Date: Sun, 22 May 2011 22:15:17 -0700
Reply-To: Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Install of GoWesty ATF Cooler
In-Reply-To: <1306118579.1891.815.camel@TheJackUbuntuNetbook>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Every toolbox should have some Golf Tees. Useful for temp. hose plugs,
fuel line stoppers, etc.
On Sun, May 22, 2011 at 7:42 PM, Rocket J Squirrel <
camping.elliott@gmail.com> wrote:
> My son and I were able to install the kit into Mellow Yellow without too
> much difficulty yesterday. But unlike others here who have reported an
> hour or so for the job, we needed four hours. This may give insight into
> my level of mechanical prowess vis a vis others here.
>
> Overall, the instructions provided by GoWesty are probably more than
> adequate for people used to working on these vans, but for the beginner,
> they are sparse so we found we needed a lot more time to work through
> steps not well-described.
>
> For example, there are a couple ways to disconnect the front of the
> trans from the frame. We chose not to pull the horizontal pin that goes
> through the rubber mount, and unbolted its bracket from the frame
> instead. Turned out that we would have been better off going the other
> way as that mount needs to be removed to access the lower bolt on the
> stock oil cooler. Pretty much all of the mounting bits need to be
> removed. A note about this would have been helpful.
>
> A typo had me stumped for a bit. The cooler was first referred to as the
> "coil" cooler, then two sentences later, the "oil" cooler. I wondered if
> these were two different parts.
>
> There are three photos of the installation on the sheet. They are very
> small and GW does not provide a link to more detailed photos on their
> site, which would have been helpful.
>
> The cooler itself has four mounting holes and GW provides four
> self-tapping screws to mount the thing with. But the two hose fittings
> at the one end of the cooler partially block straight-line access to the
> screw heads, making mounting difficult. We chose to drill a new single
> hole between the two fittings so we more easily mount the thing. Two
> bolts at one end, one at the other, but the one-screw end is also
> supported by the Adel clamps that hold the hoses up against the
> underside of the van's flooring.
>
> Not too impressed with their choice of fasterners. For the cooler and
> clamp mounting GW supplied pan head phillips drive self-tapping screws.
> We substituted hex-head self-tappers as they easier to work with using a
> nut driver and a small open-end wrench than a screwdriver when working
> upside down holding bits against the underside, especially at the hose
> fitting end of the cooler since, as mentioned, one does not really have
> a straight shot at the mounting holes.
>
> Though the instructions only mentioned it at the last sentence ("top off
> ATF and coolant"), there was no description of how much loss to expect.
> I bought a couple quarts of ATF and a half-gallon of premix coolant and
> had a big ol' tray handy.
>
> There wasn't much loss of ATF, maybe 1/2 a cup, but a lot more would
> have been lost if I hadn't been on hand to fetch a cable tie to secure
> the first loosened hose while my son held it closed with a crimp.
>
> Someone doing this alone under the van might have been in a pickle. A
> mention of what to expect would have been helpful.
>
> Once the two hoses that formerly went to the cooler were joined, they
> just flopped around. A note about securing them would have been helpful,
> too. We cable-tied them the to bail on the governor cover on the side of
> the transaxle.
>
> I had that tray on hand to catch spills, and even bought some little
> corks to plug the end holes on the hose adapters that get threaded into
> the transaxle, but those weren't really needed. A note about how much
> drippage to expect would have been helpful.
>
> Little things like this which would not faze most of you did slow us
> down. Learning as we go along, yep, yep, yep.
>
> We had to disassemble the accelerator linkage on the side of the trans
> before we could get the trans lowered enough for access to its nose to
> remove the oil cooler because as the transmission lowered the accel
> cable began to haul down on the passenger side rear brake line.
>
> What's the proper routing for the brake line vs the accelerator cable?
> Gary Young, at Young's Ole Volks Home here said that Steve's Place had
> them backwards. The brake line was above the cable so it rested on and
> was being chafed by the cable, so he ran the brake cable under the
> accelerator cable. But this caused the aforementioned interference when
> lowering the trans.
>
> Okay, enough whimpering. The cooler works: it was nice and warm after a
> test drive.
>
> --
> Rocky J Squirrel
> '84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
> '74 Westrailia: (Ladybug Trailer company, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.)
> Bend, OR
> KG6RCR
>
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