Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2008 20:57:39 -0500
Reply-To: craig cowan <phishman068@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: craig cowan <phishman068@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Engine Removal
In-Reply-To: <67f8ac6c0803121308l63ce529bp2ea6d8a202696576@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Today was spent mostly working on the heads. The game plan for today was to
drain the gas tank, drop the tank, and discover which of my attempted
repairs last year held. Needless to say the brass fitting i machined for the
one side of the crossover pipe showed no signs of leakage, though the other
side which for the life of me i can't recall why it didn't get the same
treatment, had a broken "Y" connector. I'll have to get another one made up,
or go back to stock and use 20 year old plastic...
This accounts for my inability to fill my gastank full without torrents of
gasoline graciously cleaning the concrete of the fuel station parking lot.
The other half of the day was meant to be spent with a helper, removing the
steel coolant lines and replacing them with "known good" ones that i've
rustproofed. Upon further inspection of the size of the job that would be at
hand, we came to recognize that 75% of the pipes, from the radiator to the
very rearmost bits, is entirely rust free and simply stunning. Therefore, it
makes little sense to replace the whole thing. This has us thinking about
the "Stainless Repair Sections" that i've heard nothing but good things
about, but has me wondering if i could just cut the rear sections of both
pipes on my van out, and replace them with sections of the "known good"
rustproofed pipes. Sure, with the stainless repair sections you have a
beaded end (the stainless side) which is good....but you still have one side
without a bead. So....what's stopping me from just cutting up steel pipes
and coupling them with a silicon couple? Does anyone have any experience or
insight here?
As a result of another day spent escaping the reality of just how much
coolant really is in the vanagon cooling system (i doubt my 35lb bag of
absorber will be enough to help...), we did some good work on the Heads.
With Walt's help, the valves were all removed and organized for later use,
and the heads inspected. We found only minor pitting, and no cracks between
the valves. The Valve guides are not worn at all (not worth replacing at
least), and the valve seats, will be machined just for good measure. After
cleaning and beadblasting the heads, i present to you, the results!
http://picasaweb.google.com/phishman068
This page has some pictures from throughout this journey, and will hopefully
be updated as the engine goes back together, and is put back into the car.
Parts will be ordered soon enough, and i'm hopping to someday get to
experience the joys of traveling down the road, at a reasonable rate of
speed, and being able to enjoy the ride and the music (I've put alot of
effort into my stereo), rather than worrying all along about "what's that
sound" or "will i make it!?".
It's a feeling i think every vanagon owner should strive to achieve, and i
say with great pride, i'm running out of pressing concerns as to what i need
to replace! It's been a struggle....and i stand a chance at winning!
Best to all.
-Craig
'85GL
On Wed, Mar 12, 2008 at 3:08 PM, Gary Bawden <goldfieldgary@gmail.com>
wrote:
> Hi Craig,
>
> Sounds like a perfect Spring Break! About the fuel tank, don't know if you
> saw the write-up I did last year on my experiences, but I have one word for
> you: Rope Ratchet! (Well, OK, two words). In case you're not familiar with
> them, they're sold in most hardware and FLAPS as cargo tie-downs. What I
> used it for, was when replacing the tank, I hooked the Rope Ratchet to the
> forward cross-member, put the flange of the tank into place, lifted the tank
> level, then hooked the other end of the rope ratchet (can't remember exactly
> where, but it seemed obvious at the time), then pulled the rope tight, which
> results in keeping the tank in place without a helper so you can get the
> rest of the hardware started.
>
> Anyhow, have fun!
>
> Gary
>
>
>
> > >
> > > Tommorow, I'll be dropping the gas tank (to revise my resealing of
> > last
> > > year), and replacing the rusted out coolant pipes using a good used
> > set.
> > > This should be quite a wrestling match, i have NO idea how well these
> > will
> > > go in, as they were plently hard to get out of the parts car...
> > > Any tips for this?
> > >
> > > Once the engine's back in with a bunch of good new and good used
> > parts, i
> > > can start on the body : )
> > >
> > > Thanks for all the help and advice from so many of you! I've learned
> > so
> > > much, and i'm confident now more than ever in my abilities to work on
> > > vanagons!
> > >
> > > -Craig
> > > '85GL
> >
>
|