Due to arrive soon

[94touring]

LOOKS Very Clean underneath  - kind of a joy to work on when they are that way!

That was one thing about it when I was initially buying, it's pretty immaculate underneath and everywhere else. No rust or previous patches.  I figured even if the paint job was so so, which I'd rate it a 7 out of 10, it's an easy canvas for me to improve upon.  Interior was the same way.  All new stuff. Just needed a few tweaks to get things the way I want them.

[94touring]

Reamer arrived and the new link pin was successfully installed.  Results are it's more responsive now.  There was significant wear on the old pin and bushings were looser. I'm still a smidge off center on the steering box when I aligned the steering wheel to it, so game plan tomorrow is adjust link arm about 2 turns out and that should have it, which will improve response more but I'm not anticipating much.  I had it too far to the right on the first test drive and now it's too far left.  Cheap exhaust gaskets that came with the exhaust blew out so replaced those as well.  Oh and shifting is butter now with the new bushings there. 

[94touring]

One other thing I did. Drove with a 2 gallon can of gas till I ran out to determine tank capacity. 12.5 gallons.  I believe there is a 14.5 and 16.5 which I will look to upgrade to.

[cstudep]

Always good to know what your actual gas capacity is, and how accurate your gauge is, prior to being in the middle of nowhere. Used to have a car that stayed on full for quite some time, then slowly started going down until about the 1/2 tank mark over the span of about 150 miles or so. At which point you had about 30-40 miles to find a gas station. It was a load of fun to lend out to unaware friends.

[94touring]

Ha yeah.  This gauge does the same.  Takes awhile to get to half, then E quickly, then who knows till you run out. 

[94touring]

Went and got 2 trees with the bus this evening. 

[BruceK]

Do they even do Christmas trees in Brazil?  I'm guessing not.  So probably the first time she's hauled one.  Or two!  ;D

[94touring]

Played with this bus tent.  It's amazing for a tent.  May as well be a transformer because it has so many configurations.  Open all sides, don't open all sides, additional room or not, floors or don't bother.  Drive away and zip up the door to bus.

[Willie_B]

Wow, that really adds a lot of extra room. Looks great.

[94touring]

It really does Brad.  Should work out great for our week long trips when we need the extra room.

Back to steering play.  The new bushings and link pin tightened it up but still outside of factory specs. I was able to get someone to turn the wheel in the dead zone while I was under to figure it out.  Visually nothing looked off.  Then I put my hand over the ball joints on the link arm and found the culprit. Both ends shift before they send motion to the arm that move the tie rods.  Very easy fix at least. 

Also I think I narrowed down the paint scheme I will eventually go with.  The last edition 2013 Kombi in Brazil was a light blue over white.  Exactly what I had in mind, but I think since the bus is Brazilian I may as well use the Brazilian color code.  Took some research to find the code but was able to get it and saved for when I get around to it.  They made 1200 of these final editions apparently.  The very last one was sent to the VW museum in Germany where it sits among a fleet of other special buses.

[MiniDave]

Back to steering play.  The new bushings and link pin tightened it up but still outside of factory specs. I was able to get someone to turn the wheel in the dead zone while I was under to figure it out.  Visually nothing looked off.  Then I put my hand over the ball joints on the link arm and found the culprit. Both ends shift before they send motion to the arm that move the tie rods.  Very easy fix at least.

Same method I used to teach my students to find worn ball joints. Glad you found it, like you said - it's an easy enough fix.

You gonna do light blue over white, or white over light blue?

Gonna go with the whitewall tires too?   ;D

[94touring]

The white wall inserts were the first things I tossed in the trash! ;D

[94touring]

Wiper blades and blingy new side mirrors went on today.  Stopped by the vw shop and placed an order for the new drag link arm with fresh ball joints to finish off the steering.   Going back to the gas tank situation to upgrade from the current 12 to 16 gallon I started pricing tanks.  While the engine is out for the engine swap is really the only time to do it.  Then I started researching and noticed some people have custom tanks or aux tanks under the floors.  A new tank is somewhat pricey.  Sheets of 16 gauge steel are not.  Got out the tape measure and looked to see what will fit in the current tank void area.  Looks like a 24 gallon custom tank will work to me. I could add another 6.5 gallons tucked underneath the body frame but not sure if I'll go that far with the custom work. 

[MiniDave]

24 gallons is pretty heavy.....over 200lbs

[94touring]

24 gallons is pretty heavy.....over 200lbs

Well, more like 72lbs more than what I currently carry.

[MiniDave]

Well, that's 200 on top of what you already are carrying if you're gonna add another tank.

[94touring]

Gas is only 6lbs a gallon so if I went with 30 gallons total that's 180lbs or 108lbs more than the stock small tank.

[MiniDave]

You're right, I was thinking of water at 8.34 lbs - gas is 6.3

[94touring]

I also don't have the very large propane tank setup that Westies came with.  I know those are heavy.  I don't have the camper pop top either but I do have the roof rack which negates that.  Not exactly good for aerodynamics either.  I went ahead and ordered sheet metal for the project.  Once I get the tank out I can verify a few measurements before I go welding things up.  I decided I may as well make the aux tank while I'm at it.  One guy has a 900 mile range with custom extended range tanks!  He must piss in a bottle or something.  I'm just looking for more than a 150-200 mile range.  A couple things I pondered was how to fill the aux tank easily and tranfer fuel.  The factory propane tanks sit on the side of the bus, which would allow for a filler neck. But, I don't like the idea of a side impact with that setup. Dead center in the bus underside is probably best placement for safety and weight spread.  A shallow tank keeps it tucked up without hanging below the frame as well.  The easiest way to fill will be by making a T running from the tank filler neck near the tank which will gravity feed down to the aux tank.  Probably just a 3/4" ID fuel line as those are easy to source, affordable, and should gravity feed at a decent rate. It will fill the aux tank while filling the main tank and as the main tank nears full it will then gravity feed at 100% to the aux tank if it isn't already full. Then to transfer fuel.  Can't leave an electric pump running continously because it requires fuel to cool itself.  Thought about leaving the mechanical pump hooked up and having it cycle continously but if the diaphragm on the mechanical failed I'd get a case full of fuel.  Best option will probably be a 2nd electric fuel pump identical to the one the engine will be running off the main tank with, but with a toggle switch somewhere under the dash.  I will need to time how long it takes to transfer however many gallons I end up with to shut the pump off to not burn up dry pumping.  Most 3psi pumps are doing 30 gallons an hour so won't take long. Extra benefit is having a backup pump attached in case the main pump fails in BFE.  I'm thinking I should be able to get a 500 mile range provided the new engine gives me a little extra gas mileage and depending if I'm flat towing or not.  It would be nice to only have to stop once for fuel to Colorado verses 5 times I'd be required to stop now.  Or worrying how far to the next gas station out in the panhandle.

[Willie_B]

Could you ran a 3/4" line from the low point of the aux tank into the main tank? No pump needed then to move fuel.

[94touring]

Could you ran a 3/4" line from the low point of the aux tank into the main tank? No pump needed then to move fuel.

The main tank sits very high on a shelf in the engine bay so that's not an option. Even if I could gravity feed to the main, I'd need a shut-off valve because fuel would pour out the vents and filler cap... well depending I suppose. I thought about just gravity feeding from the main tank to aux tank and putting a fuel sender in the aux tank.  But, it's too shallow to use the stock sender and if I went after market I end up having another fuel gauge I'd rather not have. 

[cstudep]

If you want to get fancy you could wire in a low fuel level warning sensor (the kind that turns the low fuel light on) that trips a relay so that the pump relay does not get power when that switch is activated.

The problem you will have with a large shallow tank like you describe is the sensitivity and position of the sensor. If the tank is only 5-6" deep you still have a lot of fuel available, if say you can accurately position the sensor 1" off of the bottom. The factory style sensors generally attach to the pump body that extends down into the tank.

If the tank was even slightly sloped toward the pump pickup, which I assume you would do, and you positioned the sensor somewhere opposite the pump pickup, say in the middle of the tank, I would think you could get it dialed in pretty well to only leave a minimal amount of fuel assuming the pickup was in the lowest part of the tank and you were using something like the external facet electric pump to do the transferring.

Seems like it would be easy enough to rig up. You can do a lot of cool stuff with a few relays.

[94touring]

Hmm that's a good idea.  Can wire it to an idiot light.  Yes the back end of the tank will be the low point.  I figured I'd build it square but mount it high on the front.  The ass end of the bus with all the weight sits a little lower as is, then figure momentum driving, and going up a hill too.  Can always coast down empty but hard to do going up!

[MiniDave]

Don't forget some baffles, and maybe a sump for the pickup?

[94touring]

Thought about baffles and a sump too.  The main tank will have a bit of a sump where the outlet feed mounts.  The opening where the tank sits for the feed allows for a little sump area.  The aux tank will just have a slope to it.  Should suffice I think. The inlet to the main tank feeding from the aux tank I will run a hard line down to the floor of the tank so it's not aerating fuel.  I could probably get fancy and run it right to the main tank sump.

Just looked up fuel pressure sensor warning kits.  They have one that's 2psi that kicks on the light.  If I do it with relays and such like suggested, it can just kick off the pump at that time.  My only concern being these pumps do tend to fluctuate a little unless you use a rotary pump.  Decisions  8.gif