Hapy Test Drives

Quick post today.

Before I start, Happy Cinco-de-Mayo. Our US-resident Latino friends and neighbors have had a brutal 18 months since the regime started incarcerating people in concentration camps around the country. This year, I hope there is more focus on the positive impacts of the Mexican culture and the negative impacts the ICE sweeps have had than on beer sales. While I'll probably be tipping a tequila this evening, I am not turning a blind eye to the perils our Latino friends are experiencing.

 

Hapy Drives

spring flowers

This past weekend, I had multiple shows I was asked to play, so I did not get into the vehicles much at all. Since I swapped things around, I did drive Hapy to both performances, though, so I got some quality test drives in. First, I sat in with a bluegrass outfit at a outdoor new food cart venue near Tannesborne. This was mostly surface streets, so I never got out of 3rd gears, but it was over 20 minutes each way. So, I was able to see how well he performed. As expected, he ran well. On the way home, dark had fallen, so I was able to prove that his lights were all working well too.

 

My other show was at a different food cart venue, supporting Brenda (find her here). She plays guitar and has an incredibly clean, clear voice. Anyway, that venue is in Hillsboro and rather than take the long slow slog out Tualatin Valley Highway (lots of traffic and traffic lights), I took the back country roads. This allowed Hapy to get up into highway speeds. Again, he drove great, had plenty of pep in 3rd and 4th gear. Even with the bigger nozzles and the CPU-tune, he is slow off the line from dead stop and doesn't really get his wheels going until we're over 2k RPM in 2nd. I recognize he's a loaf of bread getting pushed by around 120hp but I expected more, I think. I recall the test drive after the Malone tune, but as I re-read that (See Malone Tuning, Stage 2) post, again, Hapy really looked alive above 25mph moving into 3rd. 

 

MAF check-engine code

One thing worth noting, though, is all of the small improvements to his handling are really making a difference. Recall, the rear sway bar, but tightening the rebound on the shocks, replacing the tie-rods, the steering dampener, adjusting the steering box... for that matter we could go all the way back to my first few posts 20 years ago, like this one. Now, as I drove on country roads like a local (read: fast), Hapy holds the road, a cross wind doesn't impact as much and I don't arrive completely wrung out from stress. Again, he's still al oaf of bread so a cross-wind will move him more than a normal car, but its not nearly as bad as it was.

 

By the time I was starting Hapy for the drive home from the 2nd show, the starter noise when engaging that we heard over at Justin's place had disappeared. Perhaps the starter needed to wiggle itself into position a little bit. I don't know, but I will be sliding underneath to make sure the nuts and bolts are fully torqued down. 

 

Shop Locks

boost check-engine code

Other than than 2 shows, Boo and I mostly took the weekend off from projects. I did carve out a couple of hours to put some barn-door locks on the west-side barn-doors so they can lock from the inside. This will keep casual thieves out. I say "casual" because if someone wanted to smash-and-grab, there's plenty of smash-able glass. As I mentioned last post, Ray our contractor, is building some mostly clear barn-style doors for the southern doorway. These will move all the way outside of the door frames, leaving enough room to drive a car through, allowing us to move cars all the way through and into the "back 40" where I may need to store a car or 2 while working on others.

 

Wrap

I know there's not much in today's post. The big take-away is Hapy is absolutely operational now. He is driving great, starting immediately, etc. Of course, no adventure with Hapy is complete without something happening. As I was leaving the 1st show, Hapy threw one code (P0101: Mass Air Flow sensor) and has another pending (P1550:Solenoid Valve for Boost Pressure Control (N75) - Control Deviation). We have seen the P1550 before (See: Resolving the Stammer) and know how to resolve it, if it appears again and throws a legit code. For the MAF, I'll probably try to clean it first. Worst case, I need to replace it.

 

That's it for today. Thanks, as always for following along- 

Furnace Freed

Continuing the NewOld House construction, today's post is about disconnecting the furnace, and considering our options for what's next.

Hapy Update

I know I have not written much about cars lately, so here's a quick update on Hapy. I don't drive every day, but Hapy has been my main vehicle all summer. The other night, I grew frustrated with someone driving at least 10 mph below the speed limit in the left lane. I was cruising around 2k RPM in 3rd (around 30mph in a 45mph zone). An opening appeared in the right lane, so I stepped on it and started changing lanes. I guess I stepped on it too hard because I smoked the tires for a second before they grabbed, launching us forward. Goes to show, the KermaTDI bigger nozzles and Malone Tuning CPU chip were significant improvements. Since I have been driving him so much, it is now time to do his front brakes. I am still questioning the brake booster, so once the front brakes are done, I may revisit the booster and master cylinder. Since Hapy has become the gear-hauler for the band I've been playing in, taking him off the road has larger implications than ever. Anyway, back to the furnace.

Exhaust

furnace freed

Because of the way the furnace was installed, I had to get the exhaust stack out of the way first. The furnace is not a 95% efficiency-or-better, so the exhaust is both double-walled and transfers more than just water vapor. Still, it is put together the same as one of the high efficiency ones, it is just double walled instead of single. Some pieces twist-lock together and others are held together with sheet metal screws. With a 1/4" hex socket on the cordless torque driver, I made quick work of all of the sheet metal screws. I was able to remove the exhaust in sections and set them aside. Once the entire exhaust, from furnace-to-chimney-liner was removed, I shifted to the cold air intake or "return" in HVAC parlance.

Cold Air Intake

On this furnace install, the cold air return/intake enters from above. So, while warm air rises and cold air drops, our cold air return was installed 6 feet up into the wall. Genius. It was simple to take apart, though. The protective grill was held on with 3" long screws, which also held the air filter in place. Behind that the HVAC flashing was bent to create a flute or trumpet-bell shape to route air from the grill through the hole in the wall into the main intake. From there, the intake took a 90* turn down into the top of the furnace. Easy-peasy. The intake was similarly held together with sheet metal screws, and it came apart just as easily as the exhaust had. The sole difference was that each seam had the fancy shiny duct tape. That came off fast too. Once in pieces and the trumpet-bell bits bent straight, the whole unit came free.

Hot Side

exhaust removed

Once the "cold" air passes into the furnace, the squirrel-cage blower pushes it through the heating element and down into the chase below. In our case, that chase is large, rectangular and takes an immediate hard 90* turn along the main beam. From that chase, the round insulated heat conduits attach, routing the air to the various registers around the house. None of that needed to be touched for the furnace removal. All I needed to do was detach the furnace from the floor. Again, sheet metal screws held a double-thick 90* bend of HVAC flashing between the side of the furnace and the top of the chase interface. Once removed, the furnace was free-floating. We intend to re-use as much of the original "hot side" as we can. The round insulated tube things were all replaced when the crawlspace was done, so they are effectively new. The places where heat needs to go remains the same and whichever furnace we put in the crawlspace, it can send heat (or should I say processed air) down the same paths.

Electric

Next came the electric stuff. I started by removing the thermostat and the trigger cable from it to the furnace. We don't know if we are going to retain that thermostat, nor are we sure it is going back in the same spot. Either way, it was a standard 5-wire control cable, so re-installing it or doing net-new is very little difference in cost. Having it all out so we could make decisions was worth the few minutes.

Obviously, a gas furnace still needs electricity to run the squirrel-cage fan, so I flipped the breaker for the furnace and disconnected it at the furnace end. I pushed the wire through the hole in the floor. Next, I disconnected the ground wire which the prior installer had connected to the gas line. While I would like to accept that this was safe, it really didn't feel like it. I think we will run a fresh 3-wire line if we reuse this furnace. Since an electric furnace requires 220V, that would also get a new line.

Gas

gas and electric shutoffs

All that remained was the gas line. After our little excitement a few years ago when Zed went crashing into our gas water heater at the old house (See One of the Many Joys of Home Ownership), I was not exactly wanting to do this part. Our pipe-fitter (also licensed plumber) friend offered to do it. So, Lana came by, shut off the gas at the meter, disconnected the gas line under the house where it bent up to the furnace and capped it off. Together we push/pulled the disconnected end up through the hole in the floor, leaving the furnace completely disconnected.

Considerations

We have a curious cat, so we are leaving the furnace pretty much where it was while we figure things out. Otherwise, we would have a cat stuck in the heat system as fast as you can ask "where'd the cat go". Meanwhile we have some things to figure out. The furnace was manufactured in August 2019. The house was vacated around a year later, so the folks who installed the furnace got one winter out of it. We bought the place last year and used it this past winter so this furnace has 2 years of use. There are at least 15 more in it. Knowing that natural gas prices will continue to climb, eventually this furnace will be more expensive to run on a month-to-month basis than an electrical one, but that isn't the case today. Today, a gas furnace is considerably less expensive to run. A heat pump is different, but we don't have one of those. Adding a heat pump to this system would be a $8-10k upgrade. We are not in a financial place to do that. Assuming either system can reuse the existing hot side, and routing the cold return from the hole in the floor will be effectively the same, we can eliminate those from the decision: its a wash.

August 2019

So, we are looking at electric-only or gas-only. Since this furnace is practically brand new, and in-hand, it probably makes the best financial sense to keep it, and install it under the house. Before we jump in, we need to route the gas and the exhaust -or- get 220V under there and set up the trigger cable. The gas is already right there. We may need to add some flex-pipe depending on where the furnace ends up, but the gas part seems easy. For 220V, we have multiple extra slots in the breaker panel, so it would just be a matter of adding a breaker and threading the wire through. I know how this furnace was set up so re-introducing the trigger wire is easy. I don't know anything about a new furnace, so while it is probably not that hard, it would be something new and potentially challenging. Last, the gas furnace needs to have the exhaust routed. The chimney goes through the floor, but we don't know if there is a clean-out at the bottom. That would tell us if the chimney is hollow below the floor (we think it is), and therefore available for having the exhaust run into it. This mystery needs to be resolved if we are going to retain the gas furnace for a few years. I think, for the bigger financial picture, it makes sense to relocate this furnace rather than spend even $1500US on an electric one. I cannot imagine routing the exhaust would cost half that, and the 220V routing versus gas routing is a cost-wash. So, really it comes down to the cost of the exhaust versus the cost of a new furnace plus the increase in monthly cost to run the electric... even if we could sell the gas furnace to offset some of the initial outlay. I think, the gas makes better cost-sense. Once we make a determination about the chimney, we'll know.

Well, that's it for now. thanks, as always, for following along-

Hapy Turns 50

Quick post to commemorate Hapy the wonderbus turning 50 years old. Totally unrelated, but a fascinating video, here is a company in the UK looking at building an internal combustion engine that runs on hydrogen. Cool stuff. On to the celebration...

How 50?

I guess we start where I did with every person who asked "how do you know his exact birthdate?". I refer you to this post where I deciphered the manufacturing codes aka M-codes. Basically, every VW of this vintage has the planned manufacturing date imprinted on the plate. So, based on week number and day number, you can determine your vehicle's manufacturing date. Hapy has been in the family for less than half of his life, though.

When I received him, his engine had been replaced, but the interior, exterior, wiring, and everything else was 100% original. Consider "original" does not always mean "good". There was mold in the upholstery, the seats were shot, the pop-top bellows were dry-rotten and torn. But, I made use of him, in his original condition, even trying to return many of the systems to spec. Ultimately, though, safety concerns for my then-young kids started me down the trail I have documented here.

First, it was the sink/icebox unit blocking the handle to the sliding door. I considered the "what if" of getting into an accident that renders me unconscious while my kids are trapped in the back, unable to open the slider because their arm's aren't long enough to reach around the sink. So, that got pulled, and down the rabbit hole I went.

Park Play

To celebrate Hapy, and honestly any excuse to celebrate this year is a fairly good one, we reserved 5 camping spots in nearby LL Stub Stewart State Park. Our long time friends GratefulEd, lovely wife Dawn, and Belle joined us, as did my brother Eric, who rented a Eurovan from Road Trip Oregon for the special occasion with his 2 daughters (K4 and K5). Many other friends and family were on-hand on Saturday for the big party and many of them stayed overnight. We also had arranged a duo to play some jazz and old country in one of the reserved campsites in the center of the reserved spots. Unfortunately, the park rangers shut the duo down before they completed the jazz portion of their set. So, they completed their performance sans-amplification. Undeterred, Boo rolled out a stack of subs, a couple of coolers of bev's and a couple trays of VW-emblazoned cupcakes for a singing of Hapy Birthday. Yes, yes we did.

One of our gests had set up cornhole, another had set up badminton and Eric set up croquet. So, we played yard games while the acoustic duo played. It was the hottest day of the weekend, so impromptu shade was set up. When the official music completed, many of the day-trippers, and our official musicians, headed home. Those who remained shifted from the "venue" campsite to Hapy's front door for some (also mostly acoustic) jamming. For this, we were joined by friends from the Hillsboro bluegrass scene (some pictured, some not). We played until we were shut down by the park rangers again (silence expected at 10:PM), but not before our neighbors had joined us, demonstrating again that we all need a little more joy, and few things bring joy like live music and a small crowd laughing. After we stopped playing, we continued to visit (read: drink) for a while, and we broke up by midnight.

Everyone other than Boo, Hapy and me left the next day. Boo had rented some electric-assist bikes so we took a ride that afternoon after everyone left. There is a paved trail from Manning to Vernonia that passes right through the state park, and we explored a small section of it. That evening, we gazed at the stars through a borrowed telescope. With the lack of white noise from the city lights and no visible moon, there are just so many stars to see. We pointed the telescope first at single noticeable stars, but found it much more interesting to point it at a relatively uninteresting area of space and then see how many stars appeared. We both caught a shooting star through the lens that way, while also noting that in an otherwise uninteresting area of space there are still hundreds of stars visible through a non-commercial tri-pod'd telescope.

There and Back

No trip in Hapy is complete without a review of how well the bus handled. The drive out was late afternoon on a Thursday. Traffic wanted to go faster than Hapy did. Hapy still did well, driving into an on-angle headwind. The handling was much better after the shock-absorber adjustment, though the increased speed and headwind caused his engine temps to run a little high (topped at 198*F). We did not experience meaningful engine stumbling in either direction, nor did we throw a code. So, I think that much of the stumble was some bad fuel or a partially clogged clean filter (which I replaced after 4Peaks) or both. I will still be looking into other causes. The trip back was even better than the drive out. Whatever wind there was, it must have been at least partially behind us. Hapy's temperature rarely ticked above 186*F, and he was happily cruising at 55-60mph*. I had the stereo blasting an old Jerry Garcia Band bootleg, my elbow resting on the open window, and we just cruised with one hand on the wheel. The merge from 47 onto US26 was effortless with the bigger nozzles and chipped computer allowing Hapy to scoot into traffic. Honestly, it was the easiest drive home I can remember.

*: I use the asterisk here because Boo was following in a chase car, and was able to tell me just how fast I was going when... and when Hapy's speedo says "50" I am going 55. When his speedo says "55", I am going 62. So, the speedo is definitely at least 10% off, showing 10% slower than I really am. This is consistent with the odometer checks I have done along the freeway, showing the odometer is closer to .8 of a mile when the mile marker says a full mile. Since my mpg has been getting calculated without this extra math, the mpg is even more impressive. I have been getting just shy of 30mpg with the odometer reading at least 10% low. So, I'm really getting 33mpg or better.... in a bus that's loaded for camping 95% of the time.

That's it for today. Thanks, as always, for following along.

Throw-back to embedded picture captions like I used to do:

top - meadow between the Dairy Creek campgrounds

next from top - (L-to-R) Stevan on Mandolin, Rose (standing) on fiddle, Rodney (back turned) on guitar, Joe (standing) on guitar, Dawn (seated can only see top of her head/hat), Mo (standing), me (back turned) on bass, Ed (back turned) on guitar. Joey (mostly obscured by Ed)

next from bottom - Ed and Belle in full-fest-form

bottom - Boo on the bike trail

And, here are some other pictures:

(L-to-R) Rose, Boo, Joe, Mo
and me (back-turned)

Boo and I sharing
the lot couch

LL Stub Stewart camping

(L-to-R) Rodney, Stevan, Joey,
Joe, Boo (back turned),
Mo (obscured) and
me (back turned)

Malone Tuning Stage 2

Today, I wrap up the saga of the bigger injector nozzles and the Malone Tune in the VW bus. And, finally take Hapy for a drive. But first, for my mj-friendly readers, Hapy 420; celebrate safely :) Before I get flamed, yes, I know 420 did not stem from a date. It came from a time-of-day, but that does not change the fact that people celebrate pot on the 20th of April. It does, however, explain why some folks celebrate 4:20 in the afternoon with their personal favorite intoxicant.

Also, please note that the fine people at blogger have notified their users that "After July 2021, your feed will still continue to work, but the automated emails to your subscribers will no longer be supported." So, if you are relying upon an email to let you know that there is a new post on one of your favorite blogs, this will no longer function starting in August.

On to chipping Hapy's TDI computer...

Malone Tuning

In the TDI world, and increasingly outside of it, Malone Tuning is kind of the hallmark for getting your ECU "chipped". For those who wish to get more out of their engine, there is a tune for practically any set up and performance target. Malone has a few tunes below the "stage 2" that I selected, which either maximize power with a completely stock set up or adjust settings for best economy. I decided that I wanted larger injectors so I could get a little more oomph, so the stage 2 is the better choice. I do not have any plans to upsize my turbo, but if I did, this tune would support it.

On the turbo, I am running a stock VNT-15. The easiest upgrade would be to find and install a VNT-17. These appear on some cars stock. The advantage of the 17 is that it can create more boost (in pounds per square inch or PSI), because everything is bigger. The downside is the turbo lag (delay in the arrival of the power) is increased, moving the powerband up the RPM's. Since the sound and vibration of the bus increases with the RPM as well, I generally try to stay below 3500RPM. The VNT-15 turbo starts to kick in around 1800, but isn't really all-there until closer to 2200. So, right now, my total band for power is around 1300RPM (2200-3500). Adding a bigger turbo will reduce that or push my top-end higher to compensate which would make for a more noisy / shaking experience. It is for this reason that I am not really considering a turbo swap. The $1000US for a turbo is, of course, a factor too. Besides, we haven't seen how bigger nozzles and a tune will affect things yet!

Ship Ship Ship Ship

projected HP and torque
increases from stage 2

The actual purchasing of a Malone tune is through "Tunezilla". For someone with a super-early TDI like mine, it is not a simple download of software, though. A pair of chips need to be swapped out. This can be done by their shop, who does this every day, or they will send you the chips to do it yourself. I decided to have them do it, and sent my ECU off to them. Less than a week later, it was back in my hands, having traveled through customs twice (Malone is in BC, Canada) and their shop. Unfortunately, FedEx international shipping was a little rough with the package and after some highly responsive tech support from Malone to diagnose, I had to send it back. Malone determined that a handful of the solder joints broke free during shipping, causing the ECU to not power up.

The symptoms were consistent: apply switched 12V power and nothing happened. No messages on the "K" line thru the OBD-II plug to my little reader, no check engine light, no glow-plug light, but there was power at and past relay 109. So, there was some power moving through the ECU (relay 109 is triggered by the ECU), just not all of it.

I sent it back and they turned it around in 2 days, finding and fixing the loose soldier joints. They super-packed it with extra puff, so we would not have a solder fail repeat. Again, about a week after I sent it to them, it was back in my hands. An aside: when I sent it the first time, FedEx said they were not delivering to that address, so I went through UPS. UPS cost twice as much. The second time I sent it, FedEx was delivering there again. So weird.

Holy Head Snap

Hapy says "lets play"

Anyway, this time when I plugged it in, I had an entirely different experience. I turned the key to "RUN" and heard the familiar "snap snap" of the relays and the dash-pod waking up. I turned the key to start and Hapy fired up immediately (bum-bum broom). He rough idled for a few seconds and then settled down at 900RPM. I cleared the codes (per Malone instructions) and then played with the go pedal. Oh, this is gonna be fun. The new injectors don't leak at all, and the pump retains prime after being left idle for days. Bigger nozzles, stage 2 tune, wrapped exhaust, oil temp and pressure gauging, fresh wiring from front to back, including a new, custom fuse/relay box, the fat-plug harness surgery... All I needed was a test drive and Hapy could be ready to rumble.

Not so fast. It would be irresponsible to put that much new power on the road without verifying the brakes. So, before I got my "go" on, I adjusted the rear drum brakes, checked the lining on the front and confirmed I had full fluid. I switched out the system to DOT4 a couple of years ago, so the fact that he has been sitting most of the time since did not concern me as much as DOT3 would have. DOT3 absorbs moisture (bad for your fluid life) over time while DOT4 does not.

dyno curve compare
stock -v- stage 2

So.. with brakes adjusted, and all the stuff I said a paragraph ago now complete, I'm ready to test drive. We have been blessed with pleasant (20*C / upper 60*'s F) high temperatures so far this April, with many sunny skies. This makes for some perfect conditions for a test drive. While I only did the usual lap for my test, it was amazing. Somewhere along the way when I worked on the original bus dash I failed to re-connect the speedometer cable, but otherwise, everything worked very well and the brakes responded strong. As I turned onto the main road, I quickly moved through 1st and 2nd gear. When I put it in third, I really put my foot into it. I didn't floor it, but I put it pressed it pretty far down. The turbo spun up and I lost traction in my drive tires: I was burning rubber in 3rd gear, rolling at around 25mph. That'll do. Hahaha. I don't think I'll need to do anything more performance-wise, though I may replace the exhaust pipe if that will reduce exhaust gas temperature (EGT) or if the wrap destroys it. When I got back home, I felt the rear tires; they were warm, but not hot. Same goes for the rear drums. Then, I checked the wrapped exhaust which was also warm, but easily touchable.

With a consistent accelerator pedal (no more 1200 limp mode) and better visibility into the engine health, Hapy is pretty much ready for some road-tripping this Summer. Now that CoViD-19 vaccines are becoming more widespread and plentiful, Hapy's system-ready status could not arrive soon enough.

That's it for now. As I go, another reminder that Hapy turns 50 on 3-September-2021 and we will be celebrating it at LL Stub State Park. If you have nothing else to do Labor Day weekend, there are some great hiking, horse and bike trails there as well as our little birthday.

Thanks, as always, for following along--