What did YOU do to your van today?

[dabaron]

[mikemtnbike]

[dabaron]

[Michael4104]

[campism]

Moved the Westy out of the lee of the house where I'd parked it in prep for Florence. My wife's new car got the garage.

We already had record wet this summer even before the 'cane. Sorry, California. Terrible summer for mosquitos and gnats when you're trying to do anything outside.
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'87 Westy in Wolfram Grey Metallic

[bobbyblack]

Got home, pushed the garage door up wit my prop stick and when walking back to put Floss in, noticed a drip. About 2 drips in 10 seconds. Ugh! Backed her in. Will have to get the shield off and take inventory on what all's gone wrong

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

[dabaron]

The weather cleared up and I got to do some work on the Vanagon...

I swapped the wheels and inspected the brakes.

_________________
1991 Vanagon GL Camper
i had no idea i wanted to be a mechanic
"burnin oil and cookin coils" -- Destructo

BiWerks Design, LLC

[Rich_T]

Removed the on-the-road power window repair kit (door/window shim), replaced the regulator assembly, and put the shims back in my spares kit under the bench seat for future use.

[dhaavers]

OK...not so much TO, but FOR...

20% sale, "name-brand-(Crescent)-but-still-made-in-China-&/or-Taiwan" 3/4" drive 1-13/16ths socket & T-handle
(under $25 total)... Sets me up to be ready for full brakes AND rear bearing service later this fall <or> next spring.

FWIW: Rear axle nut covers courtesy of "Scotchgard" aeresol spray can caps + Krylon "hammered finish" spray paint
to match steel wheel finish...fit perfectly!

Did I mention that I'm cheap...???



- Dave
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86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS>

[bobbyblack]

Dave, nice tool

I got mine back in 1988, US made. I've used it 3 times, this last time was on the kids '86, and of course a long cheater bar. Well, now the breaker bar has a good bend at the end, never did get the nuts off with it, had to order the EMPI bang-off tool, and that was also no fun nor easy.

My research here leads me towards taking the socket along to your friendly fixit shop, and have your pal spin off the nuts with a big air hammer, then clean with wire brush, and put back on with the 300ish ft#'s you'd have just with your foot on the end of your bar. Drive home, then do your project with relative ease.
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'87 Westy 'Flossie','86 Westy 'R1','86 tintop GL - Subi2.2 'J2','83.5 stock tintop L 'ZoomBus','74 Karmann Ghia, '63 Notch

[dhaavers]

Catching up on a few pieces of documentation this weekend...(recent thread about spare gas onboard reminded me to post):

I love having some spare fuel especially on road trips, but I also HATE the hillbilly look of a tall red gas can up in the
luggage rack... My answer involves a commercial low-profile steel can (many types available...I settled on this 5 gal):

...wrapped in Reflectix (camouflage+insulation) & 4-way strapped into the rack...no bungees, please... :

...with a ground cable & small battery clip wired to the can, then clipped to luggage rack bolt for electrical bonding
to the van frame (to prevent sparks when siphoning or refilling):

Once strapped in & under way there's no need to take it down or move it at all until the trip is done, because:

- being electrically bonded to the frame, filling at the pump can be done in place
(following normal precautions - touch frame of van before placing nozzle & filling)

- siphon to 2WD van tank directly below with standard "jiggle" siphon (at least 7' for 2WD):

This worked a treat in Utah last June, & definitely needed it a couple times on the road.
Plus, I could afford it... (Need I remind y'all I'm cheap...???)

- Dave

[bobbyblack]

Got shield off, wiped around with rag. Oil leaking out of sender boot, pulled boot to a gush of oil. Cleaned that up, wiped it again and stuck my head up there to watch... About 20 seconds from wipe down to this much oil leaking at the spade connector... Showed pic to daughter who remarked "take the one from my blown engine, you can have the whole rig with the sender/sensor/adapter too, it won't go on my subi swap anyway" ... What a sweetheart

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

[jimf909]

[jimf909]

I continued work on the “box too big”. This is intended to hold the propane hot water heater and some gear that never needs to go into the van (jack, leveling ramps, a modest recovery kit, possibly tire chains, etc.). Trash will also live in this box (I think it’s a more attractive, more critter resistant solution than a Trasharoo). I may store things like a bow saw and hatchet inside on the door.

The box is made of 3/4” ply joined with pocket screws. A piano hinge, gas springs, stainless latch (not yet installed) and weather stripping finish it off. It fits the width of the RMW tray And is about 2” deeper. If the large size doesn’t grow on me I’ll first trim the depth to match the RMW tray. Next step will be to shorten it about 4” if it’s still too big. I really don’t want to keep too much stuff (weight) in this box.

The white is primer, it will be painted black.

p.s. Working with gas springs is fun. I’ve learned: that the cylinder goes at the top; with the right pressure spring they just need to be attached a few inches from the hinge; proper positioning of the pivots will allow the spring to both hold the door open and closed; and, McMaster-Carr is a great source for all of the bits.
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- Jim

[GypsyDriver]

[fishgo]

Are those bike racks from 1up? I was wondering how those worked in a vertical configuration as I might consider them.

[jimf909]

[jimf909]

[dabaron]

Yesterday after work (and in the rain, come on!) i installed a modern digital media receiver. The power is switched via a fog light switch in the dash.

the wonderful part of a modern software/DSP based receiver is the ability to setup the audio configuration for the size of the speakers. the unit takes care of the cross-over network to put the right frequencies at the speaker.

_________________
1991 Vanagon GL Camper
i had no idea i wanted to be a mechanic
"burnin oil and cookin coils" -- Destructo

BiWerks Design, LLC

[Zeitgeist 13]

What's the point of having a separate on/off switch?
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Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?