by Chris | Mar 31, 2020 | Auto tech, Mods
For most of the time I’ve been driving a Vanagon, I’ve been quite disappointedly aware of the cavernous empty volume inside the right half of the dashboard: Why wasn’t the dashtop there a hinged cover for a big storage bin? Now THAT would be a glove compartment! Not... by Chris | Feb 19, 2020 | Auto tech
New replacement coolant pressure tanks for the Vanagon cooling systems are known to be not nearly as resilient as the OEM ones, they tend to last only a few years. The definitive, fix-it-once answer to that is a welded aluminum box tank from RMW. Competently designed... by Chris | Sep 9, 2019 | Redshiftt
I had a birthday recently and my young nephew, who is very into the technologies of making things, and his dad sent me a 3D printer! Very cool. I’ve been well aware of the possibilities of 3D printing for awhile, but just as much its limitations. At the consumer... by Chris | Sep 1, 2019 | Auto tech
I have often seen the thin green o-rings around the tops of the wbx cylinder sleeves blamed for fire ring leaks, so maybe a little reality check on that question is in order. In the ten years of my wbx rebuilding business, we tore down close to 200 wbx’s, and a lot,... 
by Chris | Aug 13, 2019 | Auto tech, News, Redshiftt
Time for a Redshiftt update. The 6-relay/receiver control box design is nearly final, so here’s a rendering from Solidworks: Overall size is about 9 x 5 x 1 5/8″. The base is stainless steel, while the cover is transparent red vacuum-formed polycarbonate... by Chris | Apr 24, 2019 | Auto tech
Over my ten years building wbx’s commercially, it took to my 45th engine before I had one develop a fire ring leak* . Fire rings, or combustion seals, are multi-layer steel (MLS) rings that seal the cylinder sleeves to the head. These normally install dry and depend... by Chris | Apr 22, 2019 | Auto tech, News, Redshiftt
Since I drive a VW Vanagon Syncro, one of the first applications for Redshiftt I focused on is adapting positive air pressure servos to replace the feeble and expensive vacuum-powered servos the factory used to operate the diff-locks and driveshaft decoupler. This is... by Chris | Apr 20, 2019 | Auto tech
I’ve always chuckled quietly to myself when Vanagon people justify their plan to convert their van’s engine by stating, confidently and a priori, that their fuel efficiency will naturally improve by swapping the engine to something “modern”.... by Chris | Apr 2, 2019 | Auto tech
In online discussions about replacement coolant pressure caps for Vanagons, people often talk about blowing, quacking, making kazoo sounds, etc. as confirmation that their new cap is OK. Some of these folks are undoubtedly referring to a short, funny little video... by Chris | Mar 23, 2019 | News, Redshiftt
My US patent for the Redshiftt gearshift knob controller and system has been issued and published! My first patent, I’m pretty pleased about that, and hopefully there will be more to come. . United States Patent Application 20180274664 SHIFT KNOB WITH SELECTABLE... 
by Chris | Feb 6, 2019 | Auto tech, News, Redshiftt
Things are coming together for Redshiftt, in addition to the patent news, we also have in hand the first run of production parts for “The Knob”, as well as the first copies of the circuit boards and Apps for testing. . The knob mechanical parts fit together very... by Chris | Feb 6, 2019 | News, Redshiftt
We received notice from the USPTO that the patent will be allowed. This just means the examiner has closed adjudication of the patent claims and states which claims will be allowed. . So the last step is to pay the issuance fee, which we’ve done, after which the... by Chris | Jan 24, 2019 | 2nd time around, Auto tech
Lots of flywheel seals get replaced and still leak. The primary reason is that the f/w has a groove worn in the seal hub, this being much more of a problem with wbx’s than it was with older VW boxers because they tend to be left in the vehicle for two or three... by Chris | Jan 23, 2019 | 2nd time around, Auto tech
A fellow attempting to repair a flywheel seal leak on a recently rebuilt engine had the seal pop out of the case, and he wondered why. A helpful participant posted this: . Are you recessing the seal on the seal bore or is it flush with the case? Also, there are two... by Chris | Dec 18, 2018 | Auto tech
Here’s the dope on AMC wbx heads as of summer ’17 when I last processed them, this should cover most of the questions and swat down most of the BS I’ve seen on this subject: . The castings are excellent, better than VW’s, they have much more... by Chris | Nov 27, 2018 | News, Redshiftt
I’ve had working prototypes of the Redshiftt knob remote controller for a couple years now, but in the process of development it has taken on more capacity and features. The two biggest changes were adding a live position sensing so the App can display the... by Chris | Sep 26, 2018 | News, Redshiftt
I drive an ’86 VW T3 Vanagon Syncro 7-passenger van (a “tin-top”). It’s my daily driver, work truck, travel camper and off-road excursion rig. Starting in 2011 some fellow Syncro owners organised an annual 3-night jamboree at Moab, Utah, calling it Syncro Solstice (in... by Chris | Sep 23, 2018 | 2nd time around, Auto tech
This 2nd time around is a good one. I know this one has helped loads of people definitively diagnose the problem with their Bosch Airflow meter (AFM) , and many of them have been able to repair theirs instead of shelling out a few Benjys for a reconditioned one. Like... by Chris | Sep 12, 2018 | 2nd time around, Auto tech
A driver of a waterboxer Vanagon had this complaint: . Driving along coolant light on dash starts flashing, pull over and check the pressure tank in the engine bay. It is visibly down by a lot, and the reserve tank behind the license plate door is overfull. Left it... by Chris | Aug 27, 2018 | 2nd time around, Auto tech
This 2nd Time Around is a recent one, that involved cross-referencing two concurrent threads. Since as a general matter good grounding has great importance to keeping any electronically-controlled car running right, I thought it worth putting here: A forum... 