Front end work

Oooooh, the long awaited front end rebuild is finally starting.  Through no ones fault but my own, I have procrastinated long enough.

Today I started the process by stripping the front end out of my 84 tintop parts van.  The parts van is in remarkably great condition, without a hint of seam rust.  Too bad it does not have a title.

The van was bought from a woman who stated that it was her daughters, but when I asked why she was selling it the woman stated that her daughter has been dead for 12 years and it was time to let it go.  She herself had a burgundy tintop, 88 I think.

Anyway, tearing out the front end was easier than expected.  I figured everything would be rusted together, but I was pleasantly surprised how easy that it all came apart.

Started by loosening the lug bolts, lifting van and putting on jack stands.  Always use the jack stands, do not ever trust a jack to hold up a vehicle that you will be working on.

After removing the wheels, I removed the brake caliper and set aside without putting pressure on the brake line.  I then placed a jack under the passenger lower control arm (away from hole the provides access to the shock) and took the pressure off the shock absorber.  Remove the top 17mm nut, and the lower through bolt and the shock and the shock sleeve will drop out the bottom.  then i jacked it up some more taking the pressure off the upper ball joint.  Removed the two hex bolts, and the large nut on the end of the radius arm, and lowered the jack and the lower arm.  That opens up the spring for easier removal.  I use an internally actuated spring compressor that I have from my old S420, works great.

At this point, you may find it easier to remove the nut on the bottom of the sway bar link as well.

After removing the spring, I removed the upper control arm - 19mm nut, and large ass (don't remember size) hex wrench does it.  When removing bolt, make sure to get cam washers too.  You will want to reuse this bolt if possible, a replacement is in the neighborhood of $70 each.

Remove the cotter pin on the tie rod end, and 19mm wrench to remove nut.  Few taps on the sides of the knuckle it attaches to and a few more on the threaded portion of the tie rod should knock it loose.

Now you can tilt the spindle assembly forward and get to that lower ball joint nut.  Loosen that up, give a few taps on the sides of the knuckle and then tap the end of the ball joint threaded portion and the spindle assembly drops.  Without a caliper line, or a tie rod connected you should be able to pull that out and put aside.  On the drivers side,you will have the speedo cable going through the spindle and attaching (via a circlip) to the rotor cap.  Undo the clip and you can pull the speedo cable through the back of the spindle.

Now you are left with the lower control arm and the attached radius arm.  Don't you think you are going to get the radius rod detached from the control arm in the van.  That sucker won't budge.  It has to be taken out in one connected piece.  Do this by removing the lower control arm bolt, which if its like my van will not be easy (at all).  Once that bolt is out though, the radius arm can be slid out of its little hole too.  I needed to cut the head off the bolt, and part of the tail in order to slide it through the mount point.  Hopefully the press and some heat will allow it to come out easier.

Repeat on other side.

If doing the rack as well, there are 4 bolts holding the rack to the van, and two bolts holding the steering column to the rack.  Also with the sway bar, there are 4 bolts holding that bar in place, through two u clamps at each frame rail.

I did not take pictures as I was on a time crunch, but will take some and augment my descriptives at a later point after removing the same pieces from the Thingamajigger.

Time to go home and get cleaned up.

That's paint under the dirt!

Update: started taking the lower control arm apart.  Those three bolts holding the radius arm and ball joint knuckle are a b*tch.  One came out with 5pound sledge and a punch, the second with heat, but the third - ooh that one really put me through the ringer.

28 July - started disassembly again this morning.   Started with something easy - the upper control arms. These each have two tack welds on the arm to bushing connection.

These obviously need to be ground off completely, otherwise it will not slide out.

I put one of the arms into my 12 ton press ($100 at Harbor Freight) and thought to use the through bolt and washer to push out the bushing.  Sprayed with some PB Blaster to add some lubrication.

 Here was my setup.  Worked well until I found two plastic bushings in the other control arm. Those just blew apart in the press, and I needed to shift gears.  I used one of the removed bushings as a proper diameter push rod.  I pushed just enough to get it started and not to get the push bushing stuck.  Then a hammer and drift to get it the rest of the way out.

Once those were complete, I brought them to the sandblast cabinet.  

Now these are ready for some paint.

The sandblasting was interrupted with two hose blow outs, one moisture blockage and an incident with a shop vac.  

The blow outs were due to the cheap hose that comes with the unit.  Some air hose will take care of this.  The moisture issue was rectified by my adding my water filter from before the supply line to cabinet to after (attached directly to cabinet).  Worked fine after that.  Humid day, compressor getting worked creates water.  It condensates in the hose. I think I will get another to permanently mount on blast cabinet.  

The shop vac incident was the last straw today - I packed it up after that.  I described in an earlier post how I sealed up the cabinet nice and tight.  Well, with all the blasting I was doing, I was becoming aggravated with the dust cloud and not being able to see inside the cabinet.  The cabinet comes with a port to connect a dust eliminator, so why not the shop vac?  

I removed the air cover on the back of the unit, connected the shop vac and turned it on.  I watched the dust go away, then the gloves rise up and inflate, and before I could turn it off, the glass imploded. Too much suction, even with the vent hole opened! So much for extra sealing.  

My shop vac is a standard Ridgid with a dust collection filter for those wanting to try this on your own.

Exterior table for Vanagon.

Second task for today was to build a table support for the outside of the van.

Using one of my jacks (I carry two to steady the van while camping, keeps it from rocking too much when sleeping), I ground off the paint on one side for welding.

I cut a piece of 1/4 inch by 1.5 inch bar stock eight inches long.

I then removed the mounting tabs on a Westy front table mount so that I had a round piece with only the attached nut.  I also ground away some of the galvanized coating so my welds would be decent.

Locating the piece of bar stock, slightly angled from the crank handle side of the jack, I tack welded it on.  I then located the round table receiver in a manner that the cranking would not interfere, nor the hand knob operation.

After trying the jack in the position I wanted, and its full operation:

Now that it works as I envisioned, I finished welding it up. I left the welds to the jack minimal in case the jack fails, and I can cut off and then replace the jack portion.

Then I brought it to the sandblast cabinet, blasted off the rest of the galvanization and welding slag.  Cleaned it with the enamel reducer, and sprayed it black.

She is now ready to camp. Pretty spiffy.

I dislike single use items in the van, now this jack has three purposes.

I also realized I had not added a cigar recommendation as of late.

These are my current favorites:

Shifter assembly

Well, here is the first weekend in many that we did not go away.

Cub Scout event yesterday, and forecast for heavy thunderstorms all over New England kept us local.

So I had time to play!

First task on list was to rebuild my shifter.  It's been getting sloppier lately.

Had a kit from Go Westy, and a shifter ear repair kit from T3 Technique ready.  It's really easy, and the diagram in the Bentley in section 34 should be enough to provide confidence that you can do this too.

First, remove the boot from the shifter shaft.  Then cover the area around the shifter assembly with newspaper, rags or whatever you have.  You wouldn't want an old greasy part to make its mark on your nice carpet.

Remove the set screw in the collar above the tension spring, then remove the two 10mm nuts holding the assembly to the body.

The kit has all the parts you require to replace this entire assembly, so put it aside where it will not be in the way.

The metal housing comes in bare metal, so I took the opportunity first to clean it with some cheap enamel reducer and paint it.  While it is drying, build the new assembly - larger diameter spring goes inside the two ball halves.  Then this assembled ball goes into the two cup halves.  Lubricate liberally while assembling - I used a waterproof grease. 

The cupped ball assembly goes into the rubber 'gear looking' part.  A bit of grease will aid in the insertion (isn't that always the way?).  This new assembly is now at the point where it can be left without fear of it blowing apart.  

When the metal housing is dry - took minutes in the 85 degree sunny heat of today, you can insert the rubber enclosed assembly into the back of the metal housing.  Again, a spot of grease will aid this insertion. There is a round plastic retainer that follows the rubber encased assembly, and will locate the  shifter ball in the correct position when assembled.

Now this next part can be done from above, but since I was doing the 'ears' of the linkage as well, I moved to the underside of the van.  If you are going underside, you can reinstall the assembly using the new nuts and washers, locating the added two holes in the metal housing with the corresponding holes in the floor plate.  The later models do not have this hole, and the Bentley should be referenced for proper placement of this housing assembly.

I removed my clamshell, as I have it on stainless bolts instead of the retainer springs that normally act as the hinge pins.  This gave me freedom of movement.  

Some people like to keep the clamshell attached, and use it as a back support while working in this area.  To each their own, I guess.  With the van on ramps, I can sit under there comfortably upright and have plenty of room with it removed.

Locate the shifter assembly box.

Remove the fasteners holding on the box.  Some PO had been here before, judging by the stainless nuts and washers, so removal was easy.

Inside, you will find this (in some form or another):

De grease and clean the linkage so you know what you are dealing with.

Here you can see the bolt head, nut and a piece of the linkage 'ear' hanging off to the left.  No wonder its getting sloppy.  

Disassemble the bolt and nut.  Remove it carefully as the loss of tension will cause the shifter to lop over above from gravity and could pinch your fingers.

Clean it more if necessary.  There are two bushings in the base of the shifter that get replaced.

The ears get yanked.  They are plastic with a simple locator dowel in the middle.

Clean it, and slip on the new ear pieces, paying attention to the differences in size and shape.  The square one goes in the drivers side, and the one with the slanted top goes on passenger side.

The kit comes with two aluminum dowels that get pressed into the plastic, and through holes in the linkage ears.  I used a simple clamp to do this, and made sure to file off any excess.

Reassemble the linkage bottom with the new provided bolt and nut.  

Now, degrease the housing box.  Check it for too much wear.  If its good, slather the guides with some waterproof grease, and reinstall.

Before reassembling everything, give the shifter a try.  Make sure it shifts correctly, and smoothly.  It should feel fantastic and make you want to drive it just to enjoy its glorious workings.

All good?  Reassemble your clamshell, check the air in your spare and its condition, and button it all up.

Enjoy!

West River Westies

I know this blog as been more about enjoying the Thingamajigger, rather than repairs to the Thingamajigger recently. But in my defence, it IS summer.  It's time to be out enjoying the serenity of nature, and what better way than in the van?  It's just good for the soul.

So last weekend, we attended the West River Westies event in Townshend VT.  The wife actually made it up for this one.

When we arrived, there were plenty of VWs already enjoying the fine weather.

Our camp host invited us to another spot if we found the center mass of VW land too daunting (or too far to the loo with my wife's Dixie cup sized bladder).  So we set up house right beside the river itself, and mere steps away from the loo.

The usual setup - awning out ( the original Trans Awn 2000), flags hoisted (American, Acadian and South Korean), chairs ready, solar lighting for later planted and beer open.

The river was a huge draw for my son who had never tubed before.

(Uhh, who is going to catch me?)

And for crawfish catching

He caught a few mud bugs, and I even caught a couple small bass and a baby trout with my fly rod in between tubing folk!

On the way home we made a few quality food stops:

Here, for cheese

And here for smoked meats

Nice trip.  Fun had by all, and I won a quart of VT maple syrup in the raffle to boot.

White Mountains

Brought my son to White Mountain National Park in NH.  Yes, it's my go to happy place (as long as the yuck-yucks are not too overbearing).  Stayed in a campground along the Kancamagus Highway, paid for our spot, unloaded a few things to mark it as ours and drove to the river.

While my son played in the river Saturday, I planned our adventure for Sunday.  

A good night in the campground.  Quiet.

Sunday was a big day.

My son tried rock climbing.

He tried the 3 story stunt pillow (repeatedly)

And then he found a little female friend and spent the afternoon with her on the water slide. 

Atta boy!

Love the White Mountains. 

Lake George, Mujigae and Burlington Vermont

Last week - weekend we did an 800 plus mile trip.  we left Wednesday afternoon from Massachusetts and headed to Albany, NY.  The little ones were going to Korean culture camp.

We dropped them off in Albany then headed to Burlington, VT for a work day on Thursday.

After work, Chef Phil, whom I was with and I dropped a couple lines in the water.

Snagged 6 small mouth bass and a couple trout.  Then to dinner.

After dinner, we said our goodbyes to Chef Phil and started our way a bit south.  Got to Killington area and dropped anchor.  Stealth camped Thursday night in a hotel parking lot until 8:30 am and got underway.  I was off that day so we took our time.

We headed to Lake George, where we drove the perimeter of the lake stopping frequently to take in the views and to check water levels at streams and brooks I knew.  Lots of rain in past few weeks meant everything was high and fast.  Bummer.

Enjoyed our scenic jaunt around NY and VT, but on Saturday we were due in NY for family day at Camp Mujigae. We found a nice quiet little campground in Saratoga Lake area and proceeded to do the things adults like to do when children are not around. ;)

On our way to Mujigae the next morning.  Enjoyed a great exhibition of Korean drummers, Tae Kwon Do artists with all sorts of weaponry, great food and such.

Gangnam Style?

Packed up the family, with the addition of the mother in law and headed back to the compound.

826 miles of nice weather, beautiful scenery, and 19mpg from the Zetec.  The larger wheels really do need to go soon, but not until I get the front end rebuilt and aligned. 

Trailer hitch

So I have been dogged by the lack of a trailer hitch on the Thingamajigger.  I say dogged, as I have gone back and forth on one of the high end bumpers that RMW, GW or VC sells but cannot get past the price (or the extra $100 to ship it east).

Finally I succumbed to my own pressure and made one, here is how I did it. If you choose to follow my lead: follow all safety precautions when working with tools and make sure you know how to weld as this is a potentially dangerous scenario with inadequate welds.  I claim no responsibility for any issues that arise from someone following the plans set forth on this page.  I intentionally did not add dimensions here, as it is only a suggestion and not a how to.

First, I took off the existing bumper and the bumper mounts.  Disassembled the mounts from the bumper, and then ground away the welds for the tow loops on the bottom of the mount.

Then, I enlisted a friend and for the price of a 12 pack of his favorite beer flavored water I had him break out his plasma cutter and cut square holes through the bumper assembly.

The de- hooked and square cut bumper mounts can be seen here:

The holes are large enough to pass a 4 foot piece of 2 inch x 2 inch (with 1/4 inch wall) steel tube through.  The tricky part is that you need to leave clearance for the bumper mounting nut on inside of mount, while ensuring the tube will not rub on the rounded body panel of the van.  Have a look, it IS rounded a bit and WILL interfere if you are not cautious.  I suggest using a stainless bumper mount bolt that barely passes through the nut. Thereby leaving plenty of clearance.

Mounting the bumper mounts, and then sliding the tube through as a test fit:

Check your clearances now.  Then I slid the bar out, and slipped two receiver collars onto the tube and slid it back into place.

The collars look like this:

When clearances are checked and you like the positioning, protect the body of the van from weld spatter and tack weld the bar to the outside of the bumper mounts.  I grabbed a level indicator to make sure the bars horizontal surface coincided with the vans horizontal surfaces.  Not really necessary to be ultra tight on this spec, but I knew I would be using a cargo carrier at some point and would be bothered by lopsided mountings.

After tacking the bar in position, remove it to weld.  This is going to get REAL hot, so give yourself some space away from the van.

Welding up the outside is fairly straightforward as long as your holes are not over sized.  The inside is trickier, and the collars we slid on will help with that.  The collars will provide a weld point all around the bar and attach at approximately 60 percent on one side of the bumper mount. Not that the stock  Vanagon is able to tow 1000's of pounds due to its anemic power, but a strong weld will ensure years of safe towing. 

Allow to cool, and it took a bit.  I went in and made myself a sandwich. Then came out and test fit my assembly.  

The next part is not for the Vanagon squeamish or the purists out there.

In order to attach the receiver tube, I relieved the body panel so I could have a flush fit of the receiver tube.  Why would I want that, or find it necessary to cut up my van?  Let me ask this: have you ever whacked your knee or shin on a trailer hitch?  They don't move, are solid and after it happens - you do anything to keep it from happening again.

Given the amount of time going in and out of the hatch, the potential for whacking a shin is high.  I have said it before; I have no problems altering the van for utilitarian purposes as long as it is done correctly and with caution.

So I measured three times, and cut myself an access hole.

This will allow me to weld the receiver tube (bought at local trailer shop) in a position that I choose.

Positioned it and tack welded it in place.  Slid a bar into the receiver to make sure my desired angle was correct (I angled it slightly up, so even a fully laden Westy would not drop a cargo carrier past the horizontal plane).  And removed it once again for welding.

I highly recommend some sort of gusset on the receiver tube, and you will require a safety chain attach point on the main hitch.

Also, you will need to notch your bumper for the hitch.

My hitch looks like this now, as I await some gussets to arrive from a friend so I can tow a trailer.

Lookee lookee.  A non shin bashing receiver tube!

So the bike rack I plan to use fits perfect, swings out of way for hatch and upon loading I find it does not fit my 6 year old kids tiny bike frame. Crap.

Well, I said that I eventually wanted a cargo carrier.

Went over to the hall of cheap tools (Harbor Freight) and bought a 500 pound capacity aluminum cargo hauler for $99.  It went on sale two days later for $79, just my luck. 

So I spent half an hour assembling this cargo tray.

After assembly and installation, I realized that it was going to obstruct my taillights.  With the bike only, I was ok but I needed to devise a safer alternative.

Looking around my garage for a box of trailer lights I have, I formulated a plan to use stock Vanagon taillights.  

With a minor removal of some aluminum I realized the stock lights could easily be used.  

After removing this piece of aluminum, I ran out of whizzer grinding wheels.  More to come later.

This was the supplied uprights I modified to act as retainers for the taillights.

Had a receiver light kicking around, why not use it?  Had to trim off the center mounting bar to allow the clearance for the depth of the light.  

The nearly finished cargo carrier, just before I finished up the wiring harness.