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May 27, 2004
she lives!
got some good common sense advice and info from the vanagon list... got the auto parts guy to give me a couple of different belt sizes... and he did some research for me in his book, since the computer information on the diesel vanagon was quite confusing. we based it off of a measurement i had taken and off of what the book said a diesel jetta with the same engine would use. turned out that one was just right. 34.5", i'll record it here so i don't forget. (i have a notebook for this kind of thing, but i need to start it off with a bunch of info and i don't want to take the time to get it all recorded right now. i'll do that in july when i really start to get to work on the thang.)
i got the belt on and tensioned with minimal struggle, seems to be correct according to the manuals' specs (on that one point they do agree). no squealing; no battery light. i watched it go for a little while with the engine cover off. it was fun. cool to see the alternator spinning. i did that!
cycled the glow plugs a few times, got the cold start knob pulled out, and much to my amazement she started right up!! no hesitation, no cranking, and i think much less smoke. it could stil mean i have a bad glow plug-- since i cycled them a few times-- but it's good to know that she's not so hard to start after all.
drove around the block, happily, now she's parked in the street and spacepod finally gets to hog the driveway.
i'm moving slowly but surely :)
Posted by lisa at May 27, 2004 04:09 PM | TrackBack
Comments
WOW!! you are my idol!
Posted by: Sarah on May 27, 2004 05:08 PM
i was so excited to see you driving down the street this evening! way cool!!
Posted by: christa on May 28, 2004 01:10 AM
well, before we all get a little wet in the panties over this, the belt started squealing a bit while i was out obtaining dinner, and i also seem to have sparked a controversy on the diesel vanagon list over the proper configuration for this particular belt.
hey, at least she's runnin' though!
Posted by: lisa on May 28, 2004 01:35 AM
Dude, you frickin' rock! Even if it this solution doesn't work perfectly and forever, you've learned and achieved plenty. Robert Pirsig would be proud of your gumption-building.
Posted by: Phil on May 28, 2004 12:32 PM
"wet in the panties" . . . wipes a tear away haha!! you rock.
Posted by: alicia on May 28, 2004 01:04 PM
hehe, i think i had just been reading the nerve date bloggers and they all have sort of a risque sense of humor so i was inspired.
neil (aka van boy, you can see his travel site in the links on my blog) wrote to me last night, he saw my post to the list and wanted to know if i'd gotten it figured out. he says there's lots of conflicting information both in the manuals (which are both wrong about this belt) and on the list, which is something i was starting to realize myself. you just have to put it all together and then figure out the best way for yourself.
anyway, what i've got is good for the short term and i have a pretty good idea of how to change it to a better configuration when i have more time. so i'm happy.
Posted by: lisa on May 28, 2004 01:45 PM
Belts take a while to settle in, so retensioning after a little while isn't unheard of.
Posted by: Jason! on June 1, 2004 09:13 AM
ok, so a) your comment won't post right away because i have to approve it first and b) you might get a server error but your comment probably posted anyway and c) previewing doesn't work so i've removed the preview button.