The Vanagon is alive - and big things to come...

First off, I apologize to anyone reading along for the long lapse in blog posts. I'll just put this out there - the Vanagon is running and back in service.

Shortly after my last blog post, I got it up and running again. Once everything was back together, I tried to start it. It certainly fought me, but eventually it did start and run. What's more, it's running well. There were a few hiccups, but nothing really required any readjustment. I've been driving it on and off for a few weeks now, including a traffic-filled trip across the city at rush hour to pick up a heavy TV.

It's running and driving very nicely with no additional signs of leakage. I'm happy. It wasn't an easy job, and was absolutely time consuming, but the results speak for themselves. I have yet to do any long distance driving.

When the van was done, I parked the Mercedes in the garage again. Despite sitting outside for two months and its condition, it started on the first bump of the key.

I want to get back to work on the project, but the garage was a disaster. A few weeks back, I picked up some free industrial shelves which will help me get a lot of stuff off the floor. I've thrown out several large bags of trash, and the garage is closer to being a real work space again. As usual, the garage would be done already if not for the fact that I had to work last weekend. It's unlikely I'll be able to do anything the next two weekends, either.

But, I will finish the garage and get back to working on the Mercedes. And, as I said, big things are in the works. What, you ask? You'll just need to stay tuned to find out.

Almost back on the road...

I had a good, albeit prematurely-interrupted weekend with the Vanagon. I had to go in to the office on Sunday, so I knew that I'd only have Saturday to get things done. Even then, I had to give the Outback a little attention. Specifically, I had to do solidify an exhaust patch I made the previous weekend.

As soon as I was done with that, I turned my attention to the Vanagon. I knew all the "heavy lifting" was done. At this point, I just have to power through reinstalling the remaining bolt-on items. In short order, I reinstalled the thermostat housing, hooked up all the disconnected cooling hoses, finished installing the power steering pump, and installed the intake manifold.

At this point, all I need to do is install the throttle body and airbox, install a new oil filter, fill it up with oil and coolant, and then start it. Once it's running again, I'm planning to flush the cooling system before driving it again. If I hadn't had to work on Sunday, I'd probably be done. As it is, I'm hoping to wrench on it a bit this week and, with any luck, be able to drive it sometime this weekend.

Almost ready to breathe again. So close....

Update - I'm alive, and so is the Vanagon

Apologies to anyone who's been reading along. I've been busy the past few weeks and haven't had a chance to update the blog.

I was able to finish up and install the driver's side cylinder head. While I had it all apart, I opted to do the passenger's side head gasket, too. When I pulled the AMC head, I was surprised at how much pitting there was.

I got that side done and then reinstalled the rocker assemblies and pushrods (hopefully correctly). The pushrods can hang up a bit on installation. You need to be careful to properly seat the pushrod in the hydraulic lifter.

After that, I installed the exhaust. Not in one session, mind you... but more like piece-by-piece as time allowed. In the past month, work commitments, family commitments, and much-needed work on the daily driver Subarus have kept me from working on the Vanagon. Hopefully, I'm past that.

My (ambitious) goal is to have it back on the road for the 4th of July.

Still working on the head gaskets...

This past weekend, I finally got the exhaust off the van... without breaking anything. I had to cut some bolts. There were copious amounts of flame and penetrating oil involved. And my angle grinder.

But, I got the exhaust off. All the pipes survived and looked in good shape. I have new gaskets and a new bolt kit for when it's time to reinstall it. Once the exhaust was off and the cooling system was disconnected, I got to removing the driver's side cylinder head. I had everything disconnected and the head itself unbolted, including bagging and tagging all the small parts, in under a half hour.

Unfortunately, the head was stuck to the cylinders. On a Vanagon, the cylinders are 4 separate individual pieces from the actual engine block. I worked on it again Monday and Tuesday evening, which is when I eventually got the driver's side head to separate from the cylinders with some gently prying.

Once it was off, I got a good look at the cruddy, corroded surface. I cleaned it up last night (which helped a lot). Tonight, I filled the pitting with JB Weld (a common fix for this). Once it's cured, I'll sand it flat, and I'll be ready to start reinstalling the head on that side. When that's done, I'll start on the passenger side. Hopefully, that side will go more quickly.

Head separated from block

Head off block. Cylinders pushed back into water jacket.

Driver's side head off. Dirty and corroded. Need to clean it off.

Head cleaned up. Lots of pitting, but starting to look better.

Pitting filled with JB Weld. Still needs to cure so I can sand it flat.

Continuing with the Vanagon

As usual, I'm being kept away from working on the diesel. I'm currently replacing the head gaskets in the Vanagon. More accurately, I'm still working on disassembly. Long story short, the intake has to come off (it is currently off), the exhaust has to come off (working on that...), the coolant needs to be drained (not quite there yet), and the oil has to be drained (done) before I can remove the heads.

I had to go in to the office this past Saturday, which only gave me part of Sunday to work on the Vanagon. Hopefully, I'll get a lot more done next weekend. I'd like to have at least one of the heads off, and pending the condition of the head itself, I'd like to replace the gaskets on that side. Ideally, I'd like the van drivable before Memorial Day, so I can get back to work on the Mercedes.

still working on disassembly

passenger side pushrod tube tin off

Exhaust bracket loosened

Exhaust bolts soaking in penetrating oil

Breaking from the diesel for a bit - Vanagon head gasket replacement

They say there are two types of VW Vanagon owners. Those who have taken their engine out, and those who haven't taken their engine out... yet. Last year, I finally made it into the second category. When the original engine gave up on me in late 2011, I anticipated that the van would sit in storage for a few years while I saved my pennies for a more exotic engine swap (Subaru EJ22, Bostig Ford Zetec, etc). The van sat for less time than I originally thought.

In early 2012, I stumbled upon a local Craigslist ad for a used, running 2.1L VW waterboxer engine. It was dirty, and had sat for a year after being pulled (running) in favor of a Ford Zetec swap. I spent months of what little spare time I have replacing hoses, gaskets, and cleaning the engine up. As it came from an automatic Vanagon, I also had to swap over a few parts from my old engine to run this one with my manual transmission.

Anyhow, I crossed my fingers vis-a-vis the head gaskets. I could see that the passenger side had already been replaced. In July, I got the van to start, run, and drive again. I've driven it sparingly in the past year, but learned early on that the driver's side head gasket had a leak. I tried a few stop leak products that only slowed it down.

So, now that the Outback is on the road and reliable, I'm starting in on the head gasket job. I'm going to try replacing them without taking the engine out again, and hope to have the job done in under a month. Once again, I work slowly and have limited time to do the job. The new engine does run well otherwise. The leak is external, and the oil and coolant weren't mixing. I can't wait until it's done and reliable again, so I can take it camping.

Hopefully, I'll have it done before Memorial Day. I bought the Vanagon in late May, 2003, so next month will mark ten years. I can't think of a better way to mark the occasion than to drive it again.

After a wash and wax last week:

The offending coolant leak:

Back into the garage:

Intake manifold off:

Starting to patch up the Mercedes' floor

Well, with the Outback all taken care of and the garage cleaned out, it's finally time for me to get to patching the Mercedes floor. First, I had to wake the car up. I charged the battery last week (strictly as a precautionary measure), so I hooked it up, and the car started on the first bump of the key.

I backed it out into the sunlight for the first time in 2013. The name of the game this weekend was patchwork, so I started by making straighter cuts in the floor:

Once I had the holes cut, I made some templates and started cutting patches out of my donor panels. First victim, a dented door from a Jeep Cherokee - given to me by a co-worker when I helped him bolt on some straighter doors.

Once I had the first patch cut, I fitted it (roughly) with a few pop rivets...

...and then started welding.

I worked through the weekend, and have the passenger side of the floor almost 2/3 of the way patched up now.

Hopefully, by the end of next weekend, I'll have the floor patched up, and will then move on to make the rest of the repairs to the rocker panel and wheel wells on the passenger side of the car. It's nice to see those holes finally starting to close up.