What did YOU do to your van today?

[jlrftype7]

Replaced my curling rubber footwell pieces with fresh ones. Used 3M spray adhesive to help keep them in the mounting holes
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'68 Westy- my first VW and vehicle/Bus- long gone.- sold it to a traveling Swiss couple....
'67 Type 3 Fastback, my 2nd car- also long gone
'69 Semi-Auto Stick Shift Beetle, my wife's first car= yep. still long gone....
2017 MINI Coopers, our current DDs
‘84 Tin Top - Hilga....Auto

[4Gears4Tires]

[beachinwesty]

Thought about how much fun we had with our Westfalia when we went to the adult pinewood Derby at Union Craft Brewing in Baltimore Md.

[BCE56]

Tired of chasing leaks and worrying about cooling system. Ordered stainless pipes and related items yesterday.
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=BCE56=

'86 Syncro tintop
OBD II Frankenmotor
Early SC adapter plate conversion
SC header, 3-way cat, VW muff.
stock springs, OME shocks*
VC, rear locker**
215-75 BFG AT/TAs on Rhein rims
*OMEs a bit too stiff in front, OK in rear or on heavier vans. Will try Bilsteins. Someday.
**PO installed taller top gear before Subie install. Not recommended.

[NSPeters92]

I got most the parts I ordered in yesterday, and got the chance to systematically put them in today... first in was the new distributor rotor and wriest. No Start. Next was the new ignition switch. No Start (so gonna keep the old one for a spare). Next in was the Coil and Ignition Control Module (didn't know if one or the other would effect each other depending if one was the faulty unit, so replaced em at the same time). Start! Bingo! Seemed to run and drive well. Took it to get more fuel. Started well after that. Took it up to Autozone to get new wipers and some Marvel Mystery Oil... started and ran good on the run back home after that.

Still have the new Temp II and wiring harness for it coming in on Tuesday from RMW... gonna go ahead and prophylactically put those in when they get here to be dually sure its good to go!

Aaaand probably gonna take a week or so of good driving (no recurrence of problems) before I really feel comfortable with it again, but I'm pretty stoked that I got it going again.

[jlrftype7]

Finally installed Intrepid Overland’s Intake Flap kit. Really fun dialing in the heat level just with how much air I was letting into the Vanagon, especially at Highway Speeds. While I didn’t get to removing my dash and heater box as planned today, just too tired, I did see how worn my foam
Seals were on my Heaterbox.
With a very small amount of outside air being let in, my heat output to the Defrost Vents was definitely hotter than when full Ram Air is going through the box. Air is being allowed to get past the core without going through it and you feel both hot and cold air mixing out of the Defrost Vents at high speeds.
Not so with the footwell vents at any speed or 10cc flap kit setting, so that foam sealing must be in better shape since it’s always the hottest air coming out of my heater. It will all get replaced once I get the box out to rebuild it, but this flap kit proved I wasn’t wrong about my slightly tepid Defrost Temps out of those vents.
_________________
'68 Westy- my first VW and vehicle/Bus- long gone.- sold it to a traveling Swiss couple....
'67 Type 3 Fastback, my 2nd car- also long gone
'69 Semi-Auto Stick Shift Beetle, my wife's first car= yep. still long gone....
2017 MINI Coopers, our current DDs
‘84 Tin Top - Hilga....Auto

[jlrftype7]

Removed the paper thin foam insulation/sound dampener under the front seats, at the wheel boxes. It was falling apart and the glue was loosing its grip on top of it.
After cleaning and prepping the metal, I added Butyl Rubber Pads first, thinner ones than my Dynamat pads. Then, I installed B-Quiet Foam material , about 3/8” thick on top of that.
After driving and listening on my drive home, it’s a noticeable difference in noise reduction. The normal suspension noises are really lower in intensity now, and the tire noise is muted as well.
Tomorrow I remove the Dash for Blower and Heater Core/Box work, and will add more double layering of sound deadener as I go.
Can’t wait to ‘Hear’ the results of that work.
_________________
'68 Westy- my first VW and vehicle/Bus- long gone.- sold it to a traveling Swiss couple....
'67 Type 3 Fastback, my 2nd car- also long gone
'69 Semi-Auto Stick Shift Beetle, my wife's first car= yep. still long gone....
2017 MINI Coopers, our current DDs
‘84 Tin Top - Hilga....Auto

[NSPeters92]

Also just ordered a Temp II sensor & new plug... will try to replace this along with the new wireset and distributor cap / rotor, & ignition switch, holding off oN installing the more expensive parts... can always return em if I don’t actually need to replace em!

[NSPeters92]

Sorry all! Its an ‘85 Vanagon GL with the 1.9L ... checked grounds today and even consolidated some with new crimped on ring ends. Cleaned most the grounds I could find in the engine compartment with sandpaper and retightened down good. Also did the transmission ground strap on both ends. Today it fired up for about 20 seconds then died tach to zero pretty instantly after that. Wasn’t able to get it going the rest of the day. Checked the battery ground and it was good. The positive cable was pretty corroded and actually snapped when wiggling it... so got a new ground strap, new positive terminal connector and went ahead and just got a new battery (the one I had was from ‘17, and although tested fine, due to the location was just easier to replace it straight off). One less thing to worry about... checked my distributor cap and rotor... inside of the cap had some green corrosion on the inside contacts, and rotor had a little blackness to the contact as well, so when I was at Autozone got a new cap (rotor would have to be ordered). When trying to replace the cap tonight, several of the wires pulled right out of their crimps at the ends when trying to get them off the cap... FML.

Ordered: Dist. Rotor, new wireset, ignition switch, ignition control module, & ignition coil.

Hoping one of these are the root cause. Might be a little pissed if the $30 ignition switch is ultimately the cause of this headache... i’ve replaced it before. Also have done the coil, control module before... plugs/wires/cap/rotor/fuel filter were done like 2-3 months ago. Grrrrr

Will update as parts come in and go in... been scouring the forum here for ideas, there’s just so many possibilities.

[jlrftype7]

Huge job tonight after work.
I pulled the Brake Warning Indicator section out of my cluster and replaced both bulbs, and gently cleaned the oxidation off the little printed circuit board for the connector.
Now my Parking Brake Warning lights up when I pull the handle..ll
_________________
'68 Westy- my first VW and vehicle/Bus- long gone.- sold it to a traveling Swiss couple....
'67 Type 3 Fastback, my 2nd car- also long gone
'69 Semi-Auto Stick Shift Beetle, my wife's first car= yep. still long gone....
2017 MINI Coopers, our current DDs
‘84 Tin Top - Hilga....Auto

[bobbyblack]

Sorting out which manual to follow, of course Bentley, but if it is a 1.9, get the DigiJet pro training manual, and if its a 2.1, you'll follow the DigiFant one.

By the look of your pic's, its the DigiJet.

Look in the FAQ, you'll find them.

-bobby
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'87 Westy 'Flossie','83.5 Vanagon L 'ZoomBus','74 Karmann Ghia, '65 Split Deluxe 'Henry', '63 Notch

[Mikeprince]

My new-to-me 2.1 would start right up and drive fine, and then suddenly die.

Turned out to be the temp 2 sensor. $10 and it runs perfect.

But to solve that I chased a bunch of other leads first, including fuel pressure test, cleaning all grounds, etc.

Bentley has some good diagnostic procedures, so if you haven’t gone to the Bible yet, maybe it’s worth a shot

[jlrftype7]

Swap your new fuel pump relay with the other relay in the black plastic relay box and see what happens. Symptom would still be a dying vehicle if the relay is bad, but only the fuel pump should be inop at that point.
Tach dying really fast, check the connections at the coil in case you have a slight loose pin contact there .

Hall Effect wires breaking on you ?... inspect them gently inside the Distributor where they flex on the advance plate.

A meter and the Bentley are your best bet to diagnose versus throwing parts at it.
_________________
'68 Westy- my first VW and vehicle/Bus- long gone.- sold it to a traveling Swiss couple....
'67 Type 3 Fastback, my 2nd car- also long gone
'69 Semi-Auto Stick Shift Beetle, my wife's first car= yep. still long gone....
2017 MINI Coopers, our current DDs
‘84 Tin Top - Hilga....Auto

[bobbyblack]

NSPeters92,

usually helps to have a tagline or state in the post what year, engine, etc. you might be talking about. I did take a look at your gallery to see what that might be, and I am seeing a probable 83.5-85 model. Thus, "Vanagon Syndrome" not a likely issue.

My vague guess is engine compartment ground area needs cleaned up, wires going to it checked. Especially the coil wire to ground. I would also pull the coil to diz spark wire and clean that up.

Also sounds possible that there is some oxidation in the ECU area, or a cracked solder joint on the ECU board. I've seen a veteran here suggest removing the ECU housing, and laying it on its side while hunting for your (soon to be) spare.

Hope you find whatever it is soon!

-bobby
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'87 Westy 'Flossie','83.5 Vanagon L 'ZoomBus','74 Karmann Ghia, '65 Split Deluxe 'Henry', '63 Notch

[campism]

Battery ground cable? A buddy's non-Vanagon had this symptom with that cause.
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'87 Westy in Wolfram Grey Metallic

[NSPeters92]

Several days ago had an issue driving around town where the engine would just stall out entirely, tach going to zero. Was able to get it started but would happen several times on the way home.. next day after research took it to Napa to test the battery and whatnot. Battery tested out as good, but the Alt might be starting to go, so ordered one and put it in next day. Everything seemed to run ok, took in on a drive across town and back, no issues, yayy! Or so I thought... Drove to work that night, and two blocks from home, tach goes to zero with random engine shutdown. This time not able to start it other than one little rev and immediate stall. Walk to work the rest of the 10 blocks... Ordered a new fuel pump, fuel pump relay, and fuel pressure regulator, and the ol' VW sat in front of a neighbor's house for a few days..

Today: replace the fuel pump, fuel pump relay, and fuel pressure regulator. Starts great, seems to run great (other than a little high idle). Go for a drive around town and back home with no problems. Yayy! Or so I thought. Drove to meet a buddy for Taco Tuesday later on, and make it about 6 blocks this time (after I'd adjusted the idle down to a better area [was about 2k idle, and adjusted it down to 1k]), then it does the same thing as before, tach to zero, engine shut off while driving... shit. Make it with roll to a side street. Able to get it to fire up after a little bit of cranking, then dies. Get it going, pop the back, crank the idle back up, and it seems to do ok, and drive her home... So she's parked in front of my place again, and now I'm diving back into research.

Could be as simple as a big air bubble from the fuel pump replacement... or at least I'm hoping! Could be that my idle adjustment was too far off? Gonna be going over grounds with sandpaper tomorrow. Wiggling wires with the engine running... see what's going on. Diagnosis via parts replacement is getting expensive! Guess I won't have to worry about the Alternator, Fuel Pump, the relay, or fuel pressure regulator for awhile now...

[shadetreemech]

Apparently, a company on Alibaba will produce them in lots. The parts houses that have carried them in the past need a reason to reorder. I guess.

Dan
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'84 GL 1.9
'01 Volvo V70 T5
'88 Westy - "Miss Dorothy"

[bobbyblack]

[shadetreemech]

Installed my Kernow Headlight Guards. Now if I could just find a South African-style lower grille ...

Dan
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'84 GL 1.9
'01 Volvo V70 T5
'88 Westy - "Miss Dorothy"

[jlrftype7]