Wiring Up VSS and OBD2

Here are my plans to wire up VSS and OBD2 connector from the rear of the van to the front.  It is important to have a good signal for the VSS, so shielded 18 AWG copper wire protected by OEM level sheathing was chosen.  The cable has 6 wires, so the other 3 will serve to send OBD2 power, ground, and codes signal from the rear to the front.  There are only 3 wires required for Subaru codes, so I am going to cut a regular OBD2 cable, splice the three wires I need to send, and only route those to the front female connector.  Also, I have a Subaru diagnostic port (includes an female OBD2 connector, of course) that I found at a UPull & Pay for $2.  I'm going to split the signal to that port as well so mechanics working in the back of the van will also have a signal.

A., B, and C. are all housed in a water-proof poly-carbonate case along with the Subaru ECU.
Depending on whether the 3 PIN connectors are put into the VW black box or kept exposed in the engine bay will determine the quality of connector I use.  At the front of the van, all the wires are protected under the dash, so they will be standard connectors.

Last, I will actually be running 2 cables (e.g., 12 wires total) under that van.  The spare wires will come in handy when hooking up Subaru Cruise Control and aftermarket gauges when the time comes.

Upgraded radiator hoses & stainless steel coolant pipes

This weekend, I installed my new Rocky Mountain Westy stainless steel coolant pipes.  I also plugged in a nice, new set of silicon radiator hoses from Van-Cafe.  The new radiator hoses are able to handle larger spare tires, which I will have in the near future (my main tires are 16" and stock is only 14").  The radiator itself was basically new, so instead of swapping it out, I'm selling my new Behr radiator to another Subaru/Vanagon conversion effort here in Boulder that needs it more than me.

Van-Cafe Silicon Radiator Hoses

The RMW coolant pipes actually go in separately, but I put them together beforehand to show them off compared to the old plastic pipes from VW.  Which would you trust your nice Subaru engine with!??

Coolant Pipes:  RMW Stainless Steel vs. 28 year old VW Plastic

Rocky Mtn Westy coolant pipes installed!

The next step is to get the hand re-furbished Vanagon fuel tank installed back under the van where these coolant pipes are.

Vanagon Fuel Tank

To install the Rocky Mountain Westy stainless steel coolant pipes, first one must remove the Vanagon fuel tank.  This was a chore, but well documented elsewhere online and in the Bentley.  I had the fuel tank replaced on my previous '83 Westy and it was a costly job.  The tanks on these vans generally go at some point.   My '86 Westy's tank was in beautiful condition (e.g., California Van :), but still it did have some minor rust where it was scratched.  Given the amount of work to remove and redo a fuel tank, I chose to sand, seal, and protect it with truck bed liner.  I only want to do this once!  ONCE!  The project took literally all day.  No kidding!  The toughest part was de-greasing the tank to ensure the truck bed liner would stick and stay when applied.  Many times I looked back and thought "geeze... I could buy a new tank for $180 + shipping!"  I read online about aftermarket fuel tanks having quality control issues and decided to reuse, refurbish my OEM tank.  Glad I did!  It looks great.

De-greased and sanded

Fuel line venting

Finished product with truck bed liner rolled on

Truck bed liner looks sharp!  And, protected for a long time now!