An Alaska NSYNCro build

[dobryan]

[uberaudi]

Speedy sleaves work great and just 'press' on. They are definitely a viable option but with the rest of whats going on with that flange I'd say you're better off to save it as a spare and source a better condition one.
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'84 Adventurewagen 1Z TDI, '08 Audi Avant Quattro 6spd BHW TDI

[TomInAlaska]

[AndyBees]

Yeah, I suspect someone got carried away with a cutting torch.

Were the seals hard?

Does a speedy sleeve requiring milling with a Lathe for fitment?
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'84 Vanagon Tin-top, ALH TDI, two trips to Alaska, 2014 & 16. 1989 Tin-top unmolested.
1983 Air-cool, 225k miles, 180k miles mine, seven trips to Alaska from 1986 thru 2003. 1975 Bay hopeful.

[TomInAlaska]

I've been monitoring a slight leak of gear oil around both CV flanges on the transaxle for a while. Nothing serious, but a new spot or two on the driveway every day seems like something that should be fixed sooner rather than later. Anyway, I finally got the time and motivation to do something about it today.

First I drained the oil and checked the magnet:

Its only been about 1000 miles since I checked it the first time, so I didn't expect anything, but nice to see a clean magnet in any case.

Next the CV joint got removed and broken plug seal revealed. I actually rtv'ed it back together soon after I got the van when I discovered the cv boot full of gear oil and leaking all over the place. Needless to say, new ones were ready to go back in.

The right-side flange has some damage from ...something? No idea how that happens. Its doesn't seem to affect the mating surfaces or runout, so <shrug>? Maybe I'm seeing things, but does it look like scars from a cutting torch? Which, now that I think about it, might also explain something else I found (see the last pic)

I was hoping the seal surface was good, but there are definitely some small grooves. Maybe the new seals will hold, but I'm assuming I'll have to go back in and add some speedy-sleeves. Oh well.

I initally tried to gently pry the seal out but was afraid I was going to damage something expensive and annoying to fix, so I grabbed the make-shift tool I made when I rebuilt the 4speed in the previous van and quickly unscrewed the adjuster ring. After punching a mark to get it back in the same spot, of course.

A new seal was installed and the adjuster went back in

And here's the pic that definitely shows evidence of excessive heat. Could somebody have torched the bolts to get the CVs off at some point? There was definitely years and years of dirt and grime on both plastic keepers so whatever happened was a long time ago. Interesting.

Anyway, both sides are back together and the gearbox is refilled. I even used new bolts and serrated washers on the CVs. Was actually easier than I expected and only took a couple of hours. Could probably cut that in half next time. Which, like I said, I'll probably be doing to install speedy-sleeves. So it goes.

Or, and hear me out here, I use this as an excuse to go with 930 CVs
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'73 Super Beetle (formerly resto-mod/rally look with a healthy 1776, currently in another round of resto with a 1641)

'84 GL adventure van project [sold] (1.9L, 4speed) https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=755844&highlight=

'86 Syncro tintop (2.0L Eurospec/ABA engine swap) https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=800194&highlight=

[TomInAlaska]

Since its been a few weeks I figure I should put an update of some of the things I've done to and with the Van.

Its served as an amazing bicycle transport to rides and races:

In that pic you can also see the new awning from Van Cafe (which I, sadly, haven't used in anger yet):

One issue I've been chasing around lately is a wonky odometer. The shaft that holds the number dials with the gear that is turned by the worm gear kept sliding out of the other side of the housing which made it no-worky-worky. I pushed it back in place a couple times but decided to try what is hopefully a more permanent solution:

If that works, I'll post the 3d printer file. (fingers crossed)

But for the most part, I've really just been enjoying driving it:

Just today I drove down to Turnagain Pass to ride part of the Iditarod National Historic Trail. My longest drive in the NSYNCro to date, it ended up being a little over 100 mile round trip. Mostly 55-60mph along Turnagain Arm and a few miles up the aforementioned pass. All the pressures and temps seemed normal, coolant never got above the LED, oil pressure stayed steady at 40ish psi cruising at 3000-3200rpm (around 60mph indicated), and transaxle temp (very) slowly climbed up to 130* by the time I got to the base of the pass and then topped out up to a little over 140* at the top, about 900' of elevation gain in about 6 miles. By the way, I was able to maintain 55-60mph in 4th gear for all but the steepest little section of the climb where I dropped down to 3rd to keep the speed up. There is still an annoying drone from the exhaust between 60 and 65, but around 55mph it just cruises down the road smooth as silk and relatively quiet. All in all I am extremely happy with the NSYNCro and can't wait to go on more adventures. Will it get to the Arctic Circle this summer? Maybe over the McCarthy Road to see the Kennicot Mine? Anybody down for camping on the Homer Spit? Stay tuned to see!
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'73 Super Beetle (formerly resto-mod/rally look with a healthy 1776, currently in another round of resto with a 1641)

'84 GL adventure van project [sold] (1.9L, 4speed) https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=755844&highlight=

'86 Syncro tintop (2.0L Eurospec/ABA engine swap) https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=800194&highlight=

[TomInAlaska]

Since the last update, I haven't really had to do much to the van lately besides put gas in it. Yesterday though I decided to start working on freshening up the rust proofing/undercoating that someone very generously applied to pretty much the entire bottom of the van. That is one of the major reasons I think its still in such good shape, btw. Anyway, while scraping loose and peeling up bits of the old undercoating off the bottom of the front cab area, I found a hole in the middle of the passenger floor. Not rust, but drilled and pried up oblong hole that somebody then filled and sealed with a huge glob of silicone. (no 'before' pics and I was distracted with multitasking cleaning the washing machine so it will drain properly and not leave our clothes sudsy) Needless to say, I grabbed a wirewheel, a piece of scrap sheetmetal, and my trusty mig welder and went to work:

It got a coat of etching primer and then some (almost correct) touch up paint but I didn't bother to get the surface super smooth and finished since its under the carpet and pad. I did generously spray the underside with new rubberized undercoating. I plan to continue freshening up the undercoating around the van and getting something like Eastwood internal frame spray inside the "frame rails" to give this thing the best chance it has of continuing to have a mostly rust free life.
_________________
'73 Super Beetle (formerly resto-mod/rally look with a healthy 1776, currently in another round of resto with a 1641)

'84 GL adventure van project [sold] (1.9L, 4speed) https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=755844&highlight=

'86 Syncro tintop (2.0L Eurospec/ABA engine swap) https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=800194&highlight=

[TomInAlaska]

Today I tackled rehabbing the sliding door with the rebuild kit from GW:

Apart from the cover panel that needed a generous application of WD40 along the rubber strip and soft face mallet, the only real problem was one of the bearings on the rear hinge mechanism. It was in very bad shape and fell apart when I tried to pry it off. I had to get a little creative to get the inner race off. I cut a part of a washer and a drift punch.

New bearings and nylon guide wheel installed:

The under the panel area cleaned up and track hit with a coat of bare-metal primer:

The rest went together without a hitch and now the door is noticeably smoother and quieter. Great success.
_________________
'73 Super Beetle (formerly resto-mod/rally look with a healthy 1776, currently in another round of resto with a 1641)

'84 GL adventure van project [sold] (1.9L, 4speed) https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=755844&highlight=

'86 Syncro tintop (2.0L Eurospec/ABA engine swap) https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=800194&highlight=

[TomInAlaska]

Just got back from a ~5 mile trip to West Marine for a handful of new hose clamps (the good kind without cutouts and with rolled edges) to replace the old ones I had to reuse on the coolant pipes to engine adapter pipe to ABA hose sections. They're holding, but better safe than sorry. Anywho, apart from a few sputters at the end of the driveway which I assume was a little air in the lines, it ran great. Hard to say for certain, but I feel like it idles smoother and maybe even makes a couple more horsepowers. More miles will tell if I actually fixed anything or not but so far so good.

I've also got a new fuel filter on order, but I've been toying with the idea of a spin-on type filter with water separation. Being a syncro, locations to put it are somewhat limited. Maybe high up in the wheel well? With a sheetmetal guard for rock protection?
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'73 Super Beetle (formerly resto-mod/rally look with a healthy 1776, currently in another round of resto with a 1641)

'84 GL adventure van project [sold] (1.9L, 4speed) https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=755844&highlight=

'86 Syncro tintop (2.0L Eurospec/ABA engine swap) https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=800194&highlight=

[TomInAlaska]

[Sodo]

[TomInAlaska]

I'm fairly confident that's the factory fuel pump. I'm also cautiously optimistic that it's still in good working order and that the issues I was seeing were due to bad connections and/or dirt in the gas. I did pull a sample and saw a tiny amount of dirt or something.

Maybe the fact that I was idling the engine without moving let enough of whatever shmoo is in the tank to settle and get picked up by the pump and partially clogged it? In any case, I sprayed the intake and output of the pump with brake clean, sanded the contacts and very slightly squeezed the female spade wire ends to get a better connection, and put it back in place. It does seem to be running normally so I'll take it for a drive later today to see if how it acts. I will keep my spare pump and everything to swap it out in the van just in case.
_________________
'73 Super Beetle (formerly resto-mod/rally look with a healthy 1776, currently in another round of resto with a 1641)

'84 GL adventure van project [sold] (1.9L, 4speed) https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=755844&highlight=

'86 Syncro tintop (2.0L Eurospec/ABA engine swap) https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=800194&highlight=

[TomInAlaska]

Another work session, another seemingly unrelated issue pops up.

Yesterday I was finally able to set aside enough time on a nice day to get the stainless steel coolant pipes and new radiator hoses installed. I also flushed as much of the remaining coolant system as possible and got lots of old looking yellowish green coolant out of the radiator and heaters and engine. New pipes and hoses went back in without too much fuss and then came time to refill and try to get as much air as possible out. I used a combination of filling the pressure tank, then pressurizing it with the gowesty hand pump to push coolant into the system, then cracking the bleeder on the radiator to let the air out up there. The van was parked on a slight incline with the nose up for all this, by the way. Anyway, after I got about 3 gallons pushed in like that, I cranked the engine and let it idle to cycle the coolant and build pressure for further bleeding. This was going pretty well, maybe 20 minutes of idle time, until the engine got up to temperature per the gauge and then started running really rough. Idle speed dropped way down, misfiring like crazy, not immediately responding to throttle, then it would 'catch' and rev like normal then settle back into a normal idle for a minute then run rough again. It almost felt like it was running out of gas, but per the gauge and miles since fill-up, it has about half a tank. I checked as many electrical connections I could, including the fuel pump relay (which looks to be factory). Pulled the plugs and they look fantastic. Cap and rotor had a little crud on the contacts which I cleaned, but I've seen way worse. No loose hoses or any obvious sources of vacuum leaks, either.

Today I was back at it, and found it would crank and run fine for a couple of seconds then completely die. Like it ran out of gas. I am beginning to suspect the pump itself. Like the relay, it looks like it might be factory. I do have a spare pump I'll try tomorrow and see if that changes anything. But if anybody has any other ideas though, I'm all ears.
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'73 Super Beetle (formerly resto-mod/rally look with a healthy 1776, currently in another round of resto with a 1641)

'84 GL adventure van project [sold] (1.9L, 4speed) https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=755844&highlight=

'86 Syncro tintop (2.0L Eurospec/ABA engine swap) https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=800194&highlight=

[TomInAlaska]

Today was the day I do something about the box of brake parts I've been tripping over for a month.

Upacking the Small Car kit:

Stock brakes:

And throwing on the GoWesty cv protectors while I had things apart:

And done:

It all went together without a hitch. All the old bolts and line fittings and things came apart as easy as you please and the new stuff went into place smooth as butter. I was able to reach in to press the pedal to bleed by hand on the driver's side but mostly relied on gravity for the passenger. The pedal feels a tiny bit softer than before (might be better if I do a proper flush and bleed all the way around, the fluid in the reservoir looked like it had been in there a long time) but the stopping performance is massively improved! Definitely one of the better upgrades I've done so far.
_________________
'73 Super Beetle (formerly resto-mod/rally look with a healthy 1776, currently in another round of resto with a 1641)

'84 GL adventure van project [sold] (1.9L, 4speed) https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=755844&highlight=

'86 Syncro tintop (2.0L Eurospec/ABA engine swap) https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=800194&highlight=

[TomInAlaska]

[uberaudi]

[Abscate]

[TomInAlaska]

Also, the better half and I drove it down to Girdwood for dinner yesterday. By far its longest trip to date under my stewardship, about 70 miles total at 55-65mph, and it ran flawlessly.
_________________
'73 Super Beetle (formerly resto-mod/rally look with a healthy 1776, currently in another round of resto with a 1641)

'84 GL adventure van project [sold] (1.9L, 4speed) https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=755844&highlight=

'86 Syncro tintop (2.0L Eurospec/ABA engine swap) https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=800194&highlight=

[TomInAlaska]

The NSYNCro came to me with a cheap amazon touch screen style radio that sorta worked that I quickly replaced it with a nicer Pioneer touch screen radio. It worked like it was supposed to by doing Car-Play things and displaying the reverse camera. But I never really liked the way it looked in the Vanagon dash. Granted, I had a similar one in the '84 and was reasonably satisfied with it but for some reason, I just couldn't live with this one in the new van. Plus it didn't have a volume knob. So I decided to do something about it:

Before

And after

I only just finished installing it, but so far I really like it. Connected right up to my iPhone, the sound quality is fantastic (better than the old stereo for sure), and looks like it could've come from the factory. Best of all, it doesn't obscure my view of the locker panel!
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'73 Super Beetle (formerly resto-mod/rally look with a healthy 1776, currently in another round of resto with a 1641)

'84 GL adventure van project [sold] (1.9L, 4speed) https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=755844&highlight=

'86 Syncro tintop (2.0L Eurospec/ABA engine swap) https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=800194&highlight=

[TomInAlaska]

Time to stop making puddles of power steering fluid in the driveway:

Out with the old

Comparing it to the new rack from Burley

Got the fittings swapped over using fresh copper washers

Much better!

A fresh filter in the reservoir after a thorough flushing of the pump and lines (which may or may not have made a giant mess )

i filled and topped off the Dex/Merc after cycling the wheel back and forth a few times and, so far, no leaks! The new rack also seems to be much more powerful than the old one, just turning the wheel when pulling back and forth in the driveway to re-index the steering wheel took much less effort than before. Bad news is I did discovery that one of the boots is badly torn so I got a new set on the way (along with a few other goodies) and will refrain from driving it until then just to be safe.
_________________
'73 Super Beetle (formerly resto-mod/rally look with a healthy 1776, currently in another round of resto with a 1641)

'84 GL adventure van project [sold] (1.9L, 4speed) https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=755844&highlight=

'86 Syncro tintop (2.0L Eurospec/ABA engine swap) https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=800194&highlight=