here we go... a VW van tale

[skiing-in-jackson]

New tires- Maxxis Big Horn- and fancy German Bilstien shocks for me. Skipped on the new wheels. It handles like a dream. They have this new silicone type cover on them to cover the upper portion. Pretty cool. I'm amazed at the difference.



Bonus Pic:

Taken from the window of the bus last weekend after picking up new tires in Idaho Falls. This was a first for me. Never seen these guys before. Blaze and I made a man trip out of picking up/installing the tires and saw them just as we entered Snake River Canyon from the South. There was a small herd of about 14 or so. Rare here.



Next Up: Colorado Road Trip to get it painted & maybe ski A- Basin??? Stay Tuned!

Also seeking couch in West Denver next week or so.

[moose pit]

Nice, I found finding tires that fit the van (and are 8ply) were hard to come by... but those are pretty aggressive.

I have the paint job and new window seals in the future as well...

[skiing-in-jackson]

Good tires are pretty hard to find. I think all the way back to the fifties, VW vans have sat on a 3/4 ton chassis w/ 14" tires.

I installed a new gas tank last summer but had to pull it twice looking for leaks. A few days ago I ordered the Go Westy Re-Seal Tank Kit- then I should be good to go for a summer of road tripping!

[MakeFast]

Wife and I picked up an '86 Westy about a month ago. Spent her spring break cleaning the thing and removing the POS tinting that was on it. It has about 180k miles with 70k on a rebuild and 5k on a recent clutch installation. We previously had a '74 Westy we sold with chunks of metal falling off of, so this one (body is pretty sound) is a nice upgrade.

Bentley manual is en-route to me from Van-cafe and I think my next project will be headlight relays and wiring in a relay so I stop leaving the lights on (basically so the lights go on/off with the ignition). Also thinking about a second battery to run accessories from. Other upgrades on the docket: awning, new canvas, and finding a new passenger side power mirror (PO replaced the power mirror with a non-power driver side mirror installed sideways - can't see a thing).

I need to crawl under there and sort out some shifting issues - really hard to get it to find first. And replace belts as we have a squealer.

Moose - are you going to get a pro to shoot the paint? Changing color or staying with the same? Wife hates the cola-brown and wants white so it is pretty high on my list of things to do, but it is a lot of prep-work to do in the street, not to mention removing everything if we want an inside-out color change.

[skiing-in-jackson]

Wife and I picked up an '86 Westy about a month ago.

Congrats. Buy some nice tools. Bentley is essential, but get some others.

not to mention removing everything if we want an inside-out color change.

= Big Money

I'm going to take mine to Maaco in Denver. $149 prep fee and $299 paint job. A coat of the same color is all I can really afford. I'm going to do a bunch of my own prep work.

[MakeFast]

Congrats. Buy some nice tools. Bentley is essential, but get some others.

I'm going to take mine to Maaco in Denver. $149 prep fee and $299 paint job. A coat of the same color is all I can really afford. I'm going to do a bunch of my own prep work.

I have most tools I need left over from wrenching on the '74.

Painting is about 85% prepwork anyway - and I would be doing most of it myself. This is way further down the line though...a lot to do before we paint.

[skiing-in-jackson]

This a list of the work I've done to our 1984 Westy in the last few weeks:

(done myself) :

Reline and reseal new gas tank
New brake shoes
new left wheel cylinder
new master cylinder
new brake power servo
new brake backing plate, left rear
new spark plugs
new fuel filter
new fuel cross over tube
new fuel breather lines and gaskets
new spark plugs
check vacuum lines
pull dashboard, clean heater box
new spark plug wires
new rotor
new distributor cap
new Bilstien shocks
new Maxxis Tires
new hub cap covers

The Bus (I know I should call it a 'van' , but we had a 1970 Campmobile and a 1972 Passenger Bus before this and the name stuck) has never run better- I feel I have reached the mechanical holy grail, the mechanical nirvana. Hopefully a nice TR will follow! Road trip!

Some pics:

Broken bleeder screw on the rear cylinder caused extra work- usually the case with a 27 by/o vehicle:



Pulling the steering wheel was great- i got to clean many of the contacts:



New brake backing plate- new shoes went on as well:



The real reason I had to start all of this was that the power servo had gotten brake fluid in it- from the failed master cylinder. Supposedly one can change the power servo without taking out the dash, but i saw no way to do it:



The snow level and our beloved Bus! Casual rolling around Grand Teton National Park on a lazy morning:



Bonus Pic:

My 15 y/o daughter Eden, climbing at our new local Parks and Rec climbing wall. It was been really great. She is a great athlete:

[hop]

wow, with those tights and socks w/ rock shoes = yer daughter is from the golden age (80's) of sport climbing. JB Tribout and and Steve Schneider would be proud.

[MakeFast]

The Bus (I know I should call it a 'van' , but we had a 1970 Campmobile and a 1972 Passenger Bus before this and the name stuck) has never run better- I feel I have reached the mechanical holy grail, the mechanical nirvana. Hopefully a nice TR will follow! Road trip!

We do the same.

All I did was change the oil and PS fluid. You make me look like a wimp Fuel filter change is next. Going to wire in a relay so I can't leave the lights on and then do the headlight upgrade relays.

Will probably change the fuel lines soon as well - the mechanic said they are fine, but better safe than sorry. Also going to try to find an AC unit to stick back in there (PO removed the original) if we have to move to GA.

Wife is enjoying 'nesting' in the bus since we don't have an even semi-permanent place to live.

[MontuckyFried]

Holy crap, Stephen! You are the MAN! That thing rocks.

[MakeFast]

Stephen - you said you didn't upgrade your wheels, are those the standard 15" steel wheels with wheel covers? Wife has been dropping not-so-subtle hints about the wheels since I told her we can't paint until we have at least a carport.

Are the Bilstien's your only handling-oriented upgrade? Worth it?

[skiing-in-jackson]

Stephen - you said you didn't upgrade your wheels, are those the standard 15" steel wheels with wheel covers...

Good observation. The pic ^^^ is pre-new tires. Top of the page is the new Maxxis Big Horns. I stayed with the standard 14" wheels and found a specialty tire for the rim. It is an odd size. There is a lot of information on the GoWesty site about tire upgrades and the 15" and 16" wheel options.

I'm on a lot of dirt roads and eventually chose a tire that afforded good clearance and traction over smooth highway rolling. That said, the Maxxis tires are very smooth rolling on the road. No matter what people say, the larger wheel sizes are great, but they do cut down on clearance in the wheel well- essential in Wyoming.

The Bilstiens are awesome. I can't believe the difference. My Bus is heavily loaded most of the time.

The new shocks are probably the best upgrade I did this season.

[MakeFast]

Might check into the Bilstiens then - the Van is a bit spongy at time. We are planning on sticking with the 14 wheels and have some sort of Maxxis light truck tires on them (that the previous owner put on them). Works for now, plenty of road noise though - some kind of sound dampener is on my list to do though.

Clutch slave went out some time over the weekend, hope I can get it replaced this week - just need to get the part in.

Oh, and if you end up making those bumpers mentioned in the other thread - I will totally buy one.

[skiing-in-jackson]

Update:

My Bus was running like shit since I got back from my Spring road trip- I didn't have the time to take a good look at it- so it sat while I made a few feeble attempts to fix it.

I tried everything to no avail.

It turns out the new distributor cap had a very slight crack in the #3 tower that extended down to the body. It must have been shorting out.

Another new distributor cap = Summer fun day in GTNP

(but I'm still putting a few bikes on the back should something happen)

[MakeFast]

Update from my end:

Drove from PDX => Park City. Somewhere in middle of nowhere ID/UT it started surging, etc. Replaced fuel filter. Hobbled into PC. Wife tried to go to the grocery store but it died in the parking lot. Went and looked a day or so later - intake air hose had popped off. Reconnected it and it drove beautifully all the way to Island Park, ID with a stop off in Driggs to pick up some pop-top shocks.

My wife's family doesn't get the outdoors (we watched Old Faithful, and they are 'done' with Yellowstone - I could care less about the geyser, but can't get over the other beauty) so we will be extending our trip a few days.

Now we are trying to figure out how to move to this area - I can't imagine a more perfect place. My wife suggested it (usually I'm the one wanting to move), so we may actually be doing it.

Well, we need a bit more population than Island Park, but way less than PDX. Oh, and fewer mosquitos - they are mutant mosquitos I'm almost positive. We will see about the move.


Also seriously considering a Subaru engine for "'Ol Bessie" (wife named her)

[haydukelives]

I think there are now better choices than the Subaru.We did that about 8 years ago,and the expenses have been constant.Maybe try to find a VW diesel or jetta

[Shin-to-Win]

I did the suby swap about 5 years ago and have been very happy with it. The extra power is a game changer on road trips through the mountains. I did the 2.2L, but would do the 2.5L if I were doing another one now that the 2.5's are easy to come by and the bit and pieces of the conversion have been sorted out.

We don't get out in it much these days as we used to, but every trip still feels like an adventure (even if we don't break down!!).

[MakeFast]

I think there are now better choices than the Subaru.We did that about 8 years ago,and the expenses have been constant.Maybe try to find a VW diesel or jetta

Have the expenses been conversion related or engine related? Do you think the expenses would hold true now (more engines to pick from, more experience with the conversion)?

The TDI is intriguing, but finding the Diesel parts + the relative rarity of TDI engines makes me hesitant along with the near necessity of a transaxle rebuild.

Of course we are just at the 'talking about it' stages right now (I'm still unemployed), but are keeping our eye open in case we can find a good deal on an engine.

I did the suby swap about 5 years ago and have been very happy with it. The extra power is a game changer on road trips through the mountains. I did the 2.2L, but would do the 2.5L if I were doing another one now that the 2.5's are easy to come by and the bit and pieces of the conversion have been sorted out.

We are planning 2.5 - the only thing that scares me is the electronics. And the reason we are thinking about it: getting passed by 18 wheelers going up to Park City from Salt Lake. I don't need to be passing people, but I like to keep it so the truckers aren't upset with me.

[skiing-in-jackson]

I had one of those VW daze,,,

I wanted to replace my upper ball joints before hitting the road- what a disaster.

The front right will not come out at all, I tried everything, heat, a thousand whacks... you name it.

I destroyed a ball joint fork trying to get this off and I'm tearing up the control arm on the top:

[skiing-in-jackson]

Aftet some research and a few visits to the TheSamba.com (great VW forum).

I came up this this thing. It it is not in stock, our local NAPA could probably have it by Saturday morning. Anybody used one of these things?

[moose pit]

I have been running with the if it ain't really broke don't try to fix it. That being said I have a slight shifting issue (a little sticky - probably on the way to a new shift plate), the heater core needs rewiring and as for the paint to get a pro it ain't cheap and as I'm pretty broke it's not gonna happen.

The best thing I have done to the van was the SA headlights and grill. Wow. Being able to see in the winter is worth it.

Good luck with the ball joints.

[skiing-in-jackson]

When things were going better- this is the view from my friend's driveway. I'm going to hobble to town with the loose (should be rock solid as difficult as it is stuck) and bring it to a mechanic.

The Village is between my rear view mirror an the side of the windshield to the left.

[dino]

I suck at working on my '86 westy, but sure to love cruising with the family, camping, etc.

Seems like a good thread for this little vid from Vedauwoo

[skiing-in-jackson]

I eventually had to bring the stuck ball joint to Shervin's.

They cut the spindle off the ball joint then had to press the piece out! Yikes. I'm bummed I couldn't get this one myself, but oh well.

It drives the same as it did before, leading me to think I probably could have gotten away with out doing it.

[skiing-in-jackson]

The last few times I started my 84 Westy, I heard a creaking associated with the drive belt. I didn't think much of it as it seemed to go away pretty quick.

Anyhow, this afternoon I wanted to look into the issue. Further inspection brought me to the bottom bracket of the alternator.



Photo: Robert Bentley, Inc.

The red stud was gone when I got there and the green stud was loose. Even the Aternator support bracket was loose.

Can I drive with just the support bracket? (I know the answer to this is NO!!!)Easy fixes???

I was due to leave for a Southwest Ski Business trip (Jackson Hole-Phoenix-Albuquerque-Jackson Hole) in 10 days.

Rent a car or try to fix it?

Thanks