Re: 1982 VW Rabbit Pickup Caddy
Posted: Mar Sun 22, 2015 11:03 pm
Update.
Got it rolled out from winter storage and decided to tear into the PO issues and clean it up.
First up was an oil change and rear brakes. Well, just brakes in general...I just about took out my workbench after not realizing it had none at all, other than the e-brake, on one side.
I guess I forgot to get pictures of the rear brake teardown and replacement, but basically it was new wheel cylinders, shoes and all new hardware, plus new fluid. Typical replacement of everything...then bleed and test. Pretty smooth, but I did find that the rear right hub bearings are quite toasty and need replaced. I have the hardware, and will find the time to replace.
Climbed underneath and cleaned and lubed up the shift linkage too.
Moving on to the oil change, hadn't been done in a while...yes that does say 1/12/09...and that is the infamous Fram orange can of death
Found this little gem too - that's not a drain plug...it's a bolt with a washer. Replaced it with an OEM VW drain plug:
Next up was the PO hack: bypassed fuel relay, and the ignition switch, when on acc...ran the pump. Very safe
But at least he didn't cut the connectors of, and fused the bypass 
Triple checked the wiring, but it still would only run when bypassed. I did find the coil wire to the relay has been disconnected, but other than that, everything looked fine. So, double checking the relay part #, I found it's not the correct one. Picked up the proper relay, and boom, worked perfectly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On to this weekend and getting the interior cleaned up. It doesn't look dirty, but it was not clean and didn't smell too good. Plus coffee stains, dusty as all get-out, and dog hair all over the place. Pulled the seats and trim, basic vacuum (three times) and a wipe down with Simple Green and Meguiars 40. Then got out the carpet cleaner and scrubbed most of the stains out. Pulled the seat covers, and threw them in the washer and dryer. Here's a progression of pictures I took as it went along:
Turned out pretty well, and at least it smells decent now. Then onto the exterior trim - the PO had used screws to adhere the side molding trim to the side of the truck
So, I cleaned it all up with some rubbing alcohol and used some 3M trim glue to get all the pieces back in place and secure.
Tailgate release needs the plastics replaced, and I need to go through the bulbs and electrical to make sure it's all functional. After that, I have to decide to keep it or sell it
Got it rolled out from winter storage and decided to tear into the PO issues and clean it up.
First up was an oil change and rear brakes. Well, just brakes in general...I just about took out my workbench after not realizing it had none at all, other than the e-brake, on one side.
I guess I forgot to get pictures of the rear brake teardown and replacement, but basically it was new wheel cylinders, shoes and all new hardware, plus new fluid. Typical replacement of everything...then bleed and test. Pretty smooth, but I did find that the rear right hub bearings are quite toasty and need replaced. I have the hardware, and will find the time to replace.
Climbed underneath and cleaned and lubed up the shift linkage too.
Moving on to the oil change, hadn't been done in a while...yes that does say 1/12/09...and that is the infamous Fram orange can of death
Found this little gem too - that's not a drain plug...it's a bolt with a washer. Replaced it with an OEM VW drain plug:
Next up was the PO hack: bypassed fuel relay, and the ignition switch, when on acc...ran the pump. Very safe
But at least he didn't cut the connectors of, and fused the bypass Triple checked the wiring, but it still would only run when bypassed. I did find the coil wire to the relay has been disconnected, but other than that, everything looked fine. So, double checking the relay part #, I found it's not the correct one. Picked up the proper relay, and boom, worked perfectly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On to this weekend and getting the interior cleaned up. It doesn't look dirty, but it was not clean and didn't smell too good. Plus coffee stains, dusty as all get-out, and dog hair all over the place. Pulled the seats and trim, basic vacuum (three times) and a wipe down with Simple Green and Meguiars 40. Then got out the carpet cleaner and scrubbed most of the stains out. Pulled the seat covers, and threw them in the washer and dryer. Here's a progression of pictures I took as it went along:
Turned out pretty well, and at least it smells decent now. Then onto the exterior trim - the PO had used screws to adhere the side molding trim to the side of the truck
So, I cleaned it all up with some rubbing alcohol and used some 3M trim glue to get all the pieces back in place and secure.Tailgate release needs the plastics replaced, and I need to go through the bulbs and electrical to make sure it's all functional. After that, I have to decide to keep it or sell it