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Pretty Normal Vanagon Build - Project little Van.
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dobryan
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 16, 2021 6:36 pm    Post subject: Re: Pretty Normal Vanagon Build - Project little Van. Reply with quote

Nice clean work. Me likey! Very Happy
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vwhammer
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 21, 2021 11:26 pm    Post subject: Re: Pretty Normal Vanagon Build - Project little Van. Reply with quote

Quick, tiny update.

After getting my trans cooler/filter arrangement sorted I started running line and got about 20% through it when I realized I needed some different fittings.

Having sorted out the fittings I decided to work on the engine oil cooler stuff.

I still needed to work out where to mount the thermo bypass unit and figure out how to mount everything as nicely as possible.

I removed every part of the engine oil cooler system and had to start from scratch to get a grip on how that would all connect.

After nearly three hours think I had it sorted.

I flip flopped between running one or two filters several times in order to make line routing tidy.

After some head scratching I was able to sort it out with both filters still in place.

The filter housings would both still mount in the same place but the side connecting unit would need replace with a top feeding unit.
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The oil cooler and fan would get flipped around so the inlet and outlet faced the front of the van rather than the rear.
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I also decided that it made more sense to put the fan on the outside of the cooler and blow in towards the engine rather than on the engine side blowing out.

In reality the fan probably will not run that much but it made sense to blow air from under the van across the cooler rather than drawing air from the hot engine across the oil cooler.

So with the inlet and outlet of the cooler flipped and the filter housings sorted I decided on a location for the thermo bypass.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


With all the routing sorted it became apparent that I needed a bunch of new fittings to route everything the way I wanted.

I ordered the new filter housing and all the fittings which should be there this week then I can knock the rest of that out.

After that I think I will tackle the engine harness in the hope that I might finally be able to fire this thing up.

There is still a couple of things to do after that so I can drive but to have the van running will be a pretty major step to say the least...
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vwhammer
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 28, 2021 5:03 pm    Post subject: Re: Pretty Normal Vanagon Build - Project little Van. Reply with quote

Well, after working for a couple of days flipping and turning and moving components around on the engine oil cooler system in an attempt to get everything routed nicely without getting in the way of anything else, I decided to kind of start over.

Clearly the location of most things was just not going to work.

I also decided that getting two filters plumbed in nicely was not going to happen in the space I had to work with.

After more head scratching, things started laying out like so.
New single filter location.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


My thermo bypass would end up somewhere in this area.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Made a bracket to hold the bypass and started plumbing.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Rearranging components accomplished a couple of things.

For starters, most of my oil hose runs are pretty short.
Secondly all of the oil cooler and filter system is now attached to the engine.

That's not really a big advantage or anything like that but I really wanted most things attached to the engine so it could be dropped without disconnecting a bunch of things between the engine and chassis.

It does not really seem like I got a lot done but it really is mind blowing how long some of this stuff takes to sort out.

I did get my finished exhaust back from my welder friend.
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Its all mounted up now with the 02 sensor in place.

I took my trans cooler out today so I can take the shroud to work to drill and tap it for my fan.

Still waiting on a few more fittings and I can wrap up the last line on the oil cooler and start routing the trans cooler.

I also have a heat shield that will mount to the trans cooler bracket to try to protect the cooler from the nearby secondary exhaust pipes.

Really getting close to firing this thing up.

Once the coolers are done I will move on to engine wiring and fill everything with fluids to attempt a first start.

Fingers crossed things will start looking better with covid so I can hopefully start using this thing for what it was built.
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erste
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 28, 2021 10:29 pm    Post subject: Re: Pretty Normal Vanagon Build - Project little Van. Reply with quote

so clean!
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vwhammer
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 13, 2021 10:13 pm    Post subject: Re: Pretty Normal Vanagon Build - Project little Van. Reply with quote

Well another wee beebee update.

These parts have been particularly thought intensive so I have not been thinking too much about getting pics.

Anyway I sorted out all the routing for my trans cooler and filter set up.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

You may notice the little loop in my filter set up connecting the left and right filter.

I could have run some 90 degree fittings to eliminate that but there are two problems.
1. The filters are too close together so the 90s actually hit eat other when mounted up.
2. You also can't run two 90s in the same filter housing because they hit when trying to screw them in and I needed at least one 90 on one of the housings for the run back to the trans.

More or less that's was about all I could come up with without redoing a bunch of things.
I just want to get this together and make it run.

This set up did not work out at all like I wanted and will be a real pain to remove or replace any parts because there are no swivels so you can undo the lines on a lot of the runs.

Once it's running and driving I am going to redo both the trans and oil cooler set ups with some custom hydro lines, different fittings and maybe some different housings for the filters.

This will all be able to be plumbed on the bench then installed and simply connected to the engine or trans.

So now that the cooler/filter set ups are functional it was finally time to move on to the wiring.
This mess is the only pic I got of that process so far.
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More or less I was just connecting the bits I have and trying to sort out how to lay it all out.

I need to shorten some things and lengthen some things.
Some might have seen my other thread asking about wiring so there was a lot of head scratching and crossed eyes looking at wiring diagrams.

Today I managed to cut of the plug for my intake air sensor thinking it was the plug for the evap purge solenoid as they look identical and will both plug into the same plug.

I then sorted out that the purge valve is controlled by the ECU and connects to the ECU harness not the engine harness.

Meh live and learn.
I need to mod some wires anyway so I will just hook it back up.

Getting real close to the point where I can put fluids in it and attempt a little test fire.

If that works it will all get pulled back out loomed up and reinstalled.

Then a couple of things in the steering and suspension department, some final assembly and a spanner check and it's time for a maiden voyage.
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vwhammer
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 31, 2021 7:07 am    Post subject: Re: Pretty Normal Vanagon Build - Project little Van. Reply with quote

Seems downright nutty that I have not posted an update in here in a minute.
Lots of things going on.
Also seems crazy that I have not mentioned in this thread that I am moving to Colorado but that is my primary reason for putting the van on hold.

I really wanted to have it running in time to drive it to CO but with all the housework we have been doing there was no time.

Now the van will be heading to the new place on a trailer and work will commence once we get settled there.

Anyway, I needed to get the van prepped for the shippers to come pick it up next week so, for the first time in nearly 3 years, I have the old girl rolling on her new suspension and out of the garage.
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The front sits at about 18.75 inches from wheel center to fender lip.
The rear is about 19 inches.

This will likely settle a bit and I am ok with that.

As it sits right now I have about 10 inches of ground clearance under the engine.
This will drop by .25 to .375 inches once the skid plate is installed and obviously a little more once it settles.
Not quite what I was looking for but it will likely work just fine for anything that I would do with this 2wd van.

Obviously, the plan is to wrap up the engine wiring so it runs and the brakes so it stops but, as with any project, I have some future upgrades that I hope will improve upon some of the things I didn't quite get right.
Maybe a new intake so I can raise the engine back up 2 inches is a good idea.

I won't get into too much of all that until we are moved and things start happening but really hoping to at least get it drivable sometime in august because I still have tickets to Descend On Bend that I would really like to use.
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vwhammer
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 08, 2021 2:13 pm    Post subject: Re: Pretty Normal Vanagon Build - Project little Van. Reply with quote

Van was loaded on a trailer and should be at our new place in Boulder tomorrow.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Our Moving truck is also supposed to show up tomorrow so I will have to take a couple of days to get the house set up but after that, I hope to thrash on the van and see if I can get it ready to make the drive to Descend on Bend.
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vwhammer
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 06, 2022 8:54 pm    Post subject: Re: Pretty Normal Vanagon Build - Project little Van. Reply with quote

To say things are moving slowly at this point would be an understatement.
It's been ten months since I posted an update here.
Alas, not much has changed.

Life whirls about without even an inkling that you might be struggling to keep up.

I did a pretty good job of getting tossed around in this cyclone... Ok, cyclone might be a bit of an exaggeration but at the very least it was a decent sized dust devil and it did a fine job of derailing my focus.

Can't say that focus is back to 100% but I have at least felt the buzz lately so I'm gonna roll with it to try to make a bit more progress and maybe drive this thing this year.

Winter came
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And winter went
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During that time I managed to tow my van up to our van shop in the mountains, pull it inside, do a little wiring and pull it back out because we needed the space for other paying projects.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


I have all but given up on doing any work on the van at the shop so I am making arrangements to bring the van back down the hill in preparation for the move to our new house that actually has a garage that I can probably actually work in.

With all that said I had a few choices to make.
There are some things on the van that I am not super happy with.
Namely my front suspension.

Technically it works, both on paper and in reality, but it has issues.
Those issues are not simple things to fix so I came up with a plan B... or is it plan C at this point? Who can keep track?

Anyway, the whole premise behind my front suspension was to increase the distance between the upper and lower ball joint pivot points.

I did a lot of work to make this happen but it just needs some tweaks.

Of course, as some of you may know, there is now a much simpler solution for this.

T3 Technique has their new upper ball joints that basically accomplish this task with nothing more than a ball joint swap into the stock arm.

I am not afraid to admit defeat.
Not saying that my setup was a complete failure but, at this point, it is simply a lot less work to bail on most of my front suspension work and swap back to some stock bits so I can run T3's new taller upper ball joints.

This past weekend I set out on a journey to gather most of the parts needed to complete the swap back to stock parts.

After about 4 hours of driving around Colorado, I had the major components to make this happen.

A trip to Frisco would net me some new spindles and a set of upper control arms and a lead on a set of the new taller T3 Technique ball joints.

The next day I rolled to Golden real quick and picked up the joints.

After a little dig around in my shed, I found my stock lower control arms that I could just not bring myself to get rid of for some reason.

That left me with this pile.
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Much to my dismay, my fancy custom front shocks that I had made for a completely different suspension setup but made work with my custom setup will not work with most of the stock Vanagon bits.

The rear shocks on my van should still work fine but I needed something for the front that would work a bit better than some regular Bilsteins so I started looking around.

Basically, the only shock that has any real off-road capability that I can buy just the fronts would be the Fox shocks from Gowesty.

Of course, I went to their site last night and they were all sold out.
I put my name on the list to get an email notification when there were more in stock.

Lo and behold this afternoon I received the email saying they got some more in so I promptly set to lighting my wallet on fire to order a set.

All that is left, other than a good clean up on all the parts, is to order up some new lower ball joints, some lower control arm bushings and some new outer wheel bearings and I can slap all this on the van and be on my merry way... Well after I finish my intake and wiring and brakes and actually fire it up for the first time in nearly 4 years.
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blink
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 17, 2022 11:34 pm    Post subject: Re: Pretty Normal Vanagon Build - Project little Van. Reply with quote

Loving this thread, I just read from the start.
keep up the good work!!
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Atadloco
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 18, 2022 8:38 am    Post subject: Re: Pretty Normal Vanagon Build - Project little Van. Reply with quote

Awesome work!!! My van spent 3 years in my garage, what a great feeling when it finally sat on it's own suspension and wheels.
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vwhammer
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 18, 2022 10:51 pm    Post subject: Re: Pretty Normal Vanagon Build - Project little Van. Reply with quote

I know I have said this a few times now but any day now I will get back to work and finish this thing.

I even made it as far as finally towing it back to the new house so I can work on it.
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Thanks for the kind words/motivation.

Hopefully more updates real soon.
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 19, 2022 12:27 am    Post subject: Re: Pretty Normal Vanagon Build - Project little Van. Reply with quote

vwhammer wrote:
I know I have said this a few times now but any day now I will get back to work and finish this thing.

I even made it as far as finally towing it back to the new house so I can work on it.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Thanks for the kind words/motivation.

Hopefully more updates real soon.


One small step for van, one giant leap for vankind.
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DuncanS
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 19, 2022 5:13 am    Post subject: Re: Pretty Normal Vanagon Build - Project little Van. Reply with quote

And because of the recent effort to ID some steel wheels, we know what kind you have.

Good work and luck. Hope to see it on the road racking up memories soon.

Duncan
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cfahl001
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2022 7:08 am    Post subject: Re: Pretty Normal Vanagon Build - Project little Van. Reply with quote

Excellent work! I really enjoyed catching up on this thread and wish you the best on completing this project. I know we are all anxious to see this beautifully built Vanagon's progress.

Curtis
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vwhammer
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 15, 2023 6:54 pm    Post subject: Re: Pretty Normal Vanagon Build - Project little Van. Reply with quote

FINALLY!
After two long years I finally have the van back in a shop at my house where I can actually work on it.
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it's not a very big shop but it works.
Now I gotta sort out where I left off and get back at it.
the wife will be out of town most of this month so it's just me, my dog and the van to occupy my time.

The time it spent up in the dry, windy dusty mountains took its toll on the engine bay.
This is what the bay looked like the last time I worked on it.
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Here is what the bay looks like now.
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Meh, no matter I will get'er cleaned up as I go.
Not gonna get too hung up on making everything perfect right now.
I just want to get it running and drivable then I can sort out the rest.
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vwhammer
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 30, 2023 10:48 pm    Post subject: Re: Pretty Normal Vanagon Build - Project little Van. Reply with quote

slow going but more wiring going on.

So I probably mentioned some time ago that I had a harness modified to mate the engine and the van together.

I did so because time was an issue... at the... time.

I really want to get this thing drivable and was just gonna toss the harness in the bay, make some connections, apply some power, turn the key and see what happens.

However, I have taken so much time to do a lot of other things I did not really need to do so why not carry on with that theme?

Against my better judgement I decided to cut up my harness a little bit so I could route wires a little differently and maybe not clutter the bay up any more than it already is.

For starters, the harness had these generic relays and in-line fuse holders that I never had any intention of running.
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I also showed these relay dealies some time ago that I bought to use for this purpose and also run my trans and oil cooler fans.
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Here is the first one wired into the harness to run the fuel pump and a bunch of other things when the vehicle is powered on.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


The second one that runs the oil and trans cooler fans does not necessarily need to be fed into the existing harness but since I am here I might as well loom it up with the rest of it.

Just for fun here is a pic to give you an idea of the mess I made for myself.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Also built this harness that plugs into the factory 7-pin Vanagon plug that will need to be integrated into the other harness.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Before I could really narrow down what wires to run where I had to sort out the physical location of things.

Like the ignition coil.
Couple holes and some rivnuts and here it is.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Also cleaned out the van so I could actually get in it and get to where I am going to put the new ECU, relay boxes and the OBD2 port.
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Basically right where the old ECU was.
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Got this rubber boot thing to put in the hole so I can feed all my wires through it then zip tie it closed
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It's a tight fit but the main engine harness connector should fit with a little lube.
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Still trying to sort out what a few wires do and where to run them but the harness is starting to come back together.

Just picking away a couple hours at a time.

Still quite a few things to address before I can drop a battery in and crank it to see what happens but I will cover those when i get there.
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