Breathing Life Back into the Carbon Canister

Many Vanagon owners don't even know this component of the van's fuel system exists!  The carbon canister sits in the rear passenger side wheel well of '86+ Vanagons, out of sight, out of mind.  Actually, it is a key component of the evaporative fuel system that keeps the fuel left over after shutting your van down, from escaping into the atmosphere unchecked.  The activated charcoal filters the fumes and lessens your pollution.  However, after time, it loses its ability to filter properly and could lead to poor performance or failing your emissions tests.

After my Subaru engine conversion, I actually left it disconnected until recently.  The car runs OK without it, but if left unhooked it can lead to dust in the engine or fuel system and of course, you are not being environmentally friendly either!  That said, I still wanted to "do it right", meaning, clean that sucker before just plugging it in.  Since new ones are costly $180 or just simply hard to find, I chose to clean the carbon canister I had.

First, I cut it open with an exacto knife and disassembled the canister.  Note: I made the cut too far down.  I recommend cutting it only 1/2" from the end.  Once opened, the carbon smelled HORRIBLE - like fuel, of course.  I disposed of it.  There are two filters that needed to be washed. They were pretty black and clogged.  So, I washed them continuously and scrubbed them with an old toothbrush until I was satisfied I couldn't get them any cleaner.  Then, I cleaned the outside and inside with soap and water.  Finally, I bought new activated charcoal from PetSmart pet store and put it all back together.  The canister was glued with SEAL ALL, which is gas resistant.

Carbon canister (cut open like a clam), top breather hose, spring, and filters

There are a lot of parts inside it including a plastic tube and mini-plastic filter inside that I did not show here and another cloth filter.  I took that mini-plastic filter (not shown) out and washed it too.  The springs keep the carbon nice and compact when you put it back together.

Filters after cleaning

The filters took awhile to clean, but it was worth it.  Did you see how black the left one used to be!!?

New activated charcoal to freshen up the canister!

The two products cost about $16 total.  I used 5 of the 6 packets.  After filling it, there was very little "rattle".  It was packed in tight.  The charcoal must be "activated".  Don't buy anything else.

Carbon canister glued back together

After everything dried, I glued it back together with SEAL-ALL, which won't deteriorate from gas fumes in the canister.  

Next, I just need to plug it into my Subaru engine.  More on that in the next post...

PowerBright 1110W Inverter Faulty

On our last trip, we noticed only one of the AC outlets worked on the PowerBright inverter.  I figured before messing with it, I'd give a quick call to tech support.  Surely, just swapping out a fuse or something would fix it, I thought. But, NOPE.  They said return the whole unit.  PowerBright issued a RMA#, but since I bought it at The Home Depot, I just re-ordered another and returned the old.  The new one works fine on both outlets.

P1101 Code - Second Attempt to Fix

EDIT July 23, 2014 - Good and Bad results from test drive yesterday.  Good - The cheapo spare ECU runs great!  Bad - It also throws the P1101 code, so no luck resolving it yet.

According to Tom Shiels, "some ECUs throw 'P1101 - Neutral Position Switch error code' and some do not. It is not a science."  I guess either you get lucky or you don't...  I am unlucky in this category.  There are a few other wiring shenanigans to try to get rid of this pesky code, but I've opted for just trying a different ECU.  If it doesn't work, at least I'll have a back up ECU, which is a nice thing to have anyway.  I did not want to just get the same year/model ECU as I already have - I wanted to get a different one to make sure I had at least something different between the two ECUs.

I found this little unit on eBay for only $38 + FREE SHIPPING.  Wow - how could I go wrong?  That is cheap considering others are around $120 or more.

2000 Subaru Legacy M/T ECU

The part # was not the same as my 2001 ECU, so I called Subaru and they confirmed the two were compatible.  The only #s off were at the end.  The 2000 Legacy ECU had an additional "RA".

2001 Subaru Legacy M/T ECU code: 22611 - AD86F
2000 Subaru Legacy M/T ECU code: 22611 - AD86FRA

According to the Subaru dealer, the last two digits don't matter.  I replaced the computer and the van fired right up!  Now, I need to drive it for a good 100 miles or so to see if it throws the P1101 code as well.  I'll report back soon enough...

Brakes Pulse - Now What?

Last week, I got the GoWesty BIGGER-BRAKES kit and brand new brakes on the rear as well.  We took the van out to Leadville, CO camping and fly-fishing.  The brakes pulse each time the pedal is pressed.  After speaking with GoWesty and researching online, there are several things to check - enough that I'm just taking it back to Blazer Automotive to deal with it, since they did the install in the first place.  The things to check are:

1. Are wheel lugs over torqued?  Over-torquing warps the rotors prematurely.
2. Are the brake lines bled properly?
3. Are the rotors faulty to begin with?  Evidently, this can be the case with a lot of rotors!  They just aren't "true" to begin with.
4. Is it the front or the back?  You can figure this out by rolling the van and pulling up on the e-brake, which will tell you if it is the rear rotors that are pulsing or not.

Again - brakes are something I leave to the pros.  Looking forward to hearing what Blazer Automotive ends up finding with mine.

New OEM VW pedals

Left - new, Right - old, Top - metal pedal

Replaced my pedals today with OEM replacements.  It was minorly difficult to get the new one on.  It took some finagling with multiple screwdrivers to get it on.  Now, my foot doesn't slip off the pedals when they are wet - definitely safer and worth the $5 or so per pedal.

Replaced Front Turn Signal Lens and Lamps

I knew the front driver-side turn signal didn't work because the dash light blinked rapidly whenever I set the turn signal.  I opened up the housing and found a corroded disaster born from a cracked lens and the salty climate of the Pacific coast.  I dipped into the wiring skilz I learned doing my Subaru harness work and put on new spade connectors.  Finally, I replaced both the lights, housing, and lenses with parts from BusDepot.

Minor corrosion... NOT!

This lamp does not work!

New spade connectors replace corroded, broken ones

GoWesty BIGGER-BRAKES Installed

Last fall, I rebuilt my suspension and installed 16" GoWesty alloy rims along with GoWesty lifted springs :).  It looks like a SYNCRO now.  Hah!  Now, the 16" wheels are leading to some pretty expensive follow-on upgrades, unfortunately!  You see, this opened up the door to larger brakes.  I like GoWesty products because they just FIT.  So, I purchased the GoWesty BIGGER-BRAKES kit.

I like to say I do most of my own Vanagon work, but not when it comes to brakes.  I leave that up to the professionals!  Today, Blazer Automotive in Englewood, CO installed my GoWesty BIGGER-BRAKES and installed completely new *everything* on the rear brakes as well.  It stops on a dime now.  It was an honor to have Larry comment on my Subaru conversion as well.  Glad he enjoyed test driving those new brakes out! :)

GoWesty BIGGER-BRAKES kit

SHINY!

BIG!

Subaru ECU limited to 120 mph - Ask me how I know!

This Fourth of July I had the pleasure of testing out the new Subaru engine in my Westy on I-25 in Wyoming where the speed limit is 80 mph.  That said, I ran into a bit of a issue that lead my mind wandering in all directions from dying fuel pump, clogged fuel filter, bad fuel, and lastly to my Fast Forward VSS.  At 80 mph on the Vanagon speedo, it chugged violently until I laid off the gas.  I figured fuel starvation for sure.  But, once I got home, consulted the Interwebs, and ran a few more 80+ mph test drives, the VSS ended up being the culprit as it was registering speeds so outta whack that my Subaru ECU literally puked at what it thought was 120 mph!   Below is a photo taken of my OBD2 gauge showing 120 mph right as my van chugged on my last test drive.  If your VSS is showing highly volatile readings, get it replaced.  David from Fast Forward is sending out a new unit as I write this.  Looking for to getting it installed.  81 MPH here I COME!

OBD2 Gauges @ 80 mph in the van

BusDepot Canvas Pop-Top Ready for the 4th

This weekend we spent time getting the van ready for camping this summer.  Since the interior is completely gutted, we needed to have the pop-top canvas installed to have a place to sleep.  We pulled off the top, cleaned the inside with a concoction of bleach/water, cleaned the fiberglass top with Marine Clean, and then sprayed it with POR-15 clear coat to protect it once and for all.  To wrap it up, we put in a new BusDepot aftermarket canvas pop-top.  It fits perfectly - what a great product!  Don't waste your money on the super expensive OEM or acrylic.  Get this canvas!  

Hours to install canvas = ~8 man hours (two people for most of it)

Pop-top Removed

Inside BEFORE.  I think PO's kids exploded a Coke inside!

   

All cleaned up

 

Tania giving it the rinse down!

Baxter helping me wait for the interior to dry

Waiting for the POR-15 to dry

Front View

Side view - the 3 windows are great.  My old '83 only had the front vent

The pop-top's sun-roof seal was ruined (it tends to happen after 27 years).  In the last minute, I cut out closed cell foam and sealed it up tight.  Note: it rained and this sucker held dry.  Highly recommend as a quick/cheap fix for a leaky sun-roof.

Cut-Out Closed Cell Foam

P1101 Code Resolved - NOT!

EDIT July 7, 2014: IT'S BACK!  Grrrrrrr.....  Onto the next thing to try!  I'll keep you posted.

My 2001 M/T Subaru ECU had been throwing a P1101 - Neutral position switch circuit low error for several weeks now.  In simple terms, it means the ECU is not recognizing whether the manual transmission Neutral or in gear, which is understandable because there is no transmission sensor on the Vanagon to tell the Subaru ECU what it's doing.  I got advice from Tom Sheils on how to resolve.  The fix was to put a 470 Ohm resistor between the Neutral SW B26 wire on the ECU and GND.  Note: On other years of Subaru, this may not be the B26.  It was an easy modification to make since RMW had labeled the proper B26 Neutral SW wire.

With the resistor in place, I test drove the Vanagon on several trips that had previously caused the P1101 code and it did not appear.  So, I'm calling it fixed!

Resistor wired up and then heat shrink (on left) sealed it up

Protected by glass fuse holder and wired between the B26 Neutral SW wire & GND