My "KASTEN 16"

[Steve M.]

Something else that the PO or the dealership tech where all the bling was added was to install Fog Lights.
Unfortunately, his idea was to just cut open the Main Wire Harness behind the headlights for the power connection and install the relays behind the upper grill.

I kinda like his thinking for putting the relays there...but WTH was he thinking in regards to what was going to happened when it rained hard going down the highway! All the connections were the open to the elements.

So I've repaired the error of his ways, but I'm also going to take his idea of mounting the relays there. However everything will be waterproofed and I'm thinking to use one of the sealed boxes used back in the engine compartment to protect the relays from the weather.

I used a large piece of adhesive lined Heat Shrink to reseal the harness sheath.

Finished this piece, more to go...

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[Steve M.]

[Steve M.]

Look what showed up today!

A new wire harness for the Instrument Cluster with the same wiring as the original harness with the RED T2 wire.

This was a good find as I wanted to do some modifications to the harness, but didn't want to take the original harness away from it's original configuration.
I had to repair the burned wires anyway, but still was hesitating about changing the original configuration. So now I can go ahead and make my mod's to try out, but still be take it back to original if I want.
I found it on Gunzl's Classic Parts.
https://www.vwbusshop.de/epages/GuenzlClassicParts...BCstung%22

They also have the Main Harness from the Fuse/Relay panel back to the Engine Compartment which I think I might get since the original was butchered by the PO and I had to repair it.
There's gotta be some value in that alone being able to keep it original as a classic vehicle.

And I found a NOS original Heater Fan in the classifieds.

My fan was doing the tell-tale squeaking in the #1 position and I didn't want to get an aftermarket Fan. Not when the original VW lasted 26 yrs!
BTW. It looks like Gunzl might have an oem heater fan motor as opposed to the imports from China. I didn't see it before I bought the NOS one. Shipping arrives in about a week with no custom hassles if anyone Stateside is interested.
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This free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.

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[Steve M.]

Just FYI for anyone doing wiring I came across this website selling color coded wiring:

https://4rcustomswire.com/t/16-gauge-gxl

I just found some free time to get back to work on the wiring so should have some more photos or even a running Synco soon!
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[Steve M.]

Regarding the Kasten panel body and the side air vents.

Does anyone know what these look like up above the roof line where they disappear into the overhead?

This is what I found when I removed the inside wall:

I am thinking it vents into the body channel that runs along the roof where the fresh air vents are on the GL/Westy window body.

I do not have those vents on the inside since it has the truck body 3 lever heater box. (There is no airflow through the ductwork under the dash through the doors to the vents.)

Why I am asking is I am thinking of finding an airflow to try to prevent the condensation created during winter times as well as getting some air flow during summer months.
As it stands right now I can't do anything unless I replace the 3-Lever Heater box with a 4-Lever and cut open the ducting from the heater box to the roof line vents and add the roof line vents.

On the plus side I found out why the Kasten is relatively quiet-they put 1/4" of foam on the interior walls so that helps!

The outside of the vent.

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This free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.

There are seven days in a week. Someday is not one of them.

[Steve M.]

I repaired the worn out clutch pedal the other day.
The pedal was going almost the way to the floor before releasing the clutch.
There wasn't enough wear on the holes in the Pedal and the Clevis to see it causing that, but it was enough to do that!

I documented the repair in the Clutch Pedal thread as well, but here is the same info on it.
-----------------------

I was in a hurry and wanted to get this done in one day instead of waiting for a repaired pedal to come in from a vendor at a shocking price.
I chose to do a little mod on the assembly seeing how the clevis pin was wearing in the center. I also thought I could get it done without having to do a weld repair on the elongated holes. Not the case however!
I added a 5/16" guide bushing to both the Clevis and the Clutch Pedal to distribute the wear hopefully more evenly. I was hoping I could be able to get a press-fit to hold them in place, but I had to go to a welder to have them secured properly.

The holes in the pedal and Clevis were not that badly worn so I thought there was enough material to put some bushings in place to work.
Unfortunately I had to reduce the size of the clevis pin down to 1/4" diameter. However, I think with the bushings filling the space so there is no free play for side to side movement it should be okay.

So to start:

That hard to get to shaft and circlip.

The circlip depending on it's rotation you can maybe get off using a 90° pick or you can rotate it around to where you can push on it with a common screwdriver.

I used two 5/16" guide bushings to distribute the wear more evenly. I'll know if it worked in 25 years! 1/2" length for the pedal and 3/4" for the clevis.

The guide bushing in the Clevis showing the elongation of the clevis pin hole. It only wears on one side so the other hole is a press fit to keep it straight.

The guide bushing in the clutch pedal. The indentations helped hold it in place as I wasn't quite straight in drilling the hole out to 5/16". they squeezed it enough to hold it.

The clevis guide bushing tack welded into place.

To weld it easier it is best to leave it uncut.

The bushing in the clutch pedal.

Cutting out the center of the Clevis bushing using a cutting disc.

The bushing in the pedal I had it placed so that I did not have to trim both sides. Leaving .074" on each side centers it in the Clevis. So I only had to trim one side.

Looks uneven, but wasn't finished trimming it to fit, but you get the idea!

The only clevis pins i could find were a universal size...not good enough for me since the diameter was reduced down to 1/4" to fit the guide bushings.

So I used a 1/4-20 bolt with a long solid shank. I cut off the long end after it was installed on the pedal.

Assembly ready to go.

Okay some things you could try in getting that circlip back onto the shaft.

Some of the old dried grease from the seat tracks will help hold it on the frame so it doesn't fall off while reaching for a screwdriver to push it into place!

Marking the center of the circlip helps you locate it so when you do push on it you know where to push. Here a black Sharpie maker worked.

My hands are just too big to fit up there so I even tried a Neodium magnet to get it into place...it worked!

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[levi]

Nice job !
Glad to see your 16 didn't float off to one of the islands with that last hurricane.
_________________
One of these days I'm gonna settle down,
but till I do I won't be hangin round.
Going down that long lonesome highway,
gonna see life my way

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[Steve M.]

[Steve M.]

It's amazing what being unemployed will do for you, I found some time to work on the Kasten 16.

So far:
Electrical - Finished repairing the damage done to the wire harness.

Electrical - Added a Voltmeter to the system.

Clutch - Repaired the play in the worn out clutch pedal.

Gearbox - Added a Oil Cooler/Filtration system to the gearbox.

The ducting is above the propshaft guards so hopefully will not bash it on a rock!

The ducting is a dryer exhaust box and a telescopic exhaust duct with the fan mounted on the other end. The reason for this is that the fan itself blocks the cooler with the deadspot created by the fan motor if it is mounted directly on the cooler. So I'm trying to get all the useable cooling available. I also wanted more protection from any rocks thrown up by the tires.

The ducting, reinforced on the inside to mount the fan.

10 Micron filter and a Magnom magnetic filter attached to the transaxle housing and quick-disconnect fittings for easy cleaning.

Had this aluminum angle piece from a kayak sail sitting around so put it to work as an additional rock guard, but really going to use it to mount an oil sump with magnets in the bottom to grab the metal bits out of the oil.

When I get around to it this blue box will be the magnetic oil sump. I'll have to move the filters somewhere.

Using a 1.75gpm self-priming pump to circulate the oil back through the Fill port to spray on the gears near the 4th gear bearing. Need to get a nozzle in there to aim it at the bearing.

The pump itself is mounted on sst tray from an old air-conditioning unit. Used rivnuts in the propshaft guard and frame to mount it. All the weight is on the propshaft guard and still able to drop the guard without removing the pump tray.

Gearbox - Added the Decoupler (AA Tranaxle's.)

Engine - Added the Vaniston Engine Oil Cooler.

Fuel System - Replaced the Throttle Body (finally!) (Rocky Jennings.)

Fuel System - Replaced the Fuel Injectors. (Van Cafe.)

Exhaust system - Replaced it with the new one. (Van Cafe.)

Heater Box - Replaced the Foam on the flaps in the Heater Box and cleaned under the dash. Also replaced the fan motor with a new oem motor.

Cleaning the heater box in a hotel room.

Heater Fan Motor Mod - Added a bearing lubrication line. Hard to see due to the exposure, but that is a Coke bottle cap held in place with zip-ty's.

The other end of the black tube is coming out of the defrost vent on the drivers side.

Cooling System - Replaced the Radiator with a new one. (Van Cafe.)

Cooling System - Replaced the aluminum thermostat housing with a new one. (Brickwerks.)

Cooling System - Replaced all the Coolant hoses with new silicone ones. (Van Cafe.)

Speedometer - Replaced the Speedo cable, next probably the Speedo too, calibration of it vs. a GPS speedometer shows it to be off a few mph above 40mph.

Lighting - Swapped out the fog lites with a pair of 7" Hella 700FF's -still in work to get a proper switch for them. (Summit Racing.)

Lighting - Added the headlight relays, but still thinking about that setup yet so will probably do some more on that. (GoWesty.)

Horn - Water-proofed the horn relay and reworked the horn mounting so there not sticking down to get hit by a rock or something.
---------------
There's more things I did while working on something you find something else needs doing while you've got access to it.
So far this is most of it, but I know I forgot something!
---------------
Edit: Now I remember. I got the power windows working too!
_________________
This free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.

There are seven days in a week. Someday is not one of them.

[Steve M.]

Adding more electrical items to your system always has you wondering where to put things like a relay.

I saw the hole in the Dashboard support bars that run down from the windshield to the steering column and decided to use it to mount the relay for the Hella 700FF Driving Lights I recently installed.
Hey-it saved room on the Fuse/Relay panel!

_________________
This free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.

There are seven days in a week. Someday is not one of them.

[Steve M.]

So I knew I had cv boot I needed to change on the rear driver side outboard side, but when I pulled the axle I was seeing a lot of glitter in the grease on the inboard side.This what I found after I pulled the joint.

So two new CV Joints later I am hoping it was the source of the vibration I was feeling.
I'll find out tomorrow!
_________________
This free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.

There are seven days in a week. Someday is not one of them.

[Steve M.]

Apologies for being a bit slow in updating this thread, but many of the things I've posted recently are not build specific but pertaining to all vanagons so I made separate posts about those things.

Trying to get back on track though here is one mod for adding extra fuses by installing some more fuse holders.
This is a link to Blueseas website showing some of the ones they have.

https://www.bluesea.com/products/category/16/61/Fuse_Blocks/ST_Blade

These are the two on the bottom of the page numbered 5045 and 5046.
They are available at Westmarine or you can probably find them online somewhere. They costs a few bucks though so that sucks.

One of my criteria for doing anything is making it easy to access, but not sticking out to be an eyesore of modifications and these fit really well in that regard.

This 8 Fuse Terminal Block fits right under the OEM Fuse/Relay panel and is powered when the ignition is on so it's got the new mod's I've done recently like the gearbox oil cooler system, fog lights, DRL lights and USB power sockets.

Note that I had to trim some of the plastic cover to fit closely under the fuse panel.

This smaller 4 Fuse block I put behind the Glove Box and is powered from the Auxilary Batteries. I wanted power to them when parked so I can play the radio, charge cell phones, run the 12v vacuum to clean house. I also have usb powered desk lighting for when I use the "office".
It has just the other USB socket and new Cigarette Plug receptacle that replaced the oem plug.

Note that I used Liquid Electrical tape to cover/insulate the 12v positive connection since laying on it's side it looked easy to do something dum like short it out!

The main thing is that I can easily reach behind the glove box to change a fuse.

Btw, Blueseas is also now making a 4.8a usb charging plug which I have on this circuit.
https://www.bluesea.com/products/1045/Fast_Charge_-_Dual_USB_Charger_Socket_Mount
_________________
This free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.

There are seven days in a week. Someday is not one of them.

[Steve M.]

_________________
This free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.

There are seven days in a week. Someday is not one of them.

[toomanyveedubs]

Do you have any rubbing issues with the 215/85R16? Any lift kit, i didn't see one mentioned. I have a 16" Doka traveling from Belgium to BC at the moment and I am wondering what tires to use. It's a tossup between 205/80R16 and the 215/85R16. Advice?

[Steve M.]

[toomanyveedubs]

Thansk for the tip. I think i'll stick with the 205/80R16 , i found these 205/80R16 and also BF Goodrich sells a Mud Terrain KM3 205/80R16 in Australia hoping it is available here in the new year too.

[Steve M.]

[markswagen]

Looking very nice.
When I add in extra relays for additional lights or what ever, I put them behind the glove box, the double relays holder, from behind the tail light for the idle stabilizer relay is a good starting point, it take 2 relays, it has mounting tabs, and it's easy to add in relays and fuses , I find it easier to get at, as you only need to drop the glove box to get to it.
And lastly I usually bring new power wire directly from the battery for it.

[Steve M.]

[Steve M.]

I was poking around in the engine compartment modifying my trailer light wiring and inside the "wiring distribution box" in the forward left corner I finally paid attention to this relay.
I had thought in my previous times inside the box it was a relay for the "Hot Start".
Looking at it closer today it is wired to complete the circuit for the "Back up lights".
That is if the wiring schematics are correct for 1990 year in the Bentley, the BL/blu wires are the back up lights.
The relay has a 30A fuse mounted in it.
Why would you need a 30A fuse on the back up lights let alone a relay on the wires?

I'm confused!

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This free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.

There are seven days in a week. Someday is not one of them.