Date: Sun, 19 Nov 2000 12:04:16 -0500
Reply-To: David Brandfass <brandfas@CHORUS.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: David Brandfass <brandfas@CHORUS.NET>
Organization: West Middleton Lutheran Church
Subject: TII Engine In
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Greetings,
I just got my van back from installing a TII Co. conversion kit.
My van is a '90 automatic.
The install was done by Courtesy Auto in Madison, WI. Dave there did an
outstanding job and was excellent about keeping me informed about what
was going on. Everything looks professional, well done, and it runs
well.
I'm still in the first 100 miles, but everything is running well thus
far. The engine looks like it belongs in the engine compartment.
Standing back and taking a look at things, it doesn't look different at
first glance from the outside. The rear clearance seems to be about the
same as the waterboxer.
Driving wise, I now realize how used I was to a weak waterboxer. This
engine/transmission is real smooth when you accelerate quickly by
Vanagon standards.
I did just about everything Dave recommended. He put in:
new injectors (I know the kit has you reuse them)
new fuel regulator (ditto)
cayalytic convertor (mine was suspect)
new stud bolts from the bell housing to the torque converter.
For those of you out there considering this conversion, some things to
prepare yourself for, or to consider are:
1. It took longer than expected to receive the kit. I don't fault Peter
at TII for this, but something you should consider. When dealing with a
cross ocean transport, customs, and all, something is bound to go wrong.
I started the whole process before my waterboxer completely died, so
this wasn't a huge problem for me.
2. Be very specific about what you order. I had taken the AC Compressor
out when it failed a couple of years ago. It was needed for the kit I
received for the belt path to work. Courtesy was able to find a used
one. It would have been a lot less of a headache without that little
detour, as TII offers a kit without A/C. So, be specific with TII Co,
year, transmission, what features you have or don't have.
3. Plan on replacing a bunch of other stuff you at install time. (Build
a contingency fund!) You get used to things that don't quite work, and
now it becomes apparent they need replacing. Case in point: My starter
gradually got weaker, which worked OK with the waterboxer, but it now
has a hard time turning over a tighter new engine. It will be replaced
after 500 miles.
4. This project takes a lot of your mechanic's time. Smaller shops
obviously depend on smaller day to day repairs for their bread and
butter. We don't want to put our smaller shops out of business, because
they are the ones with the creativity power to do these projects. I
tried to resist the temptation to call every day to see how things were
going. I hope I didn't bug Dave too much. The long and short of it is,
be prepared to be without your van for awhile. In my case the results
seem well worth it.
5. Be prepared for delays in waiting for odd parts. The kit directions
stated that the studd bolts might need replacing. In my case they did,
and it took two weeks to get the right ones. There are other places
where this could happen as well. Some say VW stands for Varies Widely,
and that can cause problems with a conversion no matter how well it is
put together.
I will report back in while. I will be taking in after I've racked up
500 miles for a check, then I plan on storing it for the winter to try
to keep the salt off the body.
Hope this helps anyone else considering this in Vanagon land. From my
perspective this is the ultimate recycle / reuse / renew project.
