This is fun

An engine conversion should be fun. Be sure to take the obligatory Jack-in-the-engine compartment photos...

Finding the ignition wire in a 1984 Vanagon

I think wiring is the scariest part of any engine work. When I replaced the engine in my 1988 Toyota Pickup I spent more time labeling the hell out of everything than actually plucking the motor. There is just nothing more frustrating than trying to track down an electrical problem. My effort paid off when the engine fired up first try.

Finding the ignition wire on my 1984 took a little detective work. Jim's manual currently only deals with later models. I had some ideas from the manual but Jim posted a great diagram on the Bostig forum that showed it pretty clearly. I don't know where he got that but I'd like to find out.

Basically the bus wiring enters the engine compartment in the upper left, directly into a black box. There are a few harnesses that exit the box, but one of them has a black wire that pops out and feeds up to the coil. That's the ignition wire. It's just a matter of finding that one wire out of the spaghetti. The other wires coming out of that box go to brake and tail lights, licence plate lights, etc., so don't go monkeying around in there with clippers. You just need that one wire.

I found and marked the wire and then pulled the coil, idle stabilizer, computer, etc. Once it was all out it was easy to see that the ignition wire is almost the only one that bridges the engine wiring harness with the body wiring harness. Think of the two harnesses as two spaghetti bowls joined by a strand.

Next, I cleaned up the engine compartment. I couldn't see putting a new engine into a dirty compartment. I took some paint thinner, Formula 409 and a roll of paper towels and wiped it all out. I was always inspired by Scotty on Star Trek who was always running around shaking a wrench at his junior engineers and performing the white glove test. Mine will pass for now, but one drive up my dirty gravel road will change all that.
Here is another view of the ignition wire. It's the dangling one with the tape on it. Since I really only need 3 wires (Power, ignition, ground) to get the Zetec going, I'm 1/3 of the way there! Next I'll round up the power, various sensors, etc. and label them so when the engine gets here I can install it quickly.

Installation in an Early Vanagon vs. Late

I'm finding a few differences between the Bostig installation manual and my van. This is a consequence of the fact that there are vastly fewer early Vanagons (1983-85) compared to later ones (1986-1991). There just haven't been that many early van conversions.

Vanagon powerplants (sounds too powerful, maybe I should say 'Gerbil Wheels') come in two flavors. There was the 1.9L Wasserboxer with the Digijet Fuel injection produced from mid-1983 to 1985, and the 2.1L 'boxer with the Digifant FI, from 1986 onwards. It looks like the majority of the Zetec conversions have been done on later models, and the installation directions reflect this. I ran into this dichotomy on the first page of the installation directions when I attempted to remove the engine wiring harness. I could not find the H-shaped connector near the coil that was referred to in the directions. It turns out this has to do with the tachometer, an item also not found on 1.9s (at least not mine). My ignition wire is there, but in a different place. So there are a few differences in how the install will go, depending on what kind of Vanagon you have. I expect that my install will go easier than most for the simple reason that there are fewer wires to connect.

Jim posted a wiring diagram (within a day, as usual... does this guy sleep?!?!) and it shows the two wires I need pretty clearly. I'll look it it tonight and take some photos and post my notes.

Another difference between reality and the installation directions involves power steering. I don't have any! This just gets easier and easier...

So Jim's done a great job of making this a community effort, and in that spirit I will keep good notes and photographs and turn them over to the guys at Bostig to hopefully incorporate in their manual.

The 'Boxer Is Out!

Here is a post-operation photo. We've removed the diseased heart. The patient will be kept in suspended animation until the Zetec arrives.The only difficulties I had was in getting the engine around the hanging driveaxles and the automatic transmission dipstick (which I opted not to disconnect). Now to clean up and remove the tranny...

Alaskan State Birds

Here is 1200km worth of accumulated Alaskan state birds!

The Vanagon During its Better Days

Here is my van in front of the Alaska Range. My bro and I were headed to Chitina to go dipnetting. Note the wheelbarrow and the dipnet on top. The former was for hauling coolers full of sockeye salmon and the latter was for catching them. The van made the 1200km journey without a hitch, but it was only my constant fear and worry about breaking down hundreds of clicks deep in Alaskan wilderness that kept the wheels turning. No Vanagon owner who has the stock Waterboxer engine truly plans on arriving at their destination. I always figured it was 50/50 so I always threw in my toolbox, a few gallons of coolant and my mountain bike just to be sure.

Welcome

Hello. My name is Skeeter and I am a Vanagon owner. I love my van, but I hate it's engine. Other Vanagon owner's can probably relate. Over the next few months I will be replacing the Wasserboxer with a new Ford Zetec engine using the turnkey conversion kit from Bostig Engineering. This blog will record the journey.