Just musing over the next step

Today I did some little stuff on the car. Pulled the remainder of the fuel lines, removed a few pieces of stray hardware, and salvaged a few pulleys from the old engine.

Now that the majority of the demolition is over it's time to start on the harder part. Putting it all back together.

As you may have guessed the electric motor has to be attached to the car somehow. Specifically it needs to be attached to the original transmission. But this motor looks completely different from the engine that was removed. So how do you attach the two together? The answer is an adapter.

The adapter that I am using is custom part. It needs to be fabricated from aluminum or steel. I thought about machining it myself. That would involve buying a mill and tools to make the adapter components. It would mean learning how to mill the parts. And since the parts have to be precise (to the thousandths of an inch) it would mean a lot of trial and error. Given all of that I figured in the long run it would be better for me to farm out this part to a machine shop.

Electro-Automotive is a vendor of electric vehicle components. They make adapters for just this application. If they have previously made the adapter for the make and model of your vehicle they can make it easily. If not then you have to ship the transmission to them so they can make a pattern.

I was lucky in that someone else is/has converted the same vehicle. So they have the pattern in stock. All I have to do is send them a rubbing of the original transmission and flywheel. That way they know that they have the correct pattern. (Sometimes manufacturers change parts mid year so two cars that are supposedly the same may actually differ.) Below is the rubbing.



The original engine was bolted directly to the transmission. The two were designed to directly bolt together.



Not so with the electric motor. Since the motor and transmission were not designed to match an adapter needs to be fabricated that bolts to the motor on one side and the transmission on the other side.



In addition to attaching the motor and transmission, the drive shaft of the motor and transmission need to be coupled. In the original car the engine's drive shaft was attached to the flywheel.



Power is transmitted to the transmission when the clutch plate and flywheel are in contact.


With the electric motor the drive shaft will also be attached to the flywheel. In order to accomplish this a coupler needs to be fabricated. The coupler consists of a bushing and a coupling plate. The bushing is "squeezed" onto the motor drive shaft. A coupler is then bolted to this bushing and the flywheel bolted to the coupler.



Here's a blowup of it all.

Just the forest

Sometimes I get so involved with the minutia of a task that I forget to see the big picture. Today was one of those days.

My goal today was to separate the transmission from the engine. There are six bolts that attach the transmission to the engine. Additionally there is an axle going from the transmission through a bracket on the engine.

So I figured I'd start with the easy part. Pulling the axle from the transmission. I had already pulled one axle so this one should be no problem. All I had to do was pull the axle out from the mount.


All I had to do was yank the axle straight out. Unfortunately the axle is held into the mount by a very tight bearing. It wasn't budging. And none of my bearing pullers fit on this bearing. Not to mention that none of my pullers would fit on the axle (it had a thin groove that only the "special" puller recommended by GM would work on).

Plan B. Remove the mount and slide out the axle and mount. That helped a little. The axle started sliding out of the transmission. But there was not enough room to move the mount. Part of the engine block was in the way.

Now the part about not seeing the forest through the trees. Why did I want to remove the axle? Because it was attached to both the transmission and engine. What had I already done? Disconnected the axle from the engine when removing the motor mount? How long did it take me to figure this out? Too long.

Actually, I can't take credit for the eventual solution. After I couldn't figure out how to remove the axle from the bearing I called someone who might know. The parent of one of my daughter's friends tinkers with cars and offered help if I needed it. After explaining the situation he says, "why don't you just remove the transmission. Then you can slide out the axle."

Duh! That sound was accompanied by the sound of me hitting myself in the side of the head. So six bolts later I have the transmission and engine separated. Axle slides out nicely (thank you Chris).

The rest was was pretty easy. Removing the clutch and flywheel. I also disconnected the engine and transmission from the cradle supporting it.



Before and after (cradle and steering rack)



Transmission bell housing, clutch plate, pressure plate, flywheel, and that pesky axle (still attached to the mount).

Just the big day

No not that big day. I've been married for almost twenty years. A different big day. The day the engine came out!

Over the last week I've been slowly working on removing the engine. There were 83 steps in the section for engine removal in the service manual. I think I followed 1-23, 25-30, 40-80, and 91-105 :-) Let's just say the service manual is really not the gospel, just guidelines.

Removing the engine basically means disconnecting every wire, hose, belt, bolt, etc that attaches the engine to something else. As I've mentioned prior some steps are straight forward while others can be improvised.

One such improvisation was removing the fuel line hook up to the engine. The manual called for one way. But since I did not have to worry about reinstalling that part a pipe cutter worked just as well. Same thing for the exhaust system. Finally got a chance to get some sparks flying with the angle grinder. It's all about the neat tools :-)


This is a picture just prior to removing the engine. The big red bar is an engine support. When all the bolts holding the engine into place were removed the support keeps it from dropping straight to the ground.


This is a picture of the engine being lowered with an engine hoist. Remember, its all about the toys.



The engine (plus some other stuff). The transmission is still attached to the engine (left side) as are the remnants of the exhaust system. Under the engine (black frame) is the cradle that holds the engine and transmission in the car. This along with the transmission will be reinstalled. A few other items in this picture such as the sway bar, lower control arms, steering rack will also be reinstalled.


And this is the big hole where the engine once was.

Just from the mouth of babes

Part of the reason that I am undertaking this project is that I like solving problems. Design, deconstruction, construction ... this project is one big set of problems comprised of little problems.

Now I'm not referring to problems in a derogatory manner as in, "I have a problem with my car." I'm referring to problems as in, "How do I get from point A to point B."

So as I was saying, there are lots of problems that need to be solved in the course of this project. Some problems you sit down and do research: how many batteries do I need? Some you make drawings to solve: what configuration do I want for the wiring? And some are just plain stupid: how the !*#& do I get part A to fit/unfit from part B? (See posting on the gas tank named Diablo for such a problem.)

As I'm disconnecting the last remnants of wiring/tubing/cables/etc from the engine and transmission I run into one of these problems (this problem is a problem in both the thinking sense and the derogatory sense). In a nutshell I needed to extract cables held in a very tight bracket by some very tight clips.

After unsuccessfully trying to extract the cables with finesse I elected to go with the brute force method! No luck. So then after mulling over the problem, followed by some more brute force, then some more mulling I was preparing to go back to the brute force approach.

At that point my sixteen year old son came down to watch. I explained what I was trying to do, showed him the cables and bracket and asked him if he had any ideas. He basically said just stick a screwdriver between the bracket and the clip and pry out the clip. Out of the mouth of babes! No need to tell you the result :-)

Just the fuse box

Didn't have a whole lot of time this weekend to work on the car. With Shana shipping off to college and being on call it did not leave a lot of time.

Still setting up to remove the engine and transmission. A few little things in the way. So all I removed was just the fuse box. Nothing exciting.

Just everybody came today

Everybody meaning UPS, FedEx, and USPS. I bet the DHL guy felt left out. That's OK. He comes to my office twice a week so I guess that makes up for it.

What all these visits really meant is that I got lots of packages. I'm still waiting for a few major items to arrive. Like the motor, the controller for the motor, and the adapter plate to connect the motor to the transmission. They are on they way. Just not here yet.

Continuing on the good news front I stopped by the local auto parts store and picked up "Box 2 of 2" today. Later on I assembled the engine lift. Hopefully this weekend I'll have time to start on the engine removal.

Just waiting for the packages

If you've been reading the blog to this point and are still awake you will have noticed that I haven't said anything about the EV components that are going into the vehicle. And that's because I don't have any of them yet. But that's all about to change.

This week I heard from Ryan at EVSource.com. Ryan is supplying me with the majority of the components for the conversion. By this time next week I should have them in hand. Lots of big boxes means Christmas in August!

Obviously, before I can install anything I still have to remove a few things. Mainly the engine and transmission.

So this evening I planned to put together the engine lift. That way I could pull the engine this weekend. I just picked it up last weekend so it was till in the box.

Just one problem. As I'm going through the instructions for assembly I notice I'm missing some parts. A lot of parts. How can that be? The box was sealed and everything in it was packed perfectly. Then I look on the side of the box and see "Box 1 of 2" on the side!

Guess I'll be stopping back at the local auto parts store tomorrow. Luckily I still have the receipt.

Just the !*!#%! gas tank

As you might guess from the title of this post, sometimes things are not always as easy as they seem :-) Even the best planning sometimes leaves you "improvising".

Prior to starting the conversion I ran the gas tank to pretty near empty. (When I eventually finished draining the tank it had less than a half gallon left.) This makes the gas tank lighter and easier to remove. Easier is a relative term because the only thing easy about the removal was taking off the gas cap.

The gas tank on this vehicle is located in front of the rear axle, straddling the exhaust system, tucked up as tight to the rear cargo floor as possible. The tank is only held up by a few straps. The bolts to these are pretty easy to get to. But before removing these straps there are a few hoses attached to the gas tank. Fuel line from engine to fuel filter, two fuel lines from fuel filter to tank, three hoses from tank to pollution emission control, three lines from gas tank to fuel filler tube, electrical connections to fuel pumps, etc.

Step one. Disconnect fuel tank from emissions vapor control. Well since I won't be using the emission control I'll just remove the whole thing and leave it attached to the tank. No problem.

Step two. Remove hose from fuel filter. OK. There's the fuel filter... little tight under here, but plenty of room for a wrench. Turn.. hmmm...turn...hmm...inspect....turn...repeat this over and over for ten minutes. Why won't this come off. Oh, even though the connection is shaped like it should screw on it is not a screw on. Inspect closer. How the hell is this thing attached. Bend...bend more...squeeze... twist...inspect..bend harder...bend harder..bend to just break off. Why won't this come off!

Thirty minutes later I just said WTF. I'm removing the fuel line and filter anyway so I'll just cut the fuel line. Big scissors, cut fuel line, yes! Wait. Gas coming out. Not good. Why is gas coming out of a non-pressurized line from the tank side of the line with no fuel pump running. (Luckily I did have a container to catch the gas just in case.)

Step three. Unhook other lines from gas tank. Find lines, trace to connectors. Huh...how am I supposed to get to that let alone fit a tool in there. OK. I'll just skip to the step where I unstrap the tank. It will fall lower and then I can get to the connectors.

Step four. Unstrap tank. Tank unstrapped. Why isn't it falling down? What's holding you up? Inspect. Fifteen minutes later...oh its the hoses I haven't disconnected because I can't get to, so I'm pulling down the tank to get to them, but the tank won't come down because its connected to the hoses I can't get to.............agh!

Step four, part two. Pull on tank as hard as you can. Well at least something worked. That managed to get me enough slack to see where to disconnect the hoses. Now lets look at the connection...hmm...ok...hmm...how the hell am I supposed to disconnect this? Who designed these connectors? Couldn't they at least put in the manual the instructions for disconnecting the connectors? Plan B. Trusty scissors :-) Snip, snip, snip, snip. Finally! Success. Gas tank coming down.

So after about 2-3 hours I finally have the gas tank on the ground. Still under the car, mind you. Still straddling the exhaust system. But at least free from the vehicle.

Now all I have to do is detach the exhaust system and slide out the tank. No problem. I've already lowered the exhaust onto the ground. Only three nuts holding it. Three very rusty nuts!
Let's see 14mm. No. 13mm. No. 12 mm. Yes. Get out 12mm socket. Screws too long to use closed socket wrench. That's OK. I'll just get out an open box wrench. Let's see. 14mm, 13mm, 11mm. Wait. No 12mm! OK. I'll just use an adjustable wrench. OK turn..come on turn..come on...adjustable wrench won't hold on this rusty nut!

That's OK. I'm getting rid of the exhaust so I'll just cut the pipe. An angle grinder will rip right through it...with lots of sparks...and an garage full of gas fumes (see above). Maybe I'll skip using the angle grinder.

OK. I'll just jack up the car higher. Then I can lift it over the exhaust and under the frame. Hope my jack stands go high enough. Jack right higher, left higher. Lift tank. Not enough room. Repeat jacking and trying to lift tank over and over and over for another fifteen minutes.

Finally I get the !#*%^ tank out. Three to four hours later. Covered in grease. Smelling like gas. But it was out!

Just the last drive

This morning was the last drive as a gas powered vehicle. Shana (my daughter) and I went into town for breakfast and then drove back home. After parking the car in the garage I decided to get started on the deconstruction.

The first part was pretty easy. Front fascia, hood, and headlights easily came out. No problems with the radiator and radiator fan.

Here's a picture of the car after removing the above.


Some of the stuff that was removed



Having the proper tools makes it so much easier. The number one tool is the factory service manual. This is the same manuals that mechanics at the dealership would use.



It's also a good idea to keep track of all the parts coming out. Some of them have to go back in! I'm labeling parts and wires as I go along. Some baggies for little parts.

Just the Requisite Picture

Pre-conversion picture. Hopefully the post-conversion picture looks the same (minus the exhaust pipe).

Just The The Victim (a.k.a. The Donor Vehicle) Part 2

...Saturn Vue 2002. The Saturn Vue is a lightweight (relatively speaking) SUV.

One "rule" for EV conversions is that the lighter the car the less lead/battery weight you will need. So many conversion are light cars or light pickup trucks that have a large carrying capacity relative to their weight.

For example a 2500 lb car that can carry 1000 lbs of batteries will probably go farther and perform better than a 3500 pound car carrying the same amount, all things otherwise being equal. Some cars and trucks popular for conversions include Chevy S10, Volkswagon Rabbit, Honda Civic, and Porsche 914. If fact you can buy kits with all the parts for converting some of these vehicles.

One point I mentioned earlier is that "likeability" is an important part of picking an EV. Not that any of these cars are bad cars, I just did not want to drive any of them regularly.

Another general rule of thumb is that the vehicle should be able to carry at least one third of it's total weight in batteries. The Vue has a curb weight of 3172 lbs and a max weight (GVWR) of 4538. For comparison the Chevy S10 has a curb weight of ~3000 lbs and a GVWR of ~4200 lbs.

Based on other conversions removing the the ICE components will reduce the weight about 25% (~750lbs):

3172 -750 = 2422
4538 - 2422 = 2116

So 2116 lbs is what I can add back to the car in weight. This includes batteries, motor, other components and of course me! Now 2116 lbs might seem like a lot to work with. But the batteries I am using weigh about 62lbs each. Multiply that by 24 and you get almost 1500lbs for batteries alone. That only leaves a little over 600 lbs.

Another reason I chose the Saturn Vue is that is has electric power steering. As I get more into the nuts and bolts of converting to an electric vehicle I'll go into more detail. Let's just say that by having electric power steering I don't have to deal with finding a way to run the power steering pump used on almost all other cars.

The Vue is a 2002 and has the usual safety features (airbags, disc brakes, ABS). It is also a manual transmission. This is important. Almost all EV conversions are done on manual transmissions (more on that another time).

Just The Requisite Background Info

Before moving on I should tell you a little about myself. As an eye surgeon I'm a little compulsive about how things are done. Not a whole lot of room for error so one needs a healthy amount of compulsion.

Before performing surgery one knows the anatomy of what they are operating on. One goes in with a plan. And a backup plan. And a backup to the backup. The point being that before ever cutting you've gone through things in your head enough times that the actual surgery is the culmination of a process with the hard work done prior to the surgery.

This is the same attitude I have taken with the EV conversion project. I'm not going in blindly. I've gone through the details of deconstruction and reconstruction over and over (including minutia such as how big is bolt X on part Y before even taking anything apart).

In the movie "Hunt for Red October" one character comments that maybe the Russian protagonist is devising his plan on the fly. Another character replies, "Russians don't take a dump, son, without a plan. " Hopefully that describes me and this project.

Just The The Victim (a.k.a. The Donor Vehicle) Part 1

Most people think that picking the donor vehicle is the first step in an EV conversion. For me choosing the donor vehicle occurred later in the process. Before even thinking about, "what vehicle", I needed to answer the question, "what do I need from a vehicle"?

There are tons of variables in picking a vehicle. How far do you need to travel. How much "stuff" is being added and removed ("stuff" meaning engines, motors, batteries, etc.). As this is not meant to be a comprehensive blog on how to convert (just how I do my conversion) I'll leave it up to the reader to follow some of the links to gain more knowledge. I will however go over my process (in no particular order of importance).

Range-- my typical daily range to and from work is about 15 miles with occasional forays of 30'ish.

Size--I'm 6'2" so I needed something that was comfortable.

Safety--Airbags and modern safety equipment a must. So much for that '67 Galaxy 500 :-)

Donor condition--One thing that I read over and over is that a junky ICE car makes a junky EV. If you get an old rusty donor car your going to end up with an old rusty EV (unless you put a ton of work into it).

Likeability--You might as well like what you are driving. For instance, originally I was going to convert a late model BMW 3-Series. But after driving them several times I just did not like it.

The above list is not exhaustive, but rather a starting point. I needed to narrow down the donor selection somehow. Each of the above points are pretty general. For instance range alone entails a discussion on vehicle weight, carrying capacity, battery chemistry, and more. Which is again why the donor car decision was not the first decision.

And the winner is....

Just The Start

As the name suggests this is one more blog documenting conversion (hopefully) of an internal combustion engine(ICE) car to an electric vehicle(EV). The title for this post "The Start" is actually a misnomer. Although this is my first post regarding this project it is far from the start of the project.

It has been over a year and a half since I actually started on the project. And I've made a ton of progress over that period of time. But I have yet to touch a bolt, connect a battery, or remove a part. So what have I been doing?

Since I'm not a mechanical engineer, an electrical engineer, an automotive engineer, or any other type of engineer it has taken me this long to gain a sufficient knowledge base in order to tackle this project. Basically I've been reading.... reading the Electric Vehicle List posts daily... reading web sites of others who have converted EVs.... reading blogs on EVs....reading battery spec charts.... reading motor spec charts...reading, ok you get the point. Lots and lots of reading.

But now I am at the point where I am about to touch a bolt, remove a part, etc. So as the process goes on I'll try to take lots of pictures and document what I can.