What did YOU do to your van today?

[Paulbeard]

Added the "are the batteries connected?" LED to my BlueSeas ACR, in hopes of tracking down when the house battery is allowed to run down while underway. Solar panel charges both through the ACR but for some reason alternator power doesn't get shared. Now when they are connected it will glow solid and when one is locked out (low voltage) it will flash.

[rant] That LED ought to be standard on the ACR with the terminal to add a remote indicator left in place. Cost me something like $3 at my local marine supply store for a pigtailed and blister-packed LED that wouldn't add a dollar to the cost of the ACR. [/rant]

I also inverted the ACR since I had a hard time seeing the terminals at the bottom and had to remove it to connect that LED. I may return it to its old orientation later.
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Currently -> Frida: 87 Tizian Red (mostly) Vanagon GL Westfalia w/ 2.0L ABA conversion
Formerly -> Steward of a 73 Super Beetle (Beater) and 67 Beetle 1300 (Little Max) both names by POs

[timichango]

[campism]

Penetrol, the second application to the poptop over the years. That part is not difficult but scrubbing the grunge off first is very tedious and time consuming, and working from a ladder is always fun. The roof will come off for painting when we do the new canvas and gasket.
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'87 Westy in Wolfram Grey Metallic

[Paulbeard]

[Paulbeard]

Changed my oil and filter.
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Currently -> Frida: 87 Tizian Red (mostly) Vanagon GL Westfalia w/ 2.0L ABA conversion
Formerly -> Steward of a 73 Super Beetle (Beater) and 67 Beetle 1300 (Little Max) both names by POs

[D78Q85V87]

I BROKE IT!! I have had problems with the windshield wipers not staying where they are supposed to so I investigated the problem today. Turns out the driver's side windshield pivot shaft is stripped and I must replace it here because it's kinda an important part of the vehicle. Could really use some help with this new found project...

[Team WorldTour]

I got my guy up on a lift for some DEEP work.
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1990 Feldjäger Syncro AAZ
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H6 Subaru Engine Swap Thread
WV2ZZZ25ZFH094138(x)/ WV2YB0257LH057308(x)/ WV2ZZZ25ZLG113270/
"Where am I going? And what am I doing in this handbasket?" -Nicodemus Jordan
When All Else Fails: Lather, Rinse, Repeat!

[timichango]

[timichango]

[timichango]

Bit of an amalgam of the past week, but I:

• Got the fridge running on propane for the first time since we bought the van in 2012!!! Used the bicycle-pump-into-drain-port method to purge that line and the burn box with air, and figured out that the instructions inside the fridge are misleading. They state that the propane shutoff on the fridge should be open (correct) and the thermostat should be all the way down at zero (incorrect!!!). Setting the 'stat at 10 o'clock, purging the box via the bike pump, and then thumbing the propane button = instant ignition. Tested the fridge with an IR thermometer after about two hours, and the fins were at -3°C, and seemed to be dropping. Even more tellingly, it effectively chilled a delicious pint-bottle of microbrew in about an hour. It's like christmas in June... a whole new dimension of our camper just opened up

• Installed a new float sensor in our tank. Now have accurate freshwater readings again! Also sanitized the tank and lines. Our water lines have never been changed, and mercifully they're still pliable, and clear as day throughout their length, and water tastes great. I guess our protocol of seasonal sanitation in there is doing the trick.

• Pulled out our DRL relays, and in the process solved a weird ghost power issue that's been present for as long as we've owned the van.

• Rebuilt the subaru vacuum actuator for the cruise control

• Rebuilt the aeromotive fuel pressure regulator, and redid all of the in-bay fuel plumbing.

• Drilled a second 'Mullendore port' adjacent the first one I did years ago, to facilitate periodic fan bearing lubrication. In the past I'd only used PB blaster, which obviously didn't give great service life (6 months and more squeaking), but this time I was able to precisely drip some aerosol white lithium grease directly onto the end bearing, via a funnel and hose arrangement, and I'm expecting better longevity out of it due to that product depositing more lubricant solids (and PTFE). The new port is only 4mm diameter, to assist in it acting as a bit of an aiming brace for the stiff irrigation hose I used to convey the lube to the bearing. Plugged the original hole with a plug I made up using a plastic door-card fastener to which I added a custom rubber gasket, made from an innertube. Snug as a bug.

• Finished re-fusing my recently rebuilt custom house electrical installation using a Blue Sea MRBF fuse block attached to our Fullriver FT560 battery. The battery has the same form-factor as an Odyssey 1200, and installed on its side, with the terminals facing the front of the van, the MRBF fuse block can be installed upside-down, which presents the fuse and post for the battery connections off to the side of the battery, facing the back of the van. Makes for a really clean, really tidy installation. And I'm much more confident in this fuse arrangement than I was with the inline AGU fuseholder I was previously using, which secured the wires with a set screw arrangement, instead of crimped/bolted ring terminals. Bit more spendy than other protection fuse block options, but to my mind, it's a good place to put that money for the peace of mind it offers.

• Refurbished the glovebox/map light on the dash: I hated its propensity to cause a short and/or fall out of the dash when hitting moderate bumps, so I pulled it out, and ran heatshrink adhesive over all of the hot conductive surfaces on the unit, except precisely where the bulb makes its connection. Also crazy-glued a short length of zip-tie to the outer edge of the tensioned plastic prong that's supposed to hold it in place in the dash — now there's a more defined ridge preventing it from migrating out of the dash unintentionally.

• Jiggled my cluster foil circuit around, and resolved an issue with the headlight indicator LED only working intermittently. Seems A-OK now. Eventually I'll replace the foil with the newer PCB options, but for the moment, all is well with stock.

• Contemplated fixes for the rattley auto-shifter thumb button — still contemplating. No elegant solutions have come to mind yet, sadly.

• Added a thin, dense butyl rubber donut between the rear tabletop mounting plate and the table arm, in order to decrease friction wear between those two components. Works well.

• Fashioned a carpet cover for the top of the cluster cover to add traction for stuff on the dash, and protect the cover from UV.

• Treated all of my door/hatch gaskets with honey goo. Now they're all shiny and supple.
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Vroomhilde-San: Our 1991 Silver Vanagon Westy automatic + Subie EJ25

[Paulbeard]

[timichango]

[Paulbeard]

Indeed.

That could be a squosh brighter if they wanted it to be noticeable.

And since one of the problems I have been having is getting the batteries to connect, it's easy to see why I never saw this. I just went out to check and they weren't connected. That doesn't like anything at all until it's lit up and even then it looks like a colored design element. I don't regret spending $3 on the external one.
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Currently -> Frida: 87 Tizian Red (mostly) Vanagon GL Westfalia w/ 2.0L ABA conversion
Formerly -> Steward of a 73 Super Beetle (Beater) and 67 Beetle 1300 (Little Max) both names by POs

[bobbyblack]

Just one of those days that seems like the Kids are truly involved with my (and now their) Vanagon syndrome (the kind that empties the wallet)

Here is what I asked for: shifter extension:

Installed:

Lookin' good, Flossie!

And here is what else showed up in the driveway !! Parts wagon !!

Great kids, really!!!
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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

[thegreenroom]

The brown cow got a new floor today, very happy with the end result!

[pbrown]

I rebuilt the latch assembly on my sliding door. I had a lot of trouble with it not closing reliably last Winter. I had to remove the rear attachment point for the door and swing it out a bit to get access to the large screws holding the latch on. I used the GoWesty replacement spring kit.
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Patrick Brown

1986 Westy Syncro EJ25
Flickr --> https://flic.kr/s/aHsmQNUXEF

[erikgundy98]

[bobbyblack]

[pablum]

[pablum]