Delayed by a major breakdown...

Apologies to anyone who's been reading in the past six weeks looking for updates on my regular projects. I really haven't touched the Vanagon or the 240D since early April. I've been busy with the Legacy.

Right around the time of my last blog post, the Legacy started running poorly and throwing a P0302 trouble code. I threw a few parts at the car, hoping it would be a simple fix (spark plugs, wires, a new coil, and finally, a fuel injector). None of this changed how the car ran, and no matter how many times I reset it, the code kept coming back.

So, after throwing money down the drain on non-returnable parts I didn't need, I did what I should have done in the first place - I ran a compression test:

The results were conclusive, showing low compression in cylinder 2 as the cause of the misfire. From the specifics of the test, it looked like a burned exhaust valve or a worn valve guide was likely the cause of the problem. So, after some brief soul-searching, I decided to go ahead and repair the car. The clearest path to that goal was replacing the cylinder head. Learning how to do that was enough without having to learn how to rebuild it myself.

I ordered a rebuilt cylinder head from F&S Auto Parts in Roxbury, CT, who I found highly recommended on several Subaru message boards. They rebuild cylinder heads to order, so I had to wait a little over a week for the part. In that time, I did something I hate to do - I commuted to work by train. Frankly, it's crowded, overpriced, uncomfortable, and the schedule is horrible. But, at least I was able to get to work.

For a while, I felt like an urban redneck. I had three cars at home, none of which I could drive. Finally, my cylinder head arrived, but not without difficulty. Let me paint a picture for you...

It was a sunny Saturday morning, around 11 AM. I was home, and, anticipating the arrival of the cylinder head, I went to look out the front door to see if the local mail carrier was on our street yet. I saw no sign of the mail truck, but found the day's mail in the mailbox, along with an attempted delivery notice indicating for my cylinder head. I needed the part, and in a panic, tried calling the post office (I got no answer). Not knowing what else to do, I started searching the neighborhood in my wife's car, looking for the mail carrier. I found a succession of trucks and carriers, none of whom were my mail carrier, but who were all helpful. Finally, one of them directed me to a street around a half mile away from my house, where I found another truck. I waited like a madman (as politely as I could) for the carrier to return. When she did, I was happy to find that she had the cylinder head, and was happy to let me have it just so long as I signed the delivery notice.

My prize in hand, I sped back to the house and started tearing into the Legacy. By the end of the day, I had the intake manifold off. By the end of the weekend, the new cylinder head was installed, but the engine wasn't buttoned-up yet. By the middle of that week, I had the car back on the road, running better than it ever had since I bought it.

So, on top of that, another weekend that I was horribly sick, and this past weekend, when I replaced a CV axle on my wife's car:

...I haven't had any time for the Vanagon.

But, I've budgeted most of the upcoming long weekend to wrench on the van. I am still planning on having it back on the road for the summer.

The Vanagon... and the new project

It's hard to believe that it's been a month since I last posted. The Vanagon is coming along. I ended up taking a two week break, not so much by choice, but because I was busy with other stuff in my life. But, as of now, the old engine is OUT of the van and I'm swapping parts onto the new engine:

I've been a bit distracted these past two weeks. Remember that "itch" I was talking about in my last post? Well, I did it. I bought another Mercedes. The blog lives up to its name.

I was actually been in negotiation to buy this car for well over a month, for various reasons. I brought it home last week, and it needs some of everything. But, it's a one family car, and I can't wait to get it on the road.

Here's some before and after shots from before and after a good scrubbing:

I know the interior is in poor shape, but I've already picked up most of the needed parts, including replacement front seats and a new dashboard.

But, I won't be doing any real work on this until the Vanagon is rolling again.

The engine swap... and the "itch" is back

For the past few weekends, I've been working away at my engine swap in the Vanagon. I did as much as I could with the new engine for now. This past weekend I started work to pull the existing engine out of the van. So far, I've disconnected all the electrical items and fuel lines. I haven't had more than a few hours each of the past few weekends to get anything done.

This coming weekend I plan to pull the intake manifold and a few remaining items off the old engine to get some more clearance to pull the engine out from below the van. Once that's done, I'll block off and disconnect the cooling system. With any luck, I can unbolt and get the engine out this weekend.

One of the reasons I haven't had much time to work on the van is that I've started to look at project cars again. What, you ask? Old, Mercedes diesels, of course. I don't necessarily regret selling the 220D. If I knew that I was going to find a new engine for the van so soon, I would have held on to the Mercedes. But, such is life, and I'll be happier with a W123.

Not that I need another project - far from it. But, I'm at the point where I'm wired for this, and I feel like I almost need to have something to work on. Plus, I'm still looking for another Subaru to add to the fleet. I haven't committed to buying another Mercedes, but I've certainly got the itch for it again.

Updates on the Dahon and the Vanagon

It occurred to me the other day that I never updated the blog vis-a-vis my progress on the Dahon rebuild project. Well... it's done.

...more or less. Well, it's all reassembled, but it's been too cold and I've been too busy to do the final tuning and take it for a test ride. The biggest obstacle will be tuning the internally-geared 3-speed hub. But, I'll get to it soon.

I've been working on the van's new engine these past weekends. I cleaned it up this past weekend, after stripping off the intake manifold and accessories:

My first load of parts arrived this week, so I'll be doing more work this weekend. I'm waiting until I'm sure there won't be any more snow before I pull the old engine out of the van. The logic is this - aside from dealing with the cold... when it snows, I need to have all my cars off the street and in the driveway. The garage may not be tall enough for pulling the van's engine. I may need to do that outside. If so, and I need to wait for more parts, the van could be sitting outside on ramps for a week or more. It's been a warm winter (55-ish in Boston today), but that doesn't mean we're out of the woods. If the van is sitting outside, then there MAY not be enough room to park everything.

This weekend I'll be measuring my jackstands, the ceiling height in the garage, and the height of the engine. If I can, I'll pull the old engine with the van still in the garage, which will also speed the project up.

Also, I randomly picked up a new project last week. Now that the Dahon is "done," I found another folder - a 1990s Fuji Marlboro promo folding bike. I'm saving this project for when I have nothing else to do:

Coming soon to a road near you... again

Well, life has a way of surprising us sometimes, doesn't it?

As you know (if you've been reading along these past few months), the Vanagon died way back in October. The bottom end of the engine finally just got tired and wore out on me. That, or the oil pump went and took the bearings with it. Either way, the damage was done.

I contemplated what to do next. Eventually, I got my Mercedes 220D project running again, and put the Vanagon into the garage, presumably for long-term storage until I could afford an engine swap. I even sold the 220D and used the proceeds to start my "Save the Vanagon" fund. As best I could figure, it would be a few years before I could afford to swap in a Subaru EJ22 engine or a Bostig Ford Zetec.

Last week, somewhat randomly, I ran across a local ad on Craigslist... for a good-running VW Vanagon 2.1L waterboxer longblock... cheap. Apparently, it was a running takeout from an engine swap, and I knew the seller already. Well, 24 hours later (give or take a bit) that engine was loaded in the back of the Legacy and I was headed home.

I haven't done much yet, aside from moving the engine out of the Subaru and into the garage. I start this weekend.

The engine is out of an automatic, so I'll need to swap out the flexplate for my clutch and flywheel (from my engine, which is still very much mounted in my van), as well as some other ancillaries which are much newer on my engine. But, I should be rolling again long before the summer.

I know I swore up and down that I wouldn't be putting another VW engine back in, but I couldn't pass it up at this price. This keeps me rolling until I can afford a proper engine swap.

Musings on automotive diagnostics

Part of owning a car, and for me, part of having owned a LOT of cars, is dealing with a lot of problems. I've never had the money for a new car, and have thus never had a car in for warranty service. Why is this worth mentioning? Well, the long and the short of it is that any problem that crops up with the car is ultimately my responsibility.

Early on, this meant making a dreaded trip to the mechanic when some part or other would fail. Eventually, I started doing my own work, bit by bit. At this point, I haven't taken one of my own cars to a mechanic in about five years. Keep in mind I drive 25,000 miles a year or so, and have plenty that needs to be fixed on a regular basis.

Of course, before I can fix something, I need to determine what the problem is. Some things are obvious. Failed brakes spring to mind. As does worn-out suspension. But, when the car doesn't start, or doesn't run just right, I need to get into detective mode.

I had to do quite a bit of this last year, especially with the Vanagon and the 220D. The van had one problem after another until the engine failed on me in October. Even if I had been a bit quicker with my diagnostics, I wouldn't have been able to save it. The engine was just tired. As for the 220D, once I decided I needed to get it out of storage, I went through a lot of troubleshooting before the engine actually started for me.

With both of those cars, the thinking was all on me. I'd have to pay attention to what each car was (or wasn't doing) and use my best reasoning skills to figure out what the problem was. For the record, I did get the 220D to start and sold it running a little over a month ago.

Fast forward to this past week. The Legacy is my only running car at the moment, and takes me 45 miles each way in and out of work. If something breaks or otherwise malfunctions, I need to figure it out and fix it quickly. This past week, I was in exactly that situation.

On Tuesday, I was on my way home from work. It was wet and freezing, and I was on the highway. I was only a few miles into my journey when for no explicable reason, the "check engine" light, also known as a CEL or MIL (malfunction indicator light) came on. For me this was a new experience, as the 1995 Legacy I bought last year is the first car I've owned with a modern diagnostics system. This system, known officially as OBDII (on-board diagnostics 2) allows you to plug a scanner into the car and learn what the problem is.

I digress. I pulled off the road to check the car over. Nothing obvious was wrong. The car still seemed to have all its power and wasn't running any different. I opted to continue on my journey. When I got close to home, I stopped at the local Autozone. For those that don't know, Autozone will hook up a scanner and pull the trouble codes for you. This is convenient for me, as I don't own an OBDII scanner yet.

The clerk scanned the car and came up with a single trouble code - P0420 - Catalyst efficiency below threshold - bank 1. Long story short, this likely indicates a problem with an oxygen sensor or catalytic converter. I did some checking, and for my car the most likely candidate was the front oxygen sensor. Still, I decided to reset my engine computer and see if the code came back.

A little later in the week, I disconnected the car's battery while I was at work. As of today, several hundred miles later, the check engine light has not come back on again. Long story short, it looks like I got lucky, and the original "problem" was probably just a momentary sensor glitch, due to the cold, wet weather I was driving in on my way home.

So, the OBD codes aren't definitive, but they do help narrow down potential problems. As for me, I'm happy with the system. I'd much rather have a false alarm than have a sudden failure without any advance warning at all.

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT - ON

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT - OFF

Winter projects

Traditionally, I've taken the winter off from my projects. I live in the northeast. It gets cold.

Damn cold.

I don't care for the cold.

In general, if something breaks during the cold season, I'll fix it. But, in the past, I've never been one to look for MORE work to occupy my time when it's freezing. When it's cold out, I prefer to stay inside, order a pizza, and let my feet NOT turn to ice cubes.

This all changed last winter. I refer you to the tale of the Volkswagen that tried to murder me: http://mercedesdieselguy.blogspot.com/2011/08/jetta-that-nearly-killed-me.html

I ended up working on that car all winter last year, outside, in the snow and ice. Granted, it was by necessity, not by choice. But, it showed me that keeping a project going in the winter isn't an insurmountable task. As such, I was originally planning to finish up the 220D this winter, but as you know, I had to sell it last month. Right now, the plan is to pick up another fixer-upper Subaru. Aside from rusty bolts, they're pretty easy to work on, and the extra car would come in handy.

But, until that happens, I've dusted off one of my reserve projects. Thankfully (?), I have so many little projects piled up that I always have something to keep me occupied. So, until another car needs my attention, I've started work on my Dahon folding bike rebuild:

FIRST VIDEO WAY BACK WHEN I BOUGHT IT:

Parts 1 and 2 from this past weekend:

This isn't a big project, and obviously won't take long. But, it's something to keep me busy in the immediate future.