Date:         Fri, 22 Jun 2007 13:03:06 -0500
Reply-To:     Matt Roberds <mattroberds@COX.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Matt Roberds <mattroberds@COX.NET>
Subject:      Re: [NVC] Possibly the most useful camping gadget ever
Comments: To: Greg Potts <greg@pottsfamily.ca>
In-Reply-To:  <CF174C64-DC43-40D5-9ABE-3733DDE722F2@pottsfamily.ca>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed

On Fri, 22 Jun 2007, Greg Potts wrote:
> On 22-Jun-07, at 8:29 AM, Matt Roberds wrote:
>
>> You could build something like a chassis dyno - two big rollers on a
>> platform.  Drive the van up onto the rollers, the tires spin the
>> rollers, and the rollers are hooked to the margarita mixer.
>
> Which begs the question....Can you put a synchro on a dyno??

You can put anything on a dyno.  The interesting question is whether it
stays on the dyno or not when you hit the gas.  :)

I _think_ dynos with two sets of instrumented rollers exist but are not
very common.  If you just needed to get the engine load to some minimum
figure (smog test?), putting one end up on jack stands would work, even
though the engine would be doing extra work to spin the wheels that are
up in the air.  If you're trying to measure the total engine output, or
if you need to test the front-rear coupling of the AWD system, then you
have to something fancier.

I suspect you can't do it in a Vanagon Syncro without extra work, like
jack stands, or pulling the driveshaft.  Somebody I know had about a
1996 or 1997 Subaru Outback wagon with AWD.  Under the hood there was a
single fuse holder with "AWD" in big letters on the cover, and a note in
the owner's manual that you could disable the AWD system by pulling that
fuse.  IIRC, the manual gave the example of doing a smog test on a dyno.
I think that pulling the fuse shut off a solenoid valve in the
transmission (or the computer that ran the solenoid) that would normally
engage either the fore or aft driveshaft with the engine.

In a "traditional" 4WD with a separate transfer case, you can always
shift the transfer case into 2WD.

I thought of another way to mix drinks: replace short wheel studs or lug
bolts with longer studs.  Screw a lug nut down over the stud to hold the
wheel on, then use the extra length of stud to secure a container with a
cap to the wheel.  Put the booze and the mixers in container, attach the
cap securely, go drive around.

Matt Roberds