It Runs! 50º ABA in 1988 Vanagon Westy

[Vanagon Nut]

[Jake de Villiers]

Right on - I just thought it might account for the difference.

Incorrect cam/ignition timing would do it, too!
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'84 Vanagon GL 1.9 WBX
'86 Westy Weekender Poptop/2.5 Subaru/5 Speed Posi/Audi Front Brakes/16 x 7 Mercedes Wheels - answers to 'Dixie'
@jakedevilliersmusic1
http://sites.google.com/site/subyjake/mydixiedarlin%27
www.crescentbeachguitar.com
www.thebassspa.com

[Vanagon Nut]

Since I'm loath to disturb the instrument cluster unless absolutely needed, was curious if the Canadian market Vanagons were "wired" at the blue ribbon for an OXS bulb

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8936880&highlight=hi+all.++canadian#8936880

Haven't found that OXS detail yet but installed two 3 conductor #18 AWG cables to the dash for MIL, OBD, and future oil pressure and temp gauges. Ironically, now the MIL is on while I'm driving! ha ha. I wasn't able to fish the new cables along the frame at left rear of fuel tank so ran them through the big hole above the fuel tank then followed the OE cable up past the washer fluid bottle. Conveniently, there was room at a grommet for the 2 new wires to pass through to the interior.

Positive for the added accessories comes from fuse panel G2. It probably wasn't needed but I wrapped a mini strap around the four #16 leads (could've used a smaller gauge wire) close to where they exit the female connector at G2. G2 uses a 10 Amp fuse and on my van, it appears the brake warning light is the only load on that circuit. I'm still not clear if my Rosstech "VAGCOM" dongle is powered solely by 5 volt USB power from the laptop (likely uses van 12 volt supply) but that circuit should handle these new loads. Especially if the gauges use LED's. I can't find Amp draw specs for something like an Autometer gauge but I'm sure it's a low figure.

Who knew that gauges were "a thing" ?

Autometer gauges:

https://www.autometer.com/gauges.html

Neil.
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1981 Westy DIY 15º ABA

1988 West DIY 50º ABA

VE7TBN

[Vanagon Nut]

Found an exhaust leak, suspected issue at downpipe flange to manifold outlet. Installed new C spring clips, no more leak noise. So far, so good. Old C clips were slightly bent at the "spine", spread wider than the new ones and appeared to be larger. They're rusty, old, but since I'd had them on/off many times while making the exhaust, maybe using a lever, chain and shackle at bottom of "C" to do so, malformed them?

Scanned, cleared DTC's. CMP 'intermittent short to positive' possibly had remained even though the battery had been disconnected. Swapped the old dizzy back in (it has the OE pin at gear, not a roll pin as other has), checked timing, it was still fine. Test drove it hard on two trips, CMP code didn't come back. The other DTC was for N80 Evap valve. It wasn't totally plugged in.

MIL light and OBD port are roughed in at dash. I may add a push button switch for accessing DTC blink codes.

Nearly 300 KM's of driving it "like I stole it" to seat the rings. Coolant temps at gauge appear "normal", no significant oil lost at drain plug, no other leaks so far. Driving highway speeds at night in cool weather, the engine lid barely gets warm in spite of it being close to the intake. On a hot day in traffic, that would be much different!

Neil.
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1981 Westy DIY 15º ABA

1988 West DIY 50º ABA

VE7TBN

[82westyrabbit]

Hi Niel. It’s always good to see forward progress. I am glad new spring clamps helped the exsust leak. There is snow and salt on the roads here in the northeast now so my van won’t drive again until spring. But now is the time to start working on all the little things that didn’t get finished before my busy season last spring. I don’t think the Ticco engine management supports a ck engine light. I couldn’t find it in the wiring diagram and it is not in the Ticco wiring harness. I have to plug into a vag tool or Ross tech if I want to ck engine codes. I also had problems with wire connections that looked right but weren’t plugged in all the way at first. John

[Vanagon Nut]

On my first ABA swap, I found the MIL to be a nuisance, in a way, until I learned a bit more about trouble shooting a code. I now find the MIL to be quite helpful. Didn't know the Tiico did not have a MIL and I don't see mention of it in the Tiico "workshop" manual but haven't looked closely at it.

I'm sure you would've seen it in the Tiico diagrams but the A3 Bentley 1993-95 diagrams note that the (early?) '93 Jetta doesn't have a MIL But..... the MIL pin was available at the ECU. This is what I found on my 15º swap; an empty ECU pin with a white cover.

As I hope I'm learning, it's all about the details. I awoke to the sound of heavy rain. All I could think of was how much water was getting into the makeshift Jetta snorkel on my air cleaner. ...... the opening of which points straight up.

Neil.
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1981 Westy DIY 15º ABA

1988 West DIY 50º ABA

VE7TBN

[Vanagon Nut]

Connected the air cleaner to the Vanagon intake snorkel. This really seemed to reduce engine "drone" under load at ~ 4K RPM. Maybe VW knew what they were doing? Moving the inlet of intake further away, or up higher in the rear pillar "reverberation chamber", really helped. The intake noise gets "vented" out the vent?

The marine hoses were a tight fit to each other as was the 3" bilge hose to them. WD40 helped. I cut and shaped rubber hose ID to provide a smoother transition from bilge hose. Worthy of mention; the ID of VW Jetta intake snorkel shown, is not *that* large. It's less than 2"x2"

edit: the ID of the opening I used on the Ford Focus air cleaner is slightly tapered. ~ 2 1/8" - 2 1/4". On the Ford, that opening press fits into a noise reduction box. I had to file out material from the 2" marine hose to fit it to the air cleaner. Some material was removed from the 2.5" marine hose. I originally wanted it to slip all the way on but fitting it was taking too much time. In hindsight I'd cut off the smaller actual Ford inlet to allow more "wiggle" room to it and area in front of tail light.

The pop rivets should hold, the bilge hose feels quite secure to the rubber hose. If I find that I have to remove the entire air cleaner assembly to change the filter, I won't relish re-fitting the bilge hose.

A Mk3 flex plate bolt and a little RTV fit nice to block that hole.

Built a heat shield for muffler. I'm not sure this is a good idea or even useful. The metal intake pipe I built to connect MAF to Mk3 rubber bellows is likely far enough away from exhaust heat so that the IAT sensor won't be pushed out of range. That pipe does get warm though. Not really tested as of yet but though most of the shield is much cooler than the muffler, it directs heat up to end at apron. At that point it gets pretty hot. I'm thinking that having air moving around the muffler w/o a shield is a better idea. If I keep the shield, the fetid pipe strap would be replaced with more rigid pieces; the entire assembly is not that "stiff".

looking through license plate door down at shield. Top of shield is mounted at 3 carrier bar bolts. Another reason I don't like it; when I have to change the timing belt or whatever, I have to remove those bolts. I'd really hate to mess up the threads on one of the captive bolts that hold the carrier to frame.

end view from passenger side. The muffler does not touch any of the shield.

clearance to pulley is about 3/4"

these would be replaced with something stronger, if I kept the shield

_________________
1981 Westy DIY 15º ABA

1988 West DIY 50º ABA

VE7TBN

[82westyrabbit]

Hi Niel. I like all the intake work you are doing. I will copy some of it when I get back to work on my van. On the heat heatsheild I would not bring it around the bottom towards the rear of of the van. I would stop the heat shield at the vertical or maybe even turn it forward a little bit. Mine stops at the vertical. I Tried to get a picture for you but the heat shield is painted black and blends into everything else and would not have been a useful picture. I did a lot of work to make my heat shield just the way I wanted it but I that doesn’t mean it is necessary. I always enjoy seeing progress and how people do things. John

[Vanagon Nut]

Thanks John. If I ever do another swap (ha ha ha.... ha ha), I'd consider 2.75" aluminum, or 3" flexible hose with shims to connect MAF to Jetta intake boot. Assuming rust will occur at ID of the my steel pipe, I wonder if any of it will come loose and get sucked into the intake. I'd originally found it tough to source 2.75" hose but of course now that I know more of this stuff, I see this:

https://www.gates.com/us/en/other-products/engine-...8/v/151453

IIRC, the early Bostig used a similar looking hose.

I considered using soft wall marine coolant hose (same as transition piece I used to MAF) but a sales person at the shop I got it from said he'd heard that when used in a vacuum application, the inner wall might flake loose. I doubt that will happen on the short piece I used.

If I ever get my butt down south away from the cooler weather here, I'll try to monitor the IAT sensor values. At this point, the intake pipe only gets warm to touch.

Your earlier comment on shield length had prompted me to think further about air flow. Earlier I too had thought to make a return forward to help "scoop" air when the van was moving. (I'd also thought that a 1 piece oil pan skid plate and shield might direct air flow under/over the muffler) I bet your shorter shield provides better air flow over the muffler and better heat dissipation at slower speeds or at a stand still.

It's ironic that I'm seeing nearly the same temps at muffler and crank pulley but in slow traffic in hot weather, that would change.

If I keep the shield, I'll shorten it. Thanks for the input.

I'm nearing my first oil change so will be curious to see whats in the oil filter.

Neil.
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1981 Westy DIY 15º ABA

1988 West DIY 50º ABA

VE7TBN

[Vanagon Nut]

[82westyrabbit]

Hi Niel. I had to replace those rivnuts. I don’t remember what I used. I think maybe 1/4 inch rivnuts. But I have access to some unusual fasteners so I might have used some thing else.
I hope to keep all my aircleaner stuff on the left side as my battery takes up most of the space on the right. The KN air filter is not bad around town but on the highway it makes it unpleasant to drive. Maybe I will have a chance to find a junkyard this week to look for air filter housing. Thanks John

[Vanagon Nut]

Thanks for that pointer to riv nuts John.

Ya, I'm surprised at how much difference changing things in the air cleaner dept. can do to reduce noise.

Were I to do it again, I'd probably use the Dodge air cleaner. The Ford air cleaner works but is a better fit on a diesel if used on the passenger side.

I'd allowed room in the engine bay for a possible aux battery install but likely won't install one there. So in hindsight, I might've been able to install whatever brand air cleaner in the engine bay then transitioned to the Vanagon plastic plate then to snorkel. But then I'm not sure the PS pump with stock hoses would've fit ......

Neil.
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1981 Westy DIY 15º ABA

1988 West DIY 50º ABA

VE7TBN

[Vanagon Nut]

So in the spirit of seeing the "sport in it", decided to make a flange and weld up a new longer tail pipe. This is a first time effort at making a flange. The tail pipe was ~ 10.75" long. I increased it to ~ 13.5". At idle it has less of a "futt futt" farting noise and when revved, it sounds a *little* bit like when you install a new exhaust VS one with a tiny leak. It might possibly be a *tiny* bit quieter over all. Regardless, I'd suggest adding length doesn't make much, if any, sound damping difference. All I wanted was a pipe that didn't point so low and wanted to move the outlet further outboard.

proof that with basic tools, (angle grinder/cutoff grinder, files drill press, jig saw) one can make a flange if they really have to. I'd suggest transferring marks from the outlet flange at muffler to use as your template, not the gasket as I did. Doing the former will allow for better placed centre marks for bolt holes.

Make your marks, cut material a little larger than need be

drill a bunch of holes, possibly closer together than I show

to make a really useless ninja star

file a BUNCH of metal off

Of note, the paper gasket (temporary gasket) I made for the old tail pipe failed miserably; it got soaked by exhaust moisture. This allowed the bolts to become a little loose!

I may weld a brace between the flange and pipe. End is nearly flush with bumper. Over all, it worked out pretty good. Using Allen bolts, VS cap bolts, gave a little more room between weld and bolt. Even so, I had to Dremel away some weld near bolt holes. All told, this part took WAY too much time to make!

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1981 Westy DIY 15º ABA

1988 West DIY 50º ABA

VE7TBN

[82westyrabbit]

Hi Neil. thanks for the pictures of the aircleaner housings. I was down in South Carolina with a day off and went to pick a part. I bought the ford aircleaner the Dodge aircleaner and one from a 95 Oldsmobile Cutlass. All for less than I could have gotten one of them on eBay. I think I like the Oldsmobile one the best. It’s made out of steel and will be the easiest to modify. I will post pictures when I get finished. I think I have a plan now. Thanks John

[Vanagon Nut]

You're most welcome John. I'm sure you'll figure something out.

On a trip up here in BC I went to the local (only) store to look around. I found a Dodge Caravan filter there. Couldn't believe it. I think Dodge sold a lot of Caravans! i.e. I think it would be much harder to do same for the Nissan Altima box I'm running in my 15º ABA.

Neil.
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1981 Westy DIY 15º ABA

1988 West DIY 50º ABA

VE7TBN

[burleymotorsports]

[Vanagon Nut]

[burleymotorsports]

Sure looks like a crack from pics. Its always really hard to tell with the naked eye. Look at the opposite side to see if it shows there too.
When its installed and filled with oil you can check for leaks via a hairline crack by spraying foot powder on it and run it for a while, this will show any moisture if it is cracked.
Sorry I know that's not helping you right now with it off and I know that now is the ultimate time to weld it up.
Maybe you've got a buddy that can Tig those spots while its off ? Just a thought.
While its off , you could put some water in it then take a rubber tipped blow gun , blow compressed air from the bottom side where you think its cracked and look for bubbles inside.
If nothing shows up you may want to warm it up a bit with a heat gun to expand the aluminum to open up a crack recheck to see if its indeed there.
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[Vanagon Nut]

Thanks again Burleymotorsports. Great tips. Appreciated.

This was possibly foolish but I re installed the pan w/o checking the cracks any further. Prior, it only showed a very minor oil weep at or near the drain plug. I didn't really see a path but it may also be weeping at the RTV I used to seal up the actual drain hole. There were no oil drips on the ground. On this oil change, I used Permatex anaerobic sealant at the drain plug threads.

Neil.

Oil "weep" spots

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1981 Westy DIY 15º ABA

1988 West DIY 50º ABA

VE7TBN

[burleymotorsports]

Your very welcome , its always great to hep folks like you
Try the old foot powder trick and drive it , it helped me find mysterious oil leaks several times when I was a Bimmer tech
_________________
Protect your investment !
Buy only genuine Burley Motorsports products

I will not see your PM.
Please email us directly through our website at http://www.burleymotorsports.net . Thank you.

Web: http://www.burleymotorsports.net
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/burleymotorsports
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/burleymotorsports