dlrecord wrote:Alright, another question off topic but related to the subie converstion:
The rear engine cross bar. I am using the Small Car mount system and have a Vanagon style rear bar that I am modifying for the Bay. My question is in regard to the actual functionality of the rear engine support bar. Is the bar's primary purpose to supprt the weight of the engine or to help support side to side movement and vibrations?
I ask because if I place a jack under the oil pan and slowly raise the engine, I don't see any sag or engine movement upward by itself. In otherwords, the bell housing and upper cross bar seem to carry the entire load of the engine. When I slowly raise the engine, the frame rails start to raise as well. This leads me to believe the the rear engine bar really doesn't support the weight of the engine but rather provides mostly lateral support.
Is this correct? I want to make sure my modifucation to the rear cross bar still allow it to do its primary job.
Thanks,
-Dan
Having JUST done this myself heres how i look at it:
The mounts on the top of the trans holds the WEIGHT of the trans and engine while sitting. Maybe a little weak for that but they should be fine. Of course the instantaneous weight when you hit bumps will be much more than that.
You're not worried about the weight though, you're worried about the engine trying to twist/worry its way out of those mounts. If you put in 140ft/lb of torque into the bus, 140ft/lb of torque will go from the bus to the trans/engine, much more than that if you let the clutch out too quick or hit bumps.
Heres something else, ever see the engine in a beetle when it's accelerating? The motor dips way down in the engine compartment as a reaction to the torque going out the wheels. In a bus, the engine and trans will want to rotate backwards out of the engine compartment every time torque is applied through the wheels. This might be alright once or twice but imagine what 10k miles of twisting back and forth on those trans mounts will do
😉
Hope that helps !
Oh, btw, i'm also doing a westfalia to subaru conversion myself. Have you seen my thread, dl?
EDIT: Heater stuff
If i can beat the dead horse a bit more i have some things to add on the heater discussion. I have a t3 rear heater in my beetle with a homemade plenum/valves to direct it to the defrost, right, and left side vents. I'd say that its about %50 of what i'd like in the coldest weather. It doesnt have hot enough output at the vents (probably due to going through narrow corrugated hoses that act like heat sinks), and not enough blower volume (the blower wheel is just too small).
It's passable in a beetle, and even good working in nicer climes (when i say cold i'm saying 0-10F) but i dont think it'd cut the mustard in a bus. Maybe one matrix for each side in the front, but if you're going to that length i'd say you could fab up your own heater system, i intend to. I'm planning on putting a heater blower/box from a subaru (nice somewhat unitized design) and finding an appropriately sized heater core. I cant think of a way to get the heat into the stock heater ducting without it being in the way on the floor, or having a bunch of heat sucked out through the ducting (closer it is to the output the hotter it will be).
