Van Wankel coolant upgrades and transaxle R&R

[Bleyseng]

You need to install a 13b turbo 2 engine as a upgrade
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70 Ghia Black convert-9/69 build date-stock w/133k 1600 SP-barn find now with a rebuilt tranny and engine
77 Westy 2.0L w/Ljet, Camper Special engine-95hp and with LSD!(sold)
76 Porsche 914 2.1L L20c, 120hp Djet (sold)
87 Syncro Westy Titan Red 2.1L 2 knob 100k miles

[truckersmike]

[Bleyseng]

Like this one in my son's 84 GSL. Sure it wouldn't fit? Definitely a screamer.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/2227950.jpg
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70 Ghia Black convert-9/69 build date-stock w/133k 1600 SP-barn find now with a rebuilt tranny and engine
77 Westy 2.0L w/Ljet, Camper Special engine-95hp and with LSD!(sold)
76 Porsche 914 2.1L L20c, 120hp Djet (sold)
87 Syncro Westy Titan Red 2.1L 2 knob 100k miles

[truckersmike]

[truckersmike]

There are several people, in various diesel radiator upgrade threads, that have said they used the diesel fan shroud but photos and specific instructions seem to be lacking. Now, I'll be the first to admit that I am not a great fabricator but this seems like it's going to work, at least for now until I can get a pair of late Vanagon lower brackets.

I happen to have a few sheets of aluminum signs that I put to good use to make the brackets to attach the fan shroud to the radiator. The screws I got from my local VW dealership (about $1.13 each) to mount it. Then I used the same sheet to cut an upper bracket.

The way I reused the lower diesel brackets were to cut off one end of the molded anti-vibration mount, just below the flat plate, and tuck it back under the shroud and through the original hole. I also made use of two screw mounts on the lower radiator which will help make the install more secure.

Everything is just mocked up right now but it really happy with the results. The radiator has no play and it's not even fully secured. If I can't find lower brackets, one idea I have to make it even more secure is to weld a piece of flat steel 90(ish) degrees across the bracket to help secure it at the correct location.

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59 DD panel. Former Romano's TV delivery bus
67 Westy SO-42 pop-t

[jimf909]

[truckersmike]

Radiator is now mounted and new coolant pipes installed. I went with the 1.9l pipes and they were not easy to get over the tank but they did finally go in after 30-40 minutes of trial and error. From other photos, it looks like they are sticking out too far? Next, I'll need to find front hoses.

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59 DD panel. Former Romano's TV delivery bus
67 Westy SO-42 pop-t

[truckersmike]

For the most part, this cooling system upgrade has gone smooth with the exceptions of trying to find any coolant hoses that will work with the RX7 motor. Even finding lines for the radiator to SS pipes hasn't been easy. I've been to every FLAPS in town with no real luck. The jerk at O'Reilley's refused to even look at hoses without a vehicle or part number he could look up first. Because of this, last night I spent WAY too many hours searching on line and going through radiator hose catalogs (which was very helpful) looking for anything that might work and seeing where it's available.

There was one hose that I discovered that may work for the water pump outlet and the outlet of the radiator if I cut it in half. That one is on order, along with a possible candidate for the lower return line into the motor.

In the mean time, I'm trying to determine if I should just reuse the custom steal piping the PO set up in the engine compartment. The outside has surface rust but the inside doesn't look too bad. Perhaps I can soak it in CLR to get any corrosion out but then I would want to find some way of treating the inside, that won't hurt the cooling system. If anyone has suggestions, let me know. Plan B would be to use long lengths of marine coolant line ($3.40/ft at my local industrial supply) to wrap around the engine. This would require coming up with a support system to keep them in place.

Yesterday, I installed 15ft of new heater hose and while i was at it, I took out the shut-off valve the PO installed to control the heat and reinstalled the correct valve that I found in the glove box. Now I don't have to awkwardly reach over while driving to control the temperature. Still not sure what that was all about.

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59 DD panel. Former Romano's TV delivery bus
67 Westy SO-42 pop-t

[82westyrabbit]

The radiator mounts looks good. John

[truckersmike]

[truckersmike]

Finished mocking up the coolant system and it looks like I can ditch using the old steel pipes the PO had installed in the engine compartment. Just need a few support brackets to prevent the outflow hose from rubbing up against the alternator fan belt.

The mid 80's Dodge hose I order worked perfect for both the return on the radiator and the output on the water pump. The bend matches up exactly to what was already in there so I have to conclude it's the same the PO used. All I need to finish the cooling system is 11 feet of marine coolant line, a fan switch and coolant. Then I can work on the transaxle leaks and the sticky clutch arm. Once that's done, I can slap it all back together and get back on the road.

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59 DD panel. Former Romano's TV delivery bus
67 Westy SO-42 pop-t

[truckersmike]

It's been raining so much here that it's been almost impossible to make any progress on Van Wankel but today I played ketchup.

Earlier in the week, I scraped off 40 years worth dirt and oil from the transaxle then yanked the flanges off to replace the leaking seals. Both flanges came off fairly easily but not the seals. The passenger side came off with a few whacks but I nearly completely destroyed the driver's side to the point where I thought I'd have to cut it. Before yanking on it one last time, I hit it a few times on the edge and that finally did the trick. Now all seals are in including one for the input shaft. After that, I looked into why the clutch lever was sticky. There wasn't anything obvious so I just cleaned it and gave it new grease and now it's a bit smoother.

Yesterday, the correct length pop-top seal arrived from BD and a fan switch for the radiator, that I got off ebay, also came. It wasn't raining this morning so I got both installed before the weather went to shite again. For some reason, I found installing the seal very satisfying like writing with a nice pen or popping bubble wrap. The rear corners were a bit tricky but otherwise it was pretty simple.

When the deluge finally subsided, it was time to tackle pulling the old brass input shaft bearing in the crank of the 13b. This is supposed to be a pilot bearing with a seal but I guess back in the day, KEP went with brass instead. Knowing these bearings are smaller than most, I took the new one to O'Reilly's but their puller was too big. Fortunately in our town, Autozone is right next door and theirs did seem to fit but when I tried it, the arms were too rounded out and wouldn't grab so I took it back. Then I hit up NAPA and they had the same tool as O'Reilly's but someone had modified it to fit small bearings so I gave that a shot. Welp, that was a big fat no. The slide hammer was so long that I couldn't use it under the van. Instead, I tried to use a block of wood, a pickle fork and a big persuader but that bushing wouldn't budge. After over an hour of trying, I broke down and attacked it with a chisel and busted it in half. I got it to spin then managed to use the puller to get it out. Now the new pilot bearing and seal are installed, along with the clutch, which means the tranny is next.

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59 DD panel. Former Romano's TV delivery bus
67 Westy SO-42 pop-t