[Damien89]

Got the minibus (wagon) home and first thing i did was disassemble the passenger area so when i take it to the rust proofing centre they can throw the dinitrol in the sides. I'm really happy with the amount of paint that the red minibuses have on the inside, i've seen a white one which had barely any paint in it, i also took a look at the underside and saw that the rear part where the spare wheel is mounted it barely has any paint in it so i painted it with hammerite red to give it some protection before dinitrol is applied.
I also removed the two pieces of foam that where in between the front fenders and inner panel. My wagon came with the extra bit of plastic under the windscreen to stop water going in the air cleaner but on the other side there isn't one and there are a bunch of wires and the engine computer that could be damaged with water. I would like to find out how to remove the piece that prevents water from going in the air cleaner, have it scanned and 3d print another one for the other side.
A few photos:

If anyone needs a specific photo of any part of the wagon just let me know.


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[USMC Vet]

damien89,
Thanks for the photos. Must have been a real job taking everything out of a Wagon / bus.

Semper Fi

 

[PeterR]

As a general reminder -- this Transit is located in Malta. Thanks for the photos!

[The escape hatch in the roof, and the left-side slider got me wondering . . . ]

Damien89,

18 seat I take it the European "Bus" is the same as the U.S. Wagon? Looks like our extended length, HR. But where did they put 3 more seats? Extra one in the cab? How long is it? Picture of the inside with seats would be appreciated. Like where the antenna is located.
Thanks for your help on European parts etc when asked. Hope the EU gets a handle on things so your island doesn't keep getting pounded by those fleeing Africa etc.

Semper Fi

Yes its the same body extended lenght hr, when i have more photos i will post them all here.
On the migrants issue, at least now they are all going straight to italy instead of coming to malta.
Heres a photo from the uk brochure showing the seats layout.

 

[Damien89]

damien89,
Thanks for the photos. Must have been a real job taking everything out of a Wagon / bus.

Semper Fi

Yes it has been a bit of a job, the seats are really really heavy that i needed a friend to help me get them out and the plastics are held on with really tight clips/fastners and at first i was really nervous about pulling them but then i just pulled everything one by one and they all came out eventually.

 

[PeterR]

Yes it has been a bit of a job, the seats are really really heavy that i needed a friend to help me get them out and the plastics are held on with really tight clips/fastners and at first i was really nervous about pulling them but then i just pulled everything one by one and they all came out eventually.

When removing the headliner, did you use any special tool like a thin end cutter to grab the surface flange of the plastic fastener? Does the plastic shaft which goes into the metal framing need to be compressed to enable it to come out?

I tried to get one of the headliner attachment fasteners out using my fingernails, just to test the fit, and it definitely felt like it needed a better tool, grip and yank!

Thanks for any suggestions/guidance . . .

 

[Damien89]

When removing the headliner, did you use any special tool like a thin end cutter to grab the surface flange of the plastic fastener? Does the plastic shaft which goes into the metal framing need to be compressed to enable it to come out?

I tried to get one of the headliner attachment fasteners out using my fingernails, just to test the fit, and it definitely felt like it needed a better tool, grip and yank!

Thanks for any suggestions/guidance . . .

To be honest the headliner is the only thing i didn't remove, if you are refering to the plastic fastners that are in upper part of the headliner i have removed them in my dad's minibus. I will find a photo of the tool i used to pull them out.

 

[Damien89]

This is the tool that i used, i attached a rope to the fork end, i insert the tool in the fastner and pull with as much force as i can.

 

[PeterR]

Excellent thanks. Check p. 14/210 here:

http://wurthusa.com/web/media/downloads/pdf/pdf_catalog/2014/08_Tools.pdf

 

[Damien89]

Excellent thanks. Check p. 14/210 here:

http://wurthusa.com/web/media/downloads/pdf/pdf_catalog/2014/08_Tools.pdf

I have a set like that, the panel popper set, but i bought it from ebay, works really well to remove the plastic panels without scratching them.

 

[onetwo]

Hope you can get it back together with minimal squeaks and rattles. From my experience, nothing beats a factory assembled interior.....

 

[Damien89]

Hope you can get it back together with minimal squeaks and rattles. From my experience, nothing beats a factory assembled interior.....

I hope so also

 

[Damien89]

Rest of the photos:

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[Damien89]

The only thing left to do is to re upholster the seats in a fake leather type material so they will be easy to clean, but that will be next month. The van has passed the 1000miles today, so far iv'e been averaging 22 mpg in stop and go driving based on the mpg calculator i have on my iphone (the dash mpg average is showing 26.6mpg, 4 mpg off) it still is better than i expected for a bus this size.

Some things i dont like:
Recirculation button does not stay on when ac is off, even if i turn it on it turns itself off.
Powered side door step closes after the side loading door has closed and before the side step closes i cant put the van in 1st gear because that shuts down the engine and i have to restart it by key.

Pros:
Brakes great
Sync radio (european version) is great, no more cables to stream audio from my iphone.

Overall i'm happy with the bus!
Any questions don't hesitate to ask.


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[6386]

On the factory air, turning the temp control completely counter-clockwise should engage both the A/C and the Recirc without having to press the buttons. To disengage Recirc, you would then turn the temp clockwise one click, then press the button to turn it off. If left in the fully counter-clockwise position, I think it will stay in that condition when you re-start the vehicle. If you manually engage the Recirc by pressing the button, it acts differently (I think).

 

[6386]

Did you paint the roof white or did it come that way?

 

[USMC Vet]

Did you paint the roof white or did it come that way?

Rick,

The pictures he posted when he received the bus, showed it was red at that time. (Post # 1, Thread, My 18 seat wagon has finally arrived at the dealer)

Semper Fi

 

[nyc sprinters]

U got to love this transit.
Nice amber turn signals in the rear lights. Not like us version to cheap to ad amber blinker just make one light do everything. I think its more safe and more visible when your turn signals are in amber color.
No ugly orange reflectors in the head lights!!!
Very nice body panels that come with lights.

Yes yes yes its manual transmission.
Never will they offer transit here with manual transmission.
I know not to many people want manual transmission in us
but there are some that would love to have it.

 

[mcsar1]

Holy crap, they put the steering wheel on the wrong side!>