here we go... a VW van tale

[moose pit]

All right 3 years in on the 86 vanagon high top and thus far a new alternator has gone in, a new exhaust system, batteries and a surepower battery isolator ( ), a head light switch ( ops: ), clutch master cylinder, some hoses, and various electrical gremlins have been chased (some more successfully than others :x :? :shock: :roll: ) I am diving into the next "project" session.



Last winter the > -35C cold was hard on the van and the clutch went, then the heater blower stopped squealing and calved; same trip a typical piece of BC road "sand" blew a 1cm hole through the already beat headlights. After the trip the van was stood down pending repairs... yesterday the packages that the good folks at the busdepot sent arrived

Now I have a SA grill with headlights, buckets, and wiring, a ignition switch, a starter and a heater blower to install.

I figured if I was going to pull the dash I might as well do the ignition switch and since the battery is good (both of 'em) and I did the grounds last weekend and voltage is good I'm figuring the starter has finally calved after occasional non starts or after rocking the van or tapping the starter she'd slowly turn over then last month no coaxing would convince the engine to start.

Tuesday is the first day of three I have to get this Project done, I hope to get some pics up and I'll probably be looking to vent frustration...

[Poop~Ghost]

Sweet - keep up the posting, I always enjoy project TRs.

[Toby]

I figured if I was going to pull the dash I might as well do the ignition switch and since the battery is good (both of 'em) and I did the grounds last weekend and voltage is good I'm figuring the starter has finally calved after occasional non starts or after rocking the van or tapping the starter she'd slowly turn over then last month no coaxing would convince the engine to start.

On my Toyota Landcruiser a common problem with similar symptoms is caused by the contacts in the starter motor wearing away over time. It's a quick, cheap and easy fix to replace them, and much cheaper than a whole new starter. Not sure if your VW starter might have similar problems, but it's probably worth investigating.

[Meadow Skipper]

It's good to see that the basic nature of VW vans didn't change in the 19 model years between the OP's and the one I owned.

I got to where I could pull the engine of my '67 in 45 minutes with the tools I kept in the back, because I had lots of practice. Fucker was good on snowy and crappy backroads though...when it ran.

Vibes.

[refried]

I got to where I could pull the engine of my '67 in 45 minutes with the tools I kept in the back, because I had lots of practice.

I bought a '68 with a bad engine and rather than tow it home, I pulled the engine out of my '67, towed the '68 behind a 7-11 and swapped it there. We were out of there in less than an hour and that included having a drink with an old black guy who lived next to the 7-11 who came over to see if we needed help.

[MakersTeleMark]

Nice rig.

[moose pit]

Not a bad looking starting point.

It goes down hill from here...



So here's a real fuzzy look at the old ignition switch and the new.

After replacing the switch I pulled the cover off the instrument cluster (by this point there had been a couple mystery screws drop out and some plastic chips ). I unplugged the dash switches and identified one of the mystery screws as belonging with the speedometer, same with the plastic...



Not happy at this point. But it is an older van.

Then the real gremlins came out



The dash is off and the rest of the aftermarket stereo wiring disaster is fully exposed

Looks fun eh. I think I will be capping the wires that are duct taped and redoing the but connectors that look bad. There are a couple issues with the sub that I hope to get sorted while I am at it

Now beer and steaks 'cuz I'm done for the day.

Tomorrow I hope to get the box open (the fucker is glued shut), the blower replaced and started on the headlights and SA grill.

How bad can it be?

[XXX-er]

you should know better than to buy a VW van

last year Leanne went to fill up the propane tank on their VW van to go to Kispiox music fest ,some thing fucked up and when we drove by police and fire crew was on the scene and the area had been evacuated

my golf is for sale

[moose pit]

you should know better than to buy a VW van

last year Leanne went to fill up the propane tank on their VW van to go to Kispiox music fest ,some thing fucked up and when we drove by police and fire crew was on the scene and the area had been evacuated

my golf is for sale

That was a funny story.

If you sell the golf where will you put your boat?

[XXX-er]

I bought a new ford ranger 4x4 & a canopy ...they were cheap

[moose pit]

I bought a new ford ranger 4x4 & a canopy ...they were cheap

very nice.

[moose pit]

All right so I didn't get it all done in 3 days it was nice out and the bike and boat were callin' ...

So a new ignition switch is in and then it was on to the blower motor extraction...



There was a fair bit of glue holding it together, which resulted in a lot of frustration in getting it apart.



In the end I persevered and got the older motor out and then after a bit of cleaning put the new motor in.




After a quick electrical test in went the dash...

Battery hooked up, key in the ignition and she turns over first go!

But the blower motor won't blow

There might have been some cursin' and a cool down beer before the fuse check reveled a blown fuse

Now the dash is in and there will be heat this winter 8) and on to the grill...




I'm thinking about nuking some of the rust while I am pulling the grill (a paint job is in the future just not yet) any handy tips or just sand, prime, paint.

Inspiration...

[/img]

[moose pit]

well the grill finally went in today

Gonna have to say it looks pretty sharp.


I went after a bunch of the rust that was creeping through the paint and then noticed a fair bit of body work had been done on the front end... oh well...

I hit the rust and flaking paint with a wire brush followed by some more aggressive rust removal with the dremmel. Once done I gave it the por 15 treatment, the clear coat yellowed on the white paint but I'm hoping it will provide a short term solution until I have the cash and time to really go after a full paint job. I then just spot painted the works and now she is almost ready to roll just need to wait for dark then align the headlights.

[jon gaper]

that $3 ignition switch has been around for decades after vw knew it was a POS......but a $300 job for the stealer

[BrokeSomeRibs]

A sane man would have sold the van a long, long time ago. Props to you for a labor of love. It's a sweet rig.

[SouthCentralShralper]

Good work Moose Pit, but your van is a Money Pit!
I've had a '71, '74, '78 and '83... then I finally smartened up and got a Toyota Taco!
The buses and vans are great when they're parked and top is popped, but I hated sweating it, wondering if I was gonna make to my destination!

[moose pit]

any old(er) vehicle is a money pit. I had an older exploder that sucked cash outta me way faster and I have buddies with Taco's that suck cash as well...

I dunno whether this is a labour of love as much as it is a hobby at this point. Something about being able to get things working/running on my own has provided a certain amount of satisfaction, that and I like driving around with a full beer fridge.

Next step is to put a block heater in and then wait for snow...

[splat]

Now that you've demonstrated all that perseverance, there's not a reason in the world to sell it til the wheels fall off since you know it inside and out.

That's how I feel about my Jeep with over 350K on it. I have another Jeep on standby if it will ever die....

[skiing-in-jackson]

Bump to see how things are going?

For my 1984 Vanagon, I just spent $$$$.¢¢ on new 16" wheels and tires, the fancy Bilstien shocks and some other stuff...

[MontuckyFried]

Even being the money pit they are, I've always gotten a kick out of Vanagons. One of my buddies had one in high school. Ultimate ride for a crew of hooligans. Ahh, good times.

The "Vanagon" of the future? I'm hoping we'll see Ford actually put their Airstream concept or Family One (basically a Ford Transit) concept into production.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Airstream
http://www.roadandtrack.com/auto-sho...ly-one-concept

Best of luck with the VW!

[Johnny Deep]

Nice rig.

But seriously, you need to vent about a vehicle that is 25 years old?

[moose pit]

Well I ended up living in the van for a month in late January early February... it was a great time for the furnace decide to quit, and the starter to die (saw it coming...), but the old beast kept kickin'. The SA lights and grill are great, a new starter has made a huge difference (it was pulling 3X the amps it should have).

There are a few fixes on my list... I need to re wire the blower (oops again) and I might put in new fuel lines and rebuild the shifting linkage.

Until then...

[lemmycaution]

i had an '84 vanagon in high school, they are awesome (though slow as all hell). keep up the good work.

[strawjack]

^ oh, boy. first yr of watercooled engines. i had one...what a nightmare! blew a head gasket in Nelson BC (not a bad place to break down) but cost me a fortune to fix. apparently you are supposed to run non-phosphate antifreeze.

i have to admit i loved the thing, but i worked on it more than i drove it.

almost bought a '91 last year. i think i'll own one again some day...

[liv2ski]

Some of the best memories of our life's (wife and I) were in the 84 Westfalia, camping with the kids and trips to Mex. It was slooow, but such a fun car. Kids use to have me pop the top so they could play in it. What other car do kids want to play in? And ya, the fridge full of beer or just rolling up to a great surf spot and hanging out for as long as you wanted. I loved that car. To bad I gave up on throwing $$$ at it, as I have always missed it. Ever now and then I will see one with a Subie engine in it and the S African front headlights, all fixed up for $20k and I really want to buy it