Date: Thu, 3 Jan 2002 13:05:18 EST
Reply-To: NotaJeep@AOL.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Steven Denis <NotaJeep@AOL.COM>
Subject: Road trip debrief (long)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
So.. a quick note to show you that none of us are immune to trials and
tribulations of vanagon ownership.
The 2.1 engine the had been assembled from junk parts (vicegrip marks in the
cylinders and epoxy in the sump cracks..really!) finally popped a head stud.
6 miles from home...what? ME stop?...the smell of scorched 40wt followed me
into the drive. (now it's REALLY junk......)
A good 1.9 lower end, graciously donated by a subaru tote'n list member, new
rod bearings,rings and a set of spiffy heads and I put a 1.9 "rebuilt" <ahem>
engine in the 88 van. I dressed it up as a 2.1 so I retained the distributor
and injection from the 88. this required changing the pulley for the 2.1 unit
to retain the correct timing marks. the 1.9 had a SHORTER crank pulley
bolt..Hmmm...must be the later 1.9's and the 2.1's have an upgraded
bolts....I installed the LONG bolt and 2.1 pulley. torque it all down
..now..BEFORE somebody gets smart, it's 9 am and we are leaving at 4 pm for
Key West....can you say "rush job"?...Hmmm OK..
So engine in the car and, with 50 miles and one oil change, we head out. stop
at Santee SC for the night..the bus is NOT leaking water, oil, molasses,
etc...
I kept the speed to 65 mph for "break in".....
Up early and out...19.2 mpg! hey! not bad!...Get into northern FL using rte
301 and Rte 1 as I-95 was going from a drag strip to a parking lot every 5 to
8 miles...WAY too much traffic for my taste. starting hearing a "noise"...Oh
heck..it was a new/used water pump..and well <hee hee> I KNEW better but I
was rushed and...
with all the bags in the back I figure I'd just run it until it blew up..I
had a spare (new, of course) and IF it would hold to West Palm Beach, I'd
change it at mom's....well....I pulled in for gas and checked..dropped the
alernator belt off and..what?..the pump is FINE...<ponder>..."Hey! start it
up"..<crank crank..rattle rattle rattle rattle> what the?!?!!?
The crank pulley is WOBBLING....this is NOT GOOD.....it SEEMS that the bolt
bottomed out in the crank and the pulley has been retained only by friction
and the key....oh....boy...
If I put the belts on JUST SO, the pulley kinda centers and at 2000-3000 rpm
the noise KINDA goes away...about 100 miles later, in the dark the alternator
light comes on and I shut it down, coast the ramp into the KOA.....done....
Next AM.."stop and go" the 3 miles to the U-haul place..(on the way stop next
to an 86 automatic vanagon For Sale...with a DIESEL engine installed..asking
$2000 per the sign and the guy is not at the listed number so I can't get his
redundant pulley from the original engine..it IS Xmas eve, of course...one 14
ft U-haul ford, my towbar and we're off...Oh,,a word on U-haul
trucks....notice the GLEAM in the agent's eyes when you tell him you'd like a
one way rental...the price is not bad ..however the fella sees a GOLDEN
opportunity to unload the worst POS in the inventory...they smile, wave and
dab tears of joy from their eyes and wobble, lurch, roar, shimmy, shake and
smoke from view........
Arrive in great form, return the rental truck and mama puts on her kerchief
and I put on my cap and we all settle down..etc...
x-mas day is all at home and bright and early on the 26th I Go to Adams VW in
WPB and get his ONLY pulley...but..HIS 1.9 has the long bolt too..Hmmm.
Try to find a washer to take up the space...no go..finally, in the plumbing
department at Home Despot, I find a 3/4 inch galvanized pipe flange.........
<Ahem>...with a socket and breaker bar locked in place, I hit the starter and
remove the bolt and then the mangled pulley... new stuff on with red locktite
(bearing and stud mount) I tighten the nut until the engine turns and then
lock the breaker bar down again.. install wife in the drivers seat, push van
backwards at 3-5 mpg with mom's buggy...wife puts car in 4th gear and lets up
the clutch..."wrrrrriiiiiiicCHHHHschrucnk!"..it's torqued....(and, yes..the
crank may well be out of index too..but what would YOU have done????)
Head off to Key West (with a scuba stop in Largo..flat calm and unlimited
vis...nice nice dive day..) Spend the day snorkeling at Ft Jefferson, get
back late and head north to the Florida City (Homestead) motel...pull in at
10:00 pm..register..walk out to the van and "clunk"..no fuel pump
whirring..just a "clunk" when you got to cycle the pump...it cranks but no
fuel pressure...push the van to the parking spot and fall into a fitful
slumber with dreams of manta rays causing electrical problems in VW vans...
Bright and early I go check on the pump..No, the VW elves have NOT come and
fixed it...it is locked up..I've got dual batteries that I put in series and
wire the 24 volts to the pump....it clunks LOUDER, but no turning...<sigh>..
I eye the 1500 watt inverter and start planning on how to plug the pump into
that....Sister comes out of her room and says "Let me drive you to the parts
place", thus preventing the Homestead fire department from getting to blow
the cobwebs out of their firetrucks...
CAN get a pump..but it's 200+dollars and the MIGHT be able to get it at 2:00
pm..if not it will be 3-5 days.........arrggghh.......
Off to the U-haul place...Brightened the lasses day with the words "One way
rental"..
"I've got JUST the thing!" she says...
"I'll bet you do.........................."
112,000 miles, the rear end whines, it pulls to the right and the A/C is
broken..but it runs.....PUSH the van in it's place when we get home and
return the rental truck "AGAIN?!?!? the lady sez......<sigh>
Back to Adams in the am..get a used/rebuilt pump...install..and it will not
run..it SEEMS that some fool <ahem> while troubleshooting, shot some trouble
right into the system when he was probing around the fuel pump relay...seems
he shorter power to the computer ground on the pump relay...<sigh> wire
around the problem and fire it up...go to lunch and head north....first gas
stop I notice oil leaking..it seems that the dip stick tube has fractured
right where it goes in the block..the leak is not big and it's running
fine...sooo...screw it....off we go...
3 hours from home, running 70 on the cruise control, the engine
quits...<dooooooooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
rrrrr>...within 2 minutes we are back on the road..all the visions of big
oily chunks turned into a jumper wire that had come out of it's
clip.....(remember the pump relay?)
I think I need a vacation.....
Steve
"Hey! nice Jeep, Mister! "
"Look kid, it's NOTAJEEP! "
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