When I bite into a York Peppermint Patty....

... its like ski-jumping at the Winter Olympics. The focus of today's post is on trying to capture that same cooling sensation for the air heading for the bus' lungs - the intake manifold. So, I'll update on my inter-cooler mangling efforts and on my brother-in-law Tom. Last, a quick what's next?

Inter-cooler Placement
In my TDI Jetta, the intercooler appears in front of the front wheel. It gets forced-air through slits in the front bumper and exhausts into the passenger wheel well. Since the pressure of the wall of air through which you're travelling provides force, it doesn't need a booster fan, and it keeps the air temps heading into the engine significantly cooler. Just for background, an inter-cooler takes the air that was just pressurized in the turbo and cools it down. The charged air can get very hot because (a) it was just significantly compressed and (b) it just passed through an iron / steel block that is connected to your exhaust. HOT! The inter-cooler can drop those temps pretty dramatically by allowing the air to expand a little bit and by acting like a radiator.

So, where does one fit an inter-cooler in an old bus? Almost all of the air pressure greeted by the nose of the bus is pressed around the sides, underneath or over the top. Within a stock VW engine compartment that is well sealed, there is negative pressure within the compartment because of the vacuum produced by the engine sucking on the available air. There is virtually no passing air. With the stock engine and seals gone, there is available air-stream flowing underneath the bus. The vanagon folks often-times will put an inter-cooler in or behind the driver-side rear wheel well. I looked at that, and in the spare battery tray, and in the stock battery tray, and next to the transaxle on the driver side... etc. I looked pretty much everywhere, and concluded that the best spot was upright just to the left of the intake. I cut down a section of the old tin-line so it would snuggle-in a little bit. The inter-cooler needs a bracket at the top and bottom to hold it firmly in place, but the pictures should give a pretty good idea of what it will look like.

But how does it get fresh air? I have a few ideas on that. First, I can fabricate some cowling to dip down below the bus to slurp some passing air. That should be relatively easy. Second, I have a Yamaha radiator fan that I can hook up to the rear of the inter-cooler to boost the passing air. I'd rather avoid that, but its an alternative. There's also the question of the exhaust air. In my Jetta, it exhausts onto my tire. I imagine that shortens the life of the tire a little bit, but maybe it doesn't really produce that much heat. Rather than assume that, I'll probably fabricate exhaust cowling that vents down back into the air stream.

In the meantime, the distances from the inter-cooler to the bottom of the turbo and from the top of the inter-cooler to the intake are each less than a foot. This should reduce the amount of custom material I need to add in. I have a pile of charge-air hose from the Beetle this engine came from, so I may be able to cobble most of it together with stock parts. Considering the cost of silicone hose connectors, I'm very hopeful that I can do this with a minimum of new material.

Tom Passes (1/31/2010)
Tom lost his fight to cancer Sunday afternoon around 4:30. His mom Marianne, his girlfriend and his daughter were all at his apartment when he died. I knew Tom for 20 years, but hadn't seen him at all in the last 5. Its hard to really know that he's gone after not seeing him in person for so many years. My last mental image of him will be sitting on his brother Joe's back patio with the whole extended family playing bocce, and laughing. Tom was a pretty simple guy with a near-constant "are you kidding me" smirk. I'll miss you, Tom.

next...
I have 4 different systems in-flight, so I could really work on / try to finish any of the 4.
1 - cooling system (needs parts).
2 - exhaust (needs some better welding).
3 - vacuum (needs air cleaner, exhaust route finalized).
4 - inter-cooler. Looks like its finish the inter-cooler, and then move on to the air filter while waiting for parts, welding expertise.

That's all for now. I don't know if I'll have much time this week, but I should have a few hours next weekend.

pictures:
top - looking at the rear end of the bus with the engine door open. note the inter-cooler on the left side.
mid left - looking through the rear left tail-light at the cut to hold the inter-cooler. Note the little nub sticking out on the bottom - I'd may try to use that in the bracketing.
mid right - close up on the rear-side cut for inter-cooler placement
mid bottom - looking through top-side hatch at the clearance between the inter-cooler and the intake.
bottom - close up of the clearance between the bottom of the inter-cooler and the turbo outlet.

Cabin Heat, flexible lines

Tonight, I'll cover some thoughts about how to heat the inside of the bus and the coolant line routing I did this afternoon. My wife took a quick week in Las Vegas, so I have an update on Marianne and Tom.

Cabin Fever
First, I thought about putting the heating unit under the main belly of the bus. I went through the trouble of reversing the heater core, and re-mounting it. But, once I got under the bus, I discovered that I couldn't put it where I wanted to as it would block 1/2 the entrance to the radiator. Oi. One more example of avoiding sliding under the bus and it costing me in wasted time.

Then, my thinking switched to putting the heater unit (rear heater unit from a vanagon) under the front belly pan. The front pan hangs over 8" below the floor of the bus, and there is sufficient space width-wise to fit the heating unit (needs 13"). Reference the picture to the right...The heater unit could sit with the square foam side pressed up against the floor. The original heater tube in this location will be removed so the air that is forced by the fan will go up through the tube into the bus cab. I had intended to connect the entry side of the fan to the original ducting. I realized that once the belly pan was re-attached with a sealing foam, I won't have to fit the ducting together. The vacuum created by the fan will be filled by the open ducting anyway. In the picture to the left, you can see a HVAC collar has been attached to the fan inlet. If necessary, I can hard-route the old ducting into the fan.

One bit to note in this picture would be the black section along the bottom of the pictures. That is from the original cowl and it forces all of the fan air through the core. If it is left off, air can easily flow around the core, and the heat would be incomplete. The opening is 4" by 9". That's almost the size of a standard floor vent (4x10), which has me questioning whether I should go with the housing-against-the-floor plan. I could get a floor register and connect a bend up to the floor. I think that would allow better flow into the cabin, and would allow me to hang the unit from the floor instead of from the front.

Regardless, I am going to suspend the work on cabin heat for now. The wish is Operable This Summer. I won't need cabin heat in July and August. I can deal with the heat after that.

Coolant Lines
I got the rubber hoses earlier this week. With the copper pipe stringing the rubber sections together, I was able to create 2 long lines. I threaded the lines, one at a time, from the engine bay, over the right-rear axle, under the rear beam to the radiator. I connected the ends to the radiator and the engine flanges, but I'm not sure it's "done". The hoses do bend and flex, but they don't seem to want to hold much of a bend. I think they are designed for a single bend that's not terribly complicated. The bend at the radiator isn't holding tight, making the hose the low-point. I'm going to add a 90* bend of copper pipe at the radiator. That will raise the hose so it is no longer the lowest point on the bus.

I am still concerned about the lack of a bleeder at the radiator high-point, but I'll worry about that later. Also, I'll abandon the cabin heat for now and button up the coolant system. For the lines that should route to/from the heater core, I'll just tie them together in the engine compartment for now.

Marianne and Tom
My wife got back from Las Vegas on Tuesday after spending the prior week helping her brother Tom and mom (Marianne) again. We learned that Tom had lost consciousness a week ago, and was going back into the hospital. My wife flew down the next day. While she was down there, she helped Tom get hospice care started, move into a new apartment, and get somewhat settled. Her mom had another CAT scan to gauge the growth of her tumors and got the results back from her biopsy - she has a multi-cell cancer that is somewhat aggressive. My wife was the emotional anchor while she was there, and really seemed to help life their spirits. It seemed very exhausting for her, though, so we're glad she's home.

I won't have time tomorrow, nor do I expect to have much time during the week next week. I had hoped to have more on the weekends in January, but that's how it goes. Anyway, the coolant system will be done soon enough. After that, I'll either be moving back to the electrical or the air induction system.

Coolant lines ordered

I've been slammed at work, and it doesn't look like its going to let up any time soon. Additionally, my wife suddenly departed for Las Vegas, so I'm single-parenting for the next week or so. So, I'm going to keep this short. In the previous post, I laid out the rubber hose lengths I need. I ordered the hose from an online vendor. I also have an update on my brother-in-law and mother-in-law. Last, some chatter about identifying when your turbo is about to fail.

Hose
After some research, I found Goodyear offers a smooth-on-the-inside corregated-on-the-outside flexible hose that holds its bends because the corregation has wire in it. Since I need to run a 90* angle off of the radiator, an offset under the beam, over the axle and under the firewall, and then another series of 90* bends to get to the engine in/outlets, flexible hose seemed the wisest choice. I could fabricate something with copper or aluminum lines that I sweat together, but I think this is a much better idea, and it will probably be lighter as well as easier to maintain. Details about the Goodyear hoses I used can be found here. In case the link fails at some point in the future, the capsule about the hoses is below.
I hope the hoses arrive before the weekend, but I'm not terribly optimistic. I bought them from coolparts.com, and they ship using UPS Ground which can be fast, but the parts are coming from Michigan (I think), so with the Winter weather it may be a while.
I need to construct the hangers anyway (at location "C" and "D") to join the different rubber lines together anyway, so I'll be doing that work this weekend. The hangers will perform 2 purposes: 1 - hold the line up against the body at the 2 key transition points and 2 - butt together 2 segments of flexible line.
---
Goodyear Flexible Radiator Hose
Designed for radiator hose applications where a molded radiator hose is not available. Flexible radiator hose has a corrugated cover that easily bends to replicate the original equipment coolant hose. Flexible radiator hose maintains full flow and resists collapse with a wire insert. Hose is designed to be used with automotive coolants.
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Marianne and Tom
Tom's health took a turn for the worse in the last few days. He is now back at the VA Hospital in Las Vegas dealing with dehydration. This could just be a complication of the medications, but it could also be a harbinger of renal failure. My wife immediately dropped her classes and booked a flight down to Las Vegas. She left today. Her mom, meanwhile, has had her cancer type determined as adeno multi-cell cancer. It is a multi-cell version of lung cancer that is not as aggressive as some other types, but still aggressive. They have determined a treatment plan, though my wife will be conferring with the doctors. I haven't gotten word from my wife since she traveled to Las Vegas, so my next posting may have more details.

Turbo Fail
I've been following a thread on TDIClub about someone who had their turbo fail in such a way that the engine's cylinders were swamped with oil. Apparently, when these turbos fail, oil blows through the intake and gets into the combustion chamber. They also scream like nothing else as they are approaching their final days, but when they finally fail it blows oil. Since the diesel engine operates on a much higher pressure principle, you can imagine what happens to your bottom end when a chamber that is supposed to be filled with vapor is suddenly filled with fluid. BOOM BOOM BOOM there goes your connecting rod. It was suggested that monitoring the turbo could be done with a turbo speed sensor (Garrett makes one for about $360). I emailed with a company that build custom diesel installations that used the speed sensors and they decided that they were overly expensive and not well-tailored to the task. How do you avoid an ugly turbo failure? Check the play in your turbo during your regular maintenance (oil changes). If you're especially nervous about it, get a boost gauge.

More next time.

tucked in, and ready

Today, I'll briefly touch on where we are with the bus, and the health of the in-laws.

Hapy Hath Moved
With the help of my 11 year old son, Hapy has moved from the driveway to his designated spot alongside the garage. Saturday morning we had a fortunate break in the weather. The cold snap gave way to thaw and the rains that tracked behind the cold hadn't started yet. My son and I took that as an opportunity to get Hapy moved. I picked up a cable winch puller (aka come-along) from Harbor Freight during the week, so we had the tools. With a trucker's chain wrapped around a fencepost and then hooked back on itself as the brace-end, I hooked the cable to the nose-end tow-hook. Moving the bus about 4 feet at a time between re-configurations, we were able to creep the bus across the sidewalk, over a step and up the incline within an hour. My son sat at the wheel, holding it steady or re-directing as needed. He also helped push from behind when the cable puller seemed to be at its max. We were able to hand push the last 5 feet or so. Now, he is out of the wind and 2 steps from the garage side door. I can route heat, light and even music pretty easily. The only thing that's missing is a carport roof. Ah well. At least its level and well-draining. I hope to get drilling on the radiator mounts this week or this weekend. I have some other commitments (it is the Holiday season after all), so getting an hour or so may be difficult.

In Law Health
Unfortunately, even after a week long visit, my wife doesn't have much in new information. We can confirm that her mother has some form of lung cancer, but we don't know what kind. They will be running a scope to see what they can see next week. Marianne hasn't been very forthcoming about her condition so far, so we are skeptical that we will get straight answers from her. We figure my wife will have to go back down there, but we are't really sure when or for how long yet.
Her brother Tom, however, has been undergoing radiation treatment for the cancer they found in his spine. He is getting some kind of care review tomorrow when he should learn how effective the radiation therapy has been. I haven't heard anything about his liver (where the doctors believe the cancer started), so I'm not sure what the treatment plan is. His prognosis is not terribly good, though.

Support System
I have discovered a few things this week with my wife away.
First, I have some amazing kids. I didn't realize just how far removed I am from their daily lives and rhythms until I'm directing all the traffic. Having been deeply embedded with them this week, I have really connected with them, especially my younger son, in a way that I really hope remains and even continues to strengthen. This picture to the right was taken during a trip to the Portland Fire Boats as a part of his Cub Scout Den field trip. That red thing is a boat-mounted water cannon from 1946. The boat is still commissioned and used on large dock/pier fires.
Second, we have some pretty great friends. When we discovered that my wife had to bail out of town, our friends lined up to watch the boys for a couple of hours each afternoon. We have had meals dropped off, cards, calls of concern and more offers to help than I have managed to count. To all of these helpers and well-wishers, I offer my most sincere thanks. If I didn't taken you up on an offer, it was helpful to just hear the words that you were there, and you were thinking of how you could lighten the load.
Last, my wife is pretty great. Heading down to visit her sick mother and brother required a vat of compassion and willingness to put up with conflict that I can't really imagine. The emotional toll of visiting hospitals, and watching her mother's energy slowly drain while negotiating with doctors, forms and insurance folks must have been incredible. Fortunately, she is coming home to a clean house with the laundry done and a fridge full of food. I hope she will be able to decompress and relax before the holidaze hits and the return trip needs to be taken.

That's it for today. I'll update the post with a picture of Hapy in his new home. I didn't take any while we were working. It was still kinda cold, and I didn't want to lose my helper. The picture at the top was from before he was moved.

pictures:
top - Hapy with his coat on, before he was moved alongside the garage
bottom - 8 year old son visiting the 1946 Portland Fire Boat

rad brackets continue

There's not much to add this time. I didn't get much time on the project these last few days, but I was able ot get a little bit further on the radiator bracket. I also have an update on my son's H1N1.

Radiator Bracket I finished the last of the 4 separate brackets. It went together like its twin on the front. After that, I put a bit of square-tubing across the front. After taking some measurements, and messing around with Google Sketchup, I have a working model of the underside of the bus. From this, I can conclude that I will have about 5-1/2" above the frame rail to play with. If I don't want more than 5 inches of drop on the front end, that gives less than 9 inches (after removing the thickness of the radiator) of possible exposure to air flow. I'll be getting under the bus this weekend, time and weather permitting. I hope to first figure out what to mount the front end to. Then, I'll start considering how I'll do that. I have a few ideas....

Front End Tie-In Ideas
First, there's the obvious bar across the beams and a couple of vertical-ish bars coming from the front of the radiator up to that cross-bar. Figure I tie-in some kind of rubber bit to absorb the vibration and torque-action on the body.
Second, I could put shorter vertical-ish bars up from the rad and connect to a cross bar (or eye-loops) with a short stretch of cable. This would make the pitch variable, so I could experiment a little.

Where Go Fans?
I could put fans under the radiator in a pull configuration. This seems to be the common thinking for best cooling, but wouldn't any water that passes through the radiator potentially get into the motor? I'm thinking that any time the fans would be in that condition, they would probably be turning on with some regularity, but its still something to think about.
Maybe the fans go on top in a push configuration. Then, any road debris could bounce up and damage a fan. Of course, if the fans weren't there, that debris would have damaged the radiator, so there will have to be some kind of security screening to protect the top of the radiator anyway.

Shroud Cowl
The picture that I linked in an earlier posting didn't have any shrouding at all. I don't know where his bus lives, so maybe it doesn't get very hot. I think I want at least some cowling on the sides and rear to prevent rad-heated air to re-flow through. In both of the design options above there would be a vertical-ish riser at the front on both corners. I'd need something at the rear to tie into. I'll have to give that some thought. Maybe it would just be a matter of careful cutting and I could re-use the shroud mount point that I'm using for the brackets.

Cedar's H1N1
Well, Cedar finished his battle with the flu and was back at school today. He came bounding downstairs all dressed and ready to roll after over-sleeping for a school day. He made it to school only 30 minutes after the late bell. Thanks for your words of concern. We have no updates on Marianne or Tom. I'll post as we learn what's going on.

pictures:
top - front rad bracket before attaching to radiator. That's a 12" ruler for perspective.
top middle - view along bracket from water sensor end of radiator.
bottom middle - bracket at water temp sensor. Note the sensor maintenance is not affected.
bottom - full view of radiator with front and rear brackets attached.

small progress is better than none

As I look through the last year of postings, I seem to say something about not getting much done an awful lot. It makes me think that I have a hard time moving from "goal oriented" to "process oriented". I really do believe this project is all about the learning and the doing, and that the driving the bus part is just the dessert. At least, that's how I think about it when I'm actually doing something on it. When I haven't touched it in a week, I focus on the "I haven't done anything since...". I guess you can take the goal away as long as you're still in the process. Today's posting covers some small progress, a little planning, a Busaru update and a personal note. No pictures, but I'm having issues with my new phone.

Small Progress
I did manage to get the final bracket completed for the front of the radiator. I still have to cut the square tubing, and attach it to the bracket. Then, I'll be rolling back under the bus (please, no rain) to think about how I'll tie it into the bus. Like I said in a previous post, it should be easy to bolt in the rear end. The front end, however, doesn't have an obvious mount point. I'm hopeful a solution will come to me when I'm lying on my back under the bus.

A little planning
While I'm under the bus looking for a mount point, I need to think about the routing of coolant lines. I need to run lines from the engine bay to the radiator, and from the engine bay past the radiator to the front beam - where the cabin heater will be. Last, there's the thought of getting an air line from under the rear seat up to the cabin heater for recirculation. Now, I don't plan to put anything like that in now, but I don't want to design without that in mind. Otherwise, I may not be able to get air from there. Considering that is one of the coldest places in a VW Bus (yes, there's a story here), I'd like very much to make that my "cold air return".

Busaru
The Busaru was sold, so if you were thinking about it, you're too late. Too bad for me, the buyer also took the winter tires and the diesel heater :( I'm glad the former owner was able to get his old project to someone that would finish it out, though. Dave put a lot of time and effort into that bus. I sincerely hope he is able to work through his difficulties and find another project soon.

On a personal note
We learned this week that my wife's brother Tom has cancer. We don't know what kind, or what his treatment options are, but we appreciate your positive thoughts for him. Just a few days before that, we had learned that my wife's mother Marianne has a lump in her lung and that my wife's estranged father had passed away. Meanwhile, her neice Becky gave birth to her first boy (she has a young girl). Through all that, my wife has managed to keep her class schedule, and everything else much more together than most would have. It has really been too much to process for all of us, so I don't have a nice pearl to tie it all together with yet. It will be a few days before we know more about either Tom's or Marianne's condition or treatment options.
Update: I just learned that my younger son, Cedar, has contracted H1N1. When it rains it pours.

That's about all I have today. I should have some time early this week to get that cross bar on the radiator. Whether I have a dry opportunity with ample lighting is another question. Maybe I'll find that pearl along the way.