The fog's getting thicker.

And Leon is getting laaaaarrrrrger.
I made a little headway on the bus after the brewbus tour. On Sunday after moving a bunch of junk around the back yard I got some more done. In the end, I finished up the intake / inter-cooler. WooHoo! First, I figured out what the sensor is, and got it worked into the mix. Also, I re-ran the coolant lines for the radiator. For some reason, quotes from the movie Airplane have been running through my head for the last few days (thanks Sean).

Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?
I was trolling the net looking at different things on autohausaz.com when I noticed that they sold a thrust sensor for the engine that I was installing. I had noted a sensor thing when I was pawing through the inter cooler plastic lines, but I hadn't pieced together that it was. Having discovered it, I did a little research. This little do-hickey tells the engine when there is a turbo failure, basically. Without it, the engine will run in 'limp-mode' thinking that the turbo is jacked. The end result: no boost, little power. So... how do we incorporate this thingy into the very short charged-air circuit I have constructed? I have almost no hard pipes, and this thing looks like its supposed to go after its been cooled. I suspect the sensor is a little heat sensitive, otherwise VW would have installed it right on the turbo itself.

Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.
I found my location answer in ETKA. ETKA is the parts and diagrams software the dealers use. I happen to have an electronic copy, and I found that the newer (PD) diesels, have the sensor on the inter-cooler, and it collects both pressure and heat data. So, I pulled my inter-cooler out, drilled a large hole and 2 small ones for the screws, cut some gasket and rubber material, and mounted my sensor in the top (cool end) of my inter-cooler. It looks relatively stock (except for the extra gasket material), and the temps should be low enough to prevent premature failure.

We have clearance, Clarence
One of the top tasks on the coolant circuit I listed in the Hal Returns post was improving the ground clearance at the radiator. I bought an '84 Scirocco upper radiator hose as a donor hose for the 90* bends, and cut it into 2 sections. As you can see from the picture here, the hose is barely the lowpoint of the cooling system - it is not lower than either beam or the axles, so we should be good to go. I need to figure out a bleeder for the lower hose, but I'll start on the overflow bottle bracket first.

That's it for this time around. Next up, the overflow bottle and the related air bubble lines, maybe locating a stock-ish air cleaner. One last quote as I go...

There's no reason to become alarmed, and we hope you'll enjoy the rest of your flight. By the way, is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?

pictures:
top - the inter-cooler with the thrust sensor installed
bottom - view of the radiator from the passenger side