rebuild with lots of questions, ALL DONE, THANKS!!!

[JamesT25]

Hello all,

I'm going to be updating this thread hopefully daily with the progress rebuilding the "whale", the aim is to have the bus taxed MOT'd and making its little way down to bugjam with me behind the wheel!!!

planning on putting as many pics as possible up here and hopefully this will make up for the ammount of questions i ask you knowledgable people........

pre paint job pictures

post paint job and time to start the rebuild

http://www.mypicx.com/06102009/the_whale/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

now after all those lovely pictures i've got a few questions if anyone can help......

1. front brake calipers had siezed and seems that the pistons have rusted/pitted can i just replace the pistons or do i need to replace the whole unit?? where can i get these from???

2. not a big deal at the moment but the front wheels lean in towards the top, bearing in mind there is no weight in the van so is riding very high is this rectified when weight goes in or altered by certain parts of the wheel allignment

3. front disk dust cover thingys have rusted away to nothing are these neccesarry?? if so where can i get from????

4. under the bus where all the wiring goes there are cable ties with a post thingy which holds them to the chassis, not a great description i know but might jog someones memory

5. need new wiper arms with plastic covers etc, want new ones really

6. new wiper motor as its quite slow even on speed 2

[jaylo264]

1 calipers from gsf

2 dont know

3 not needed

4 no idea

5 no idea

6 no idea

[Aberdeenbus]

Front brake calipers Brikwerks seems to be the best deal at the moment I've just spent a couple of hours searching to replace my front two,

when you add Vat, shipping then the rebate, PLUS hes one of us.

Cheers
Si

[syncrosimon]

If you have done that restoration yourself then you dont need our help

But, camber adjustment effects the verticalness of you front wheels. Easy to adjust by eye on a flat bit of ground like this.



Wiper motor is a dash out job, and may be low battery voltage, friction on a dry windscreen??

Have you tried VW for the parts.

[JamesT25]

Hi Simon,

not started the restoration really, just ripped everything out of it so far, putting it all back in may be more troublesome!!!!

Thanks for that, bloody brilliant i've been thinking there was something bent or knackered!!
think i'll be spending some time watching your how to vids on youtube.

Does anyone know whether you can just purchase the pistons for the calipers as the caliper itself is fine just rust /chips on the piston may lead to sticking etc

Cheers

James

[rick]

hi james. i wouldnt be to worried about rusty surfaces on a piston mate. its par for the course.
have you tried taking the piston off the van (still connected) and working it with a g clamp to get it moving again? mine are getting on 30 years old. look knackered and rusty but work perfectly. i should think at worst they will need maybe a new seal kit. id try the g clamp first tho.

[toomanytoys]

As far as I am aware,the pistons are not available seperately... seal kits are If the piston is in god nick and removable...
I would also suggest that by the time you have messed about with then trying to get some grotty ones working reasonably well it might not be worth it.. Brakes are pretty important and you, your family and other road users depend on them..... rust on the sealing areas will chew new seals to bits and leave you with little or no braking.... the pistons have to all the way in to get new pads in....

Camber... mmm, could be the top bushes are "bushed".. and need replacing... they may have been replaced and not set correctly... need to jack van and support well.. then undo top ball joint to see what, if any, play there is in there.... if they are stiff to move up and down then prob ok.. if easy and waggle about... got to come off...

Backing plates are not needed for MOT but do keep the crud off the discs and calipers...

Just cable tie the wiring up..

Wiper arms... Brickwerks poss... or JK, or perhaps VW.. but from what I remember they are not cheap... maybe a good used pair...

Wipers not working... could be the spindle has seized in the pivot on the front panel.. I had this happen on an old 1980 van I did up.. I worked it with a pair of mole grips and lots of wd 40... lots of time and ragging it back and forward soon had it moving freely again....

[JamesT25]

I just thought seeing as brickworks can refurb them then why cant joe public? but i do like brakes to work so might be a new set on order then!!

after watching that video it all makes sense now, basically i need to spend some time setting it all up once i've got some weight back in the whale.

just spotted the backing plates on brickworks for 9 squid so i'll put them on will go nice with my shiny new calipers!!!

i have attached a rather rudimentary paint drawing of the cable ties i am after, hopefully it will jog someones memory, but it is more likely to make people giggle at my best attempt at drawing!!!



does anyone know part codes for wipers from VW might as well try there first...

wiper motor does move but is quite sluggish even on 2nd speed, p.s. there isnt even any glass in yet so i dont think its friction from the wipers!!!!

[JamesT25]

progress update, pictures to follow...

electric windows in, central locking in, most wiring sorted as headlining is going back in early next week so front screen can go in!! feels a bit better with door etc attached!

as you probably imagined i am still re-building my bus and come across a couple of little questions if anyone can help....

rear door of crewcab does not seem to use same latch as normal doors does anyone know where i can get one from. its the part that attaches to the body not to the door mechanism, basically a bar for the mech to latch to.

still after those cable ties with post to hold to bodywork see post above anyone any ideas??

[gedbedhead]

regarding the slow wipers check you have the correct rated fuse does make a difference.

[JamesT25]

as promised, more pictures and questions.

offered my new petrol tank up last night and it doesnt seem to fit very well, cant see where it is catching anywhere.

its not a genuine tank but seems to be ok just not going far enough up...... any advice please????????

also found the "wiring" for the stereo pictured below can someon let me know what the massive 5 wires do

now for the pics

[JamesT25]

new question for you all, been speaking to andy(dickspanner) about getting the log book in my name etc, just wanted to know a couple of things...

the engine i hav has the engine number machined off and and there is a big C shape with a little vw sign in the middle
does anyone know what i write on the log book???

i know its difficult to say but being a vw recon is that a good thing??

also the gearbox i have has the code ABU cant seem to find that anywhere on here can anyone help????

[Simon Baxter]

The lip on the front of the tank is in the wrong position, you push the front end of the tank up first, then the back.
You need to take the tank back off anyway as it's only in primer and will need painting.
I don't recon calipers, I buy them done, I don't have the equipment to do it properly,with them being blasted and zinc plated and all that.
Put a seal kit in if you want but it depends if you value your time or not.
Usually cheaper, quicker and a better job just to swap for recon calipers, never really had much success with seal kits are the pistons are generally too far gone to bother with.

[JamesT25]

thanks for the info simon, ended up getting a local company to refurb and they have done a cracking job.

sorry but another quick question or quiz if you like for all you t25 guru's out there, i've got some pics below of what i'm pretty sure is a dg engine.......... here's what i know, vw recon stamp that is all, am looking for a year for this engine as i@ve just ordered a water pump and its not the same as the one that came off, my one the water pump directly attatches to the thermostat housing which is made from metal. engine has crank sensor but was just bumged up when i got it....

sorry to be a pain in the a*** but hopefully someone can help with this before i pull out what i've got left of my hair!!!!!!!

[toomanytoys]

All wbx engines are basically the same... the water system that attaches to it comes in 2 "flavours".... early and late... change over was around 1985/6...
The early system has a tstat housing next to the water pump... the late has a plastic housing towards the back left of the engine bay ... there are lots of other parts that are different too...

On the side of the sump there is a part number... does it have a "B" on the end?? if so its a later engine...

What year is the van itself?

You have a choice... if the van is "early" and you have the early water system then continue and fit that... if its a "late" van... you can use all the early cooling system and fit it, but there will be a few areas to mess with...
or you can get a late cooling system to fit the the engine...


Oh.. they all have a "crank sensor" but its of now real use and does nothing.....