Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 07:09:59 -0400
Reply-To: Vanagon man <vgonman@MSN.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Vanagon man <vgonman@MSN.COM>
Subject: Re: A Tiico installation Success!!!!!!!!!!!
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Amazing story...........someone should post the checklist Matthew gave you,
for it really saved your day........
To get it done in a weekend with the tools you described is incredible.
Great job.
Adam P
81 Westy "The Brick "
70 Single Cab "Whitey"
74 Beetle "Ol Yeller"
73 Transporter (STILL at paint shop)
1988 Vanagon Wolfsburg
75 Campmobile "for sale'
Used Vanagon Parts for sale (mostly aircooled)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Julianna Thoennes" <mumbrue@ATTBI.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Monday, July 29, 2002 4:49 AM
Subject: A Tiico installation Success!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, here goes!
On Friday morning we managed to start around 11:30am, and Kathleen, Matthew
and I worked on getting things prepared for the engine installation. Dave
the Mac tool man was there to observe and offer any support if he could.
Brian came by for a short time early on, then had to get back to work.
Around 4:00pm Mark showed up! Scott, the lurker from Sweet Home came by for
a while to visit, and see how things were going. He could only stay for a
short while though. Then we started to get down and dirty, well... we were
already pretty dirty by that point. Brian came back after work, and got
down to business too. By early evening, we were ready to lift the engine
into place, but the dipstick kept getting in the way. We were all tired,
and we needed more manpower, and lifts, and taller jacks to help. Poor
Brian, he had the whole left side of the engine, and was basically doing
crunches over there with it. We quit somewhere around 8:30.
Saturday morning arrived, and we got started right at 10:00am (when the shop
opened) My brother Steve, Matthew and Kraig Slack (from Eugene) were there
when I arrived, and David Jaffe and Brian T. showed up soon afterwards.
Both Brian and Kraig had brought lifts, and Brian also brought more jacks.
After Mark finished up on his dig, he showed up to help again too. These
guys were the core group, and they worked feverishly, and with total joy.
It was amazing to me how well these guys worked together and without
stepping on each others toes. Kraig worked under the van almost the whole
time. He kept getting spatted on with power steering and coolant. In the
face several times! Yuck! He was our comic relief too! : ) It took some
time to get the engine lined up with the transmission, and this time it was
the alternator that was the main culprate in the way. Matthew also had to
take off the other engine mount for more manouvering. After getting it
lined up, it was quite a wonderful site to see it just slip right in, and
somebody yelled for the bolts to get it set. Somewhere in there we went
across the street to have lunch. Snarky's owner called in the chef just for
us! After a great lunch, and beer (iced tea for me), the rest of the day
was spent attaching coolant hoses, fuel lines, wires, power steering, the
compressor for the air conditioning, and welding the muffler (which was a
total loss by the way) Mark made everything pretty, and tied everything up
with zip ties. Oh, Tom also had to weld the brackets to the frame for the
engine mounts. Apparently this is a weak spot, and has been known to twist
if not welded. (Tom is also VW fan, and ownes 2 bugs and a sand rail) I
know I am not covering all this technical stuff all that well. I will have
to leave that to Matthew, if he is willing. I had to run to the store
several times for things forgotten, or missing, and to pick up some stuff
for the BBQ.
Ty and Janelle showed up with the twins (so cute!), but didn't end up
staying for too long. They left great brownies for the dessert though!
Thank you! Steve Johnson showed up to see how it was going, and then Susan
and her son drive in with a tag-along named Greg from Arizona. He was
driving a 68 baywindow bus that had seen better days, but was faithfully
taking him on his journey to Crater Lake. Steve fired up the BBQ and
cooked for us all. We all ate well, then got back to business. Susan was
showing me how her new pocketmail worked, and then Matthew told me to go
back to the store to get cheap coolant (I had purchased Autobaun previously,
but the Tiico doen't have the problem with differant metals) and distilled
water. So off I went again, with Susan for company this time.
By the time we got back, my Van was moved to the entrance of the shop. In
with the coolant, and Matthew told me it was time, time to turn the key for
the first time. I turned the key, and it whirred for a second, but I didn't
know if I was going to have to shut it off right away, so I didn't push it.
Matthew tells me to just turn it over!!!!! The Rastafalia started right up,
and roared to life!!!!!!!! Such a beautiful noise. Matthew feverishly
dumped in coolant and reved the engine. They bleed the system, and then
have me turn it off. The time had came for the maiden run, the test run.
Seven of us piled in to the Rastfalia, and we headed off toward Lebanon.
Matthew sat in the back with his laptop, and his interface that he made to
test the engine. When we returned, I had driven 17.7 miles on the new
engine. We found that the timing was off a little, and the new Tach I had
installed in the dash, was 10% off. (I will be looking for another) It had
just turned midnight, and the work was pretty much done.
Steve Johnson, Matthew, Susan, Jeff (Susans son) and Kraig all spend the
night in their vans and buses in the parking lot. I take my brother home,
he is soooo tired, as am I. It is about 2:00 when we leave. (My knees are
still killing me!)
The next morning I arrive at 10:00 to find that Kraig, Susan and Jeff have
already left. We were waiting for Tom to come back, so he could do some
more welding on the muffler, but he never showed. Thankfully Steve shows up
to let us in, and Matthew tops off the coolant, and resets the timing. The
Tiico is running smooth, and both Matthew and my brother think that there
should not be any major problems with it. The installation job was perfect,
and Matthew brought with him all the knowledge of the other Tiico owners,
and their difficulties, so we could improve on all things that have gone
wrong in the past. Unfortunately, the muffler is so rusty and broken that
it is too risky to take it out on the road again. Apparently it came close
to falling off as we exited the parking lot the night before. So tonight it
sits in the garage, waiting for its day in the sun. Steve's Muffler is one
building away from Pro Audio, so the Rastafalia will be making an appearance
over there for a new muffler this week. It is hard to wait, but soon I will
be driving my baby again.
I plan on slowly journeying down for the Westfalia Acres camp out in a
couple of weeks, so hopefully some of those we missed for the install, and
the barbeque, will be there to show off to. : ) Hopefully pictures will be
available soon!
For those who worked so dillegently on my van, I can't say thank you enough
times. It doesn't quite reach how I feel about you all. It really is an
amazing thing to have you all show up to install a new engine in the
Rastafalia. All of you have built up some great kharma, and I must say
that am blessed to have such good friends.
Matthew, you really are a great person!!!!! Without you, I am sure we would
still be out there, trying to follow those darn directions. LOL Thank
you for taking the time to drive all this way for me, and my lovely Vanagon.
It was a lot of work, and we couldn't have done it without you.
Big Hugs to you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Julianna
90 VW Vanagon GL Westfalia (The Rastafalia)
76 VW Automatic Bay Westfalia (Pea Pod)
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