[narendra.vw]

Older Thread on the same vehicle : Link

Time flies .Van has grown from a boy to a man. Now it needs men’s stuff.
Stage I, carried work on restoration & modification to bring the van to present life & eco friendly.
Stage II, carries work on technical modification to achieve better performance. ( Keeping safety factor intact.)
Having drivability experience with a few thousand km completed, has given way to upgrade areas where better performance can be achieved.
With respect to upgrade, ordered parts have been delivered . Three major & most important modification to follow with respect to drivability & comfort.

First achievement :- Electrical Power Steering.

Solely done by me & my Tinker‘s assistance. (For Fabrication work.). The mod had only one single go. No spare no second chance.

Why Electrical Power Steering ?
A) Hydraulic Power Steering
Parts needed:-- power steering unit, steering rod, fluid pump, lengthy hoses, belt & fluid tank.
1 .It‘s very hard to import all these ‘OE’ parts.
2 .If belt snaps or fluid leaks, steering becomes very hard .
3. Part of engine bhp is determined by HPS.
4. To my knowledge, turning radius is more than manual or EPS.( Check Punto with Swift.)
5. More parts would mean using up more space & more weight.
6. Energy consumed by the PS pump is similar to ac compressor pump.
B) Electrical Power Steering
EPS needs only steering Column replacement & some proper wiring.
1.If motor or fuse burns out, steering will turn into non power assisted steering . (Normal driving, unlike HPS.)
2.Better turning radius & minimum power loss.
3. Maybe a part of battery life is determined by EPS.
4. Engine bay is free of EPS space.
5. Last but not the least, Fuel efficiency is better in EPS.
Latest technology uses both in a unit. ‘Hydroelectric power steering‘. Electrical run pump used instead of belt driven mechanical pump.

Photo shown is Universal Electrical pump.


Moving on to work’s progress, which we all love to do.( Spending two hrs a day took me six days from plan to commissioning. )
Note:- The Unit is not speed sensitive. A control knob is provided to vary the assistance.
Many rally cars have this kind of setting.
Make NSK Japan. (Famous for bearings.) Manufactured for GM.
The EPS unit was not a direct fit. Part of it is preadapted. Rest had to be modified using old steering Colum.
Colum.

Lets start with flash back continuity. Detailed explanations visual follows,

Yes, this is what I was talking about. Van in ‘Cloud 9‘. ( ‘Rear wiper & Roof railing’ added later.)


Contents when unboxed:- Steering Colum, Motor, Bottom shaft, Top shaft, Mounting bracket, Control box, Speed control knob & Fuses.


Assembly line ( At my home.) :- Motor & bracket fitted to the Colum.( Later bracket was customized to required setting.)


Top shaft provided is of no use.


Steering Colum removed from the van. OE bottom shaft yet to be removed. ( Sorry for blurriness.)


Parts dismantled from the OE Colum.( Note:- Arrow shows where Colum will be cut & the top part fused into EPS unit.)


Ready for dissection. Right detail is for EPS top &Left detail is for EPS bottom shaft. VW Purists close your eyes please.


Top of cut OE Colum fitted to check for the alignment.


The bracket provided for EPS unit’s bottom fitting had to be modified to achieve correct Colum alignment.

Spot weld to make sure proper fitment.( No stress on bracket or bolts.)


After seam weld, rough edges grind & a coat of paint Bottom bracket is ready. Note:--left side slot is open. . The EPS unit is heavy to hold in position & bolt it by a single person. Solution, first a bolt is screwed few threads on to the van’s steering cross member then the Bracketed EPS unit is slid into the bolt. Once one point holds, rest three bolts can be easily bolted. (This concept can be used in different situations.)


The bracket fitted back to the EPS unit.


Top OE shaft is press fitted into EPS shaft. Once length is determined, shaft will be co2 welded.


Provided Bottom shaft is cut to required length. (App 40 mm)


Job work being done on provided bottom shaft.


OE bottom shaft is cut & outer dia is reduced by 1mm.


OE shaft is press fitted into provided shaft. Once length is determined it will be co2 welded. End to end app 185 mm.


Both top & bottom shaft co2 welded. Safety at it’s best.( Note:-- Arrow mark shows 8mm hole drilled & co2 welded. Reason ?? )


Completed EPS unit finial fit. 1. Control knob yet to find a place. 2. Motor’s extra weight transfer bracket 3. Custom Clamp for Colum cover .( Some one ask VW purists to open their eyes now, please.)



Electrical Control’s & Connection.

The circuit wires had a very neat socket which were well marked to go into their designated places. Two colored wires for control knob. Connection to main battery & ignition on switch through fuse & two wires for grounding. This completes wiring.

Electrical control box 2. Mini ECU ( Please ignore the dirt on control box. Happened while fabricating a bracket fixture. )


Control box fitted in it’s predetermined place.


30 amps fuse for motor, 5 amps for mini ECU(Not shown.) Completes electrical safety.


Completed work out look . Except motor projection, rest are all in OE position.(Control knob on bottom Colum cover.)


Important note- Modification done only to the steering Colum. Modified Colum is fitted to the OE van’s Colum mounting member. A spare OE steering Colum can be fixed back within minutes.( Expect money & time spent. )
Few km of trial run, steering made a huge difference. Reversing or driving in city traffic was a breeze. Van when stand still, a 10 yr old could steer. Once on highway the assistance had to be reduced to minimum, particularly cornering. It badly needs smaller dia steering wheel with respect to steering sensitiveness . Reason??
Bit of info:- Same can be modified to other cars. Rack & pinion more suited .
More driving experience.
Did a small 20 km acid test on Aldur Ghats near Chikmagalur, deliberately not avoiding bad patches with good speeds (Downhill & uphill.). Handled vary well. No slack, no feed back of pot holes, no unwanted sound in the steering Colum & cornering mm precise.

Photo taken from my video clip.(Sorry.) Patches were worst then it appears to be.


Just for the knowledge

EPS working Diagram.


Second achievement coming up.

[narendra.vw]

Second achievement :-- Torque Convertor (Flywheel & clutch.)

Presently, TDI engine is using TD flywheel along with new TD clutch set .
As of now, there is no problem in shifting or any clutch slippage.

Why to change the flywheel & increase clutch dia?

A. Back to engineering student days.
Flywheel mass carries Moment of Inertia. More mass carries more MI. ( Can be compared to electrical capacitor. Stored energy.)
Diesel engines are very sensitive to flywheel weight.
Flywheel weight is designed by various parameters of the engine.
Few important info of TD & TDI,
1.TD engine was 1.6 L , Now TDI engine is 1.9L. Difference of 300cc.
2.TD is 70 bhp & TDI is 90 bhp
3.TDI flywheel is heavier than TD.(TDI flywheel weighs 9.1 kg & TD flywheel weighs 6 kg.)
4.TDI clutch plate, dia 228mm, TD clutch plate, dia 215mm.
The extra torque will reduce the life of the present TD clutch plate.
Some Rally & Race cars use lighter flywheel to gain that extra rpm. On small run this setup will work, On long run it will reduce the engine life.

B. Now, My case study,

The TDI clutch plate’s shaft input dia & spline was not matching the TD top gear shaft’s spline.
TD flywheel fitted bolt on. So I went ahead in getting TD clutch set fitted. TD starter fitted without any modification..
Mean time I started gathering information of various VW van’s clutch plate regarding it’s diameter, input shaft dia & spline.
For the first time I felt antigravity, found out WBX 2.1 L petrol engine, carried a clutch plate dia same as TDI clutch plate (228mm) & the shaft input dia & spline(24) matching the TD top gear shaft’s spline.
Now TDI engine will have TDI flywheel, TDI pressure plate & bigger, better griped WBX 2.1 L clutch plate..
Lighting SOS call to my friend who was in US. Thanks to my friend, I got the clutch plate . Make Sachs, value 70$.( Expected CB racing clutch plate)
Once clutch plate was in my clutches rest are history.
Two problem’s will be solved along with clutch upgrade.
1. Engine sound & vibration reduces.
2. Since gearbox & flywheel will be removed main bearing oil seal will be replaced with new oil seal. Oil leakage problem will be solved.
Remember stage 1, page 1, I had specified not to discard any old parts until project is finished & completely satisfied. I followed it. TDI flywheel & pressure plate came to use now.

Explanation & visuals as work progresses.

TDI flywheel fit & ready. TDI flywheel starter ring carries 135 teeth. Three teeth more than TD fly wheel ring. (Should work.)


Left :-- 38,000 km run TDI Clutch plate. Make Luk. Right:-- New WBX 2.1 Clutch plate. Make Sachs. Both dia 228 mm. (Note:-- WBX has more springs, means even torque distribution, less jerk while shifting & minimize slippage.)


TDI flywheel mass was skimmed 2 mm outer dia to allow TD starter body easy fit.


The projected pins on pressure plate to be bent. Done to have clearance with bell housing.


This completes external work.

Now over to internal work
Van on ramp & gearbox removed. Thanks for the space gearbox has. No need to remove engine, disconnect wires or hoses. Battery terminal, yes. No mess on the floor.
Keeping my fingers crossed for the out come.

Starter & Gearbox removed. Removed TD Flywheel showed some sign of burnt seized marks.


Main bearing oil seal removed from main shaft. Oil seepage seen. ( Actual angle the way engine sits.)


Seal was in working condition . The body had a cracked. Cause, using wrong crank case bolt . Shock of my life. New Oil seal cost me a little less than Rs 5000. Any Skoda owners please know this.


TD dust cover. Customized dust cover will be used. Reason explained later.( Reminds me of Star wars.)


7a. Customized dust cover getting ready. TD dust cover used for template.


7 b. Customized dust cover cut for better access to crank case bolt. (Oil seal removed. photo 5 :- crank case bolts can be seen. )


Reason explained . TDI flywheel is thicker, Arrow shows the narrow space.


A. Gearbox ready to go back. (Zero oil leakage.) B. Fork, releaser bearing (Check the gearbox build quality.)



All parts fitted back as planned without any hiccups.

I got little tensed while gearbox bolts were getting tightened. I asked my mechanic to call up when first cranking is done and exited the workshop.

Got a call from my mechanic. Yes , starter & clutch works as normal as it should be. Looking for a easy chair, so I can relax now

While clutch work was on, got front shocks replaced. A small story on this !




Next day did few km trial run on NICE road Bangalore. starter gave a normal starting sound. Gear changing was smooth . I was easy on clutch, allowing it to bed in. Need’s at least 500km. More info when I go on a long stretch to do shift & floor.

Latest news, TDI starter can be fixed with 12 mm adapter. ( later when budget allows me.)
Just an idea.


Third to Achieve :-- Hydraulic Engine Mount

1.TD engine mount 2.TD Engine mounting bracket. 3. Audi 5000 Hydraulic engine mount. (late 90’s & early 2000 Audi engines have these mounts. Easily available.)


TD engine mount will be replaced by Audi 5000 Hydraulic engine mount.
This mod, I would like to do along with you. Ask me any which floats in your mind.

Thought Sharing

My experience on Front bumper split skirting.


The front bumper skirting was fixed just for looks. It turned out to be other wise. On open highway with some serious speeds I did notice the driving difference. With cross wind van was firm footed & going in the direction I wanted it to go. In the rear view mirror I saw a duster trying to catch up got caught with the cross wind & slowed down. The skirting works, I think..

Just for the knowledge
1.Top gear shaft 2.Bell housing


Before going ahead with the third, a surprisefor you in my next post. You will all love it.

[tsk1979]

Wow! That is some serious modding.
Hats off to the work you have done. You have created something totally new from the old lady!

[narendra.vw]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Wow! That is some serious modding.
Hats off to the work you have done. You have created something totally new from the old lady!

I felt like I got a star for this thread. Reason, this is the first appreciation reply I got from a mod.Thanks.
One small request, I like to keep it as a boy . I already have a daughter.

[EFF-EIGHT-BEE]

Hats off to you Sir for keeping the old school workhorse alive and kicking with some mods! BTW I remember that in your old thread, you had mentioned about high rpm cruising problem. Have you done something in that regard?

[narendra.vw]

Originally Posted by EFF-EIGHT-BEE

you had mentioned about high rpm cruising problem.

Thanks. Thank again for remembering my old thread statement. Since upgrade of wheel disc from 14" to 15" some satisfactory . Waiting for it's performance with new flywheel, should be better, I hope. Even with higher rpm I do get 10.5 to 11 km/L on highway, with good speeds.

[coloneljasi]

Whenever I think that you're done with your modifications, out comes another radical, yet practical mod. The proverbial wolf (yes, male wolf) in sheep's clothing! I would pay to see what it can do on the open road, well at least on a closed private road.

[narendra.vw]

Originally Posted by coloneljasi

I would...to see what it can do on the open road, well at least on a closed private road.

Thanks. Any time, just a PM away. It will be my privilege. Easier if you are Bangalore stationed .


Front Dash Vents.

Front hot air blowing route was pre fixed to Wind Shield & floor circulation. Since van had roof ac, the facing vents from dash were blocked.

The two dummy vents were used in the following way.

Cup holder. ( Left vent.)

Left vent was cut to required length. A metal Box to hold a 2.25” dia cup tinkered to slide into the duct. Note:- Vent has two projector for easy slide. (18G sheet used).


This is how it is supposed to slide. Extra material removed to reduce weight.


Burma teak woody for front cover.( lighter, firmer & rattle free). Later box was powder coated.


On duty. (Knob Donor, Maruti door lock rod).


Starter Switch Unit (Right vent.)

Switch Unit when received.


Customized as per requirement :--Red toggle for starter, Starter push button, Sliding door lock opening switch. Blue toggle switch. (Extreme left & bottom switches explained in stage I).


Now operational. (Unit came along with relay & wiring. Relay was used in this mod).

[unk9ja]

Phew, you never seem to run out of imaginations for the van, Narendra. Just when it dawned the saga is over, another one takes shape and it looks like a sequel of some super hit film. Great going. Keep us glued with your tricks.

[EFF-EIGHT-BEE]

This switch is looking so great Sir. Now your Van is not less than a fighter jet. Hats of to your dedication, truly the Van is just outstanding.

[Jaggu]

The first thread was awesome, this one continues to be mind blowing. Kudos to you Mr Narendra. Good old engineering prowess made to transform a cult vehicle. All respect! Rating thread a well deserved 5 star.

[narendra.vw]

Originally Posted by EFF-EIGHT-BEE

This switch is looking so great Sir. Now your Van is not less than a fighter jet. Hats of to your dedication, truly the Van is just outstanding.

Thanks to your imagination. A small explanation on this Mod.
Every VW owners know that, they can’t crank ignition twice unless Switch key is bought to OFF position & try again. In traffic, it may be bit temperamental.
Solution :--Ignition key & Press button. In emergency I can use Press button. This also helps in saving life of Ignition switch contact points.

Originally Posted by Jaggu

The first thread was awesome, this one continues to be mind blowing. Kudos to you Mr Narendra. Good old engineering prowess made to transform a cult vehicle. All respect! Rating thread a well deserved 5 star.

Wow.Thanks.Now my turn to be in ‘Cloud 9’.


A surprise coming up. I’m sure you All will not be disappointed .

[narendra.vw]

Semi Finished Interiors.

Interiors as requested in STAGE 1. As you can see, things like Roof & Floor Carpeting is incomplete. The work on Roof & Floor has been kept on hold, since the budget was diverted towards Mechanical Upgrade.

1. Dash is 90% complete. Seats & Steering Wheel needs replacement.(Will be done shortly).


2. One Hand Rest cover was missing in the package. Supplier has promised me one .


3.Roof ac vents.


4. Odd looking Roof along with Sun shade closed ‘Sun roof’ can be seen.


5.Shade when opened.( At this Position , minor rattling is heard on rough roads).


6.Front Driver side Utility tray. Good enough to accommodate wheel spanner, minor tools & spares.


7.My favorite Utility Box. (Useful for middle row occupants). Making it lockable was a bit Tricky. Finally, a way was found.


8.Massive luggage space.

[wanderernomad]

A man after my own taste. Great going and very useful and practical mods. I see a monitor enclosure as well on the dash. Can we have some more details of the same? Plus just an Idea for you to hold large bottles and thermos, buy a plastic cup holder, add an aluminium holding bracket and then bolt it near the floor of the front seats beneath your dash. It will hold a large bottles or a flask of hot coffee. I have made one on my Indigo's front left footwell and its very handy.

[narendra.vw]

Originally Posted by wanderernomad

I see a monitor enclosure as well on the dash. Can we have some more details of the same? Plus just an Idea for you to hold large bottles and thermos, buy a plastic cup holder, add an aluminium holding bracket and then bolt it near the floor of the front seats beneath your dash. It will hold a large bottles or a flask of hot coffee. I have made one on my Indigo's front left footwell and its very handy.

Hi, Sorry for delay. Thanks, I always appreciate creativity. Your’s is one among it. Post a photo if you wish to, it will help many.
In any van sitting position is up right so, reaching would be a problem. Van has loads of space in between seats which I can make use off.

Cup Holder.

Regarding holding larger bottles & thermos, I have five Foldable type Cop holder. Once a covenant spot located all these holders will be screwed.
Foldable cup holder.


Monitor.

Regarding the Monitor, it helps me view 270 degree around the van. Monitor will have four Cameras connected.
1.Two for the rear, one with guide line will focus straight for backing up. One with wider angle will be focused at an angle towards ground which helps while reversing Uphill.(eg: Getting out from a cellar in reverse).

2.One for the front Will be fixed at an angle inside front grill. Camera helps while van is climbing Uphill. I can know what’s approaching before I reach the top. Mainly for safety. (eg: A kid standing ).

3.One for the left DRVM. Camera gives me wider view. At a glance I can know what’s on the left no need to take eyes of the road.
All Cameras will be controlled by a triggering unit. By default Monitor will be monitoring left DRVM.
Before buying the Camera, knowledge of mirror image & non mirror image should be known. Front & rear cameras are different.

1.Triggering unit.


2.Duel camera for rear.(Yet to get for the front & DRVM).


Not curious about my surprise, Yes, in my next post.