all the people in the carribean and Florida who saw a much darker side of these hurricanes. My buddy just got back from St John and said it looked like a nuclear explosion went off. Total devastation. We are sending our thoughts and prayers to everyone affected by these storms.

[flyboyaviator]

Hi! Multivan, congrats on your very beautiful van, and with the diesel upgrade is now a super beautiful Westfalia.

[Jon_slider]

Living the Dream!

So glad the van is working in every way
thanks for the photos

here is a post by another Vanagonaut Surfer and samba member, "just" down the coast from you (1000 miles or so)

[snwbrdr435]

[Multiman mv]

[Multiman mv]

[quote="Jon_slider"]Living the Dream!

So glad the van is working in every way
thanks for the photos

here is a post by another Vanagonaut Surfer and samba member, "just" down the coast from you (1000 miles or so)


Thanks. We've been having a blast with the van both on island and off. I love the baby blue high top. Thanks for the link!

[Multiman mv]

[Jon_slider]

Back in the day. 5cyl Tdi Syncro Westy.
My MultiPurposeSurfVan

_________________
My Soapboxes: Inflation; Handling; Gearing; Decoupling; Swepco

[Multiman mv]

[Multiman mv]

Our first night in vershire Vermont at a friends farm. Spent the night camping out with the kids and woke up to a beautiful scene. It was on two previous trips to Vermont that I decided on an engine conversion. Some of the long inclines that humbled the old waterboxer to 40 mph in the breakdown lane were no match for the tdi. These trips up north used to be riddled with anxious moments, often wondering if the surging or bucking van would make it the entire way. The drive up this time was a wonderful experience because of the tdi.

[Farfromslow]

We just saw your van at the gondolas, looks nice in person. Makes me wish we had our orly van here this weekend, have fun.

[Multiman mv]

[Multiman mv]

[Farfromslow]

My kids first ride in a gondola too, there have been a lot of vans up here this weekend. My post the other day was just offering some help to someone stuck on the cape, I own a shop in Brewster, we do a ton of vanagon work. Our westy is happily running perfect. I would love to check out the FAS conversion in person sometime if your down out way

[Multiman mv]

[Multiman mv]

A little update on the original oil cooler failure. Over the past month I noticed a very small amount of residual oil accumulating in the coolant reservoir. Because of the residual oil, I just did a partial bleed of the cooling system, mainly at the radiator and drained and cleaned the coolant reservoir. We were able to raise the tail end of the van up a bit to get a little more coolant to come out of the bleeder valve up front. This partial coolant flush seems have eliminated all traces of oil in the system.

The van continues to run like a dream and we are enjoying it on a daily basis and especially for weekend road trips. We have another short trip planned for next weekend and the kids are looking forward to sleeping in the van again.

[llilibel03]