Sunday, March 29, 2009
Vacuum lines to nowhere
So I have solved the mystery of what the vacuum lines were for. They were part of the cruise control system, which is why they went to both the clutch and brake pedal. Activating either one should disable the cruise control. Since I hardly ever use the cruise-control in any vehicle, and would likely never use it in the Scirocco, I’m just going to remove the lines, and the associated control box and pump if I can find them.
I have also discovered that the charcoal canister, part of the emissions system is not there. The line that goes to it is just loose in the engine bay. So I think technically my car should not have passed emissions, even though it passed all the tests. I don’t think I ever need emissions again on it given it’s age, as long as I don’t try to register it here in Oregon. We’ll see. Perhaps that part will turn up somewhere else.
I’ve removed all the coolant tubing (most of it anyway) and some of the fuel air distribution system. I’m hesitant to start taking the fuel lines off because that will make a mess and send fuel everywhere. However, most of the electrical lines run under the fuel distributor, so I will need to remove it and the fuel filter to access and replace those electrical wires. I also think I need to remove it to get access to the shift linkage, which is the another area known to be looser than I’d like.
I did manage to remove the steering column, so I just need to find a source for those parts so I can reassemble it without that dreadful wobble it had. The bearing that holds the rod inside the column has been sitting loose at the base of the rod since I bought the car. It needs replacing to make the steering feel tight again. Possibly more work needs to be done to the actual rack, but just fixing the column will be a big improvement.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Scirocco
I have a 1985 Volkswagen Scirocco. I’ve had it as a daily driver for about two years, and have done almost no work on it since I got it. I had the alternator replaced when I bought it (it was dead at time of purchase). It was a long towing trip across Seattle when I first got it, but an alternator wasn’t that much, and I replaced the leaky fuel line from a scrap yard.
Other than that and a set of 2 new tires, I’ve done nothing to it. It drives well, and the engine seems to run well. The only mechanical issue I’ve had is with the starter motor sticking on one day. It only has 240k or so, so I should be able to get much more life out of it given it is a basic VW engine and looks to be in reasonable condition. The car beyond the engine however has issues. And not just that the radio was stolen out of it at my old apartment. The wiring harnesses are failing, the insulation has been cut through all over them. I’ve had several purely electrical issues. Honk the horn and the radio restarts. Also, the engine bay needs extensive cleaning. I am talking here about oil and grease buildup on everything, but also half-finished projects from various previous owners.
Now that the Land Cruiser is down here and I’ve done all the preventive maintenance (PM) work I can do until I drive back to Seattle and get my floor jack and stands, I think it is time to look at the Scirocco. So I pulled it into the garage, removed the hood and went to work. First thing I discovered, this car has two radiators. Unlike the Land Cruiser where the extra radiator was a part of the towing package, this extra radiator is floating. It has hoses running from only one port, and they run around the engine bay a bit and then end where they were cut. As far as I can tell from the Bentley manual, this second radiator (with the cut hoses) was not the original radiator which is still the active one. I have no idea what the installer was thinking/planning by throwing this radiator in there. All it does is restrict flow to the primary radiator. So it’s now taken out and loose in my garage. Anyone want a radiator?
This is not the only cut hose that goes nowhere. As far as I can tell there are parts of a vacuum system in the vehicle, even though the Bentley makes no mention of a vacuum system in this model configuration. There aren’t any complete parts though, the hoses sort of run to nowhere. I haven’t found any sort of vacuum pump under the hood.
I also discovered that solving the issue I had with the starter motor is going to be challenging. It should be held on with an allen head bolt. Instead I have a bolt which has been stripped to a near perfect circle. It’s going to be great fun getting that apart.
The more I think about it, the more I just want to pull the motor out, clean it up, strip it down enough to replace any seals, and then reassembly the vehicle with only the necessary components. This car has no power steering, no A/C, I wish it had no sunroof (leaky and pokes my passenger). It is fuel-injected, so not as basic an engine as they come, but just about. I think it would be a great experience for me to pull it all and understand the use of everything as I put it back together.
But as the car does work now without any major issues (save the starter motor), just stuff that needs to be tightened up, or having bushings replaced, I’m hesitant to take it apart. Primarily form a monetary point, once I start tearing into things, certain seals and gaskets will need to be replaced before I can reassemble it. I also need to buy a lot of wiring to replace that which is failing. Some of this could be done with the engine in the vehicle, but I have a feeling it would be much easier if I could pull it out first. Things could conceivable add up quickly, especially if I have to buy an engine hoist and a stand just to start the process of pulling the engine. I’m hoping I can borrow one from someone.
There are some pictures I want to add to this post, like the damn rounded bolt on the starter motor, but Whitney went off hiking for the day and took my camera. I have too much of a sore throat and on-coming cold to be up for hiking today. Yesterday’s romp in the snow was good though.
Monday, March 23, 2009
I have a Summer Job
This summer, I am going to be a Technology Entrepreneurship Program Fellow. Continuing on my exploration of entrepreneurial experience, after a course at Mudd, and another two semester course here. This is a program primarily at the University of Oregon in Eugene. However, the program is trying to expand into Oregon State University as well. It is designed to take college produced research ideas (and some from the Pacific Northwest National Lab), and with a team of graduate students (two business majors, a law major, and an engineering major), examine the ideas as to their technical and market feasibility. It could be interesting, it could be awful, it depends on the team and the technology. I think chances are good I’ll learn a lot by doing it, plus it is a good time commitment to balance working on my research, and it means I don’t have to try to get my advisor to carry me this summer.
Other than that, it’s Spring Break, I’m trying, and failing to relax.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Bleh
I had an amazing weekend. I found a great restaurant, that actually has good Thai food nearby. Thanks Will for the recommendation! I also meet and spent time with a really cool couple which was a lot of fun.
Now my life is momentarily awful. I’m running on 3 hours of sleep from last night, about to crash for tonight, probably back up in 5 hours or so. I must survive until the end of Wednesday. Then, I just need to spend Thursday morning grading, and I can then walk away from this term.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Cargo Area Fits the Dogs!
A while back (a year or so now), I built a cargo setup for the Land Cruiser. I made a drawer to slide my ARB fridge in and out. I also sized it to hold a water tank and associated pumping equipment for showers and drinking water. I also put in two other sections, one to add drawers later to store stuff (probably my camping gear/clothing) and an area to create a kitchen box to store all the kitchen cooking gear as well as food. The drawers, kitchen box, and water setup have yet to be built.
This is the cargo setup showing the fridge, but before I finished carpeting the top. I have since carpeted the top and added wings to make it one solid surface all the way to the edge of the vehicle. The water tank area is in front of the fridge and adjoining drawer area. This is accessed from the front, by lowering the seat. The sleeping bag (brown bag) is in the kitchen box pullout area. This area is the full length of the cargo area.
When I designed this setup we had one dog, who was still a young puppy. I sized it such that it was just the height of the fridge, which happened to leave just enough room for a dog cage above. Unfortunately, Arthur grew larger than expected. We also acquired another dog, so some other solution would be needed. Since the Land Cruiser is now down here, and spring is around the corner, I started to think about what to do to fit two dogs in there. I want to be able to fit them in without using the middle row of seats. I’m hoping that we will often go camping with others, so those seats may be occupied. Without too much trouble I convinced Arthur and Mishka to climb up on top of the cargo unit.
There was more room for them than I expected. Arthur could actually walk around without being hunched over. I know he looks awfully sullen and uncomfortable, but he’s actually got plenty of room, and he should be laying down most of the time we are moving. I was concerned that he wouldn’t be able to walk around except hunched over, but he just barely fits. He hunches slightly but I think that’s because he doesn’t like rubbing on the headliner. So my current cargo arrangement will work, as long as all, or most of the gear can be stored below. When camping, there isn’t much needed, clothing wise, so I think if I made drawers and then provided a drawer to any guests that should be enough room for most stuff. When not camping, the kitchen box can come out and there should be plenty of room, as long as people pack in duffles.
So, two things are needed to make this workable, one is a grate or bar system so that the dogs don’t come out of the cargo area (either by choice, or in a sudden braking situation). I need to find a very short set of bars for this though. The other is some sort of screen or bar across the window. I would like to be able to leave them open for the dogs without Mishka deciding she can jump out. I’ve had both dogs decide to jump out or into a vehicle through an open window when it sits in the garage. I don’t want that to happen when we are moving.
Eventually I need to also build the kitchen box, or possible buy and modify a pre-made version. Haven’t found one at the right price point and right shape though. I can rearrange the partitions of the cargo area relatively easily if I do find one slightly the wrong size. The other thing I want to do is find some bags to store my tool bag, recovery gear, spare parts, straps and other stuff in the two side compartments. Right now, I have wings that tilt open to allow access to those, but stuff that is put in there is just loose. I want to put it into bags, so if I need recovery gear for example, I can slide out the whole recovery bag and be able to access stuff readily rather than digging around for what I need in that whole area.
Another of my ongoing projects…