[dtbaker]

Originally Posted by PeterH

Also heard that it is recommended to burn in the brushes by running it for a few days on 12 VDC. Anyone have any thoughts on that?

some brushes are broken-in, so are pre-formed, but the kostov may not be... running at low voltage and low amps will wear them in so you have full contact before trying to pull several hundred amps thru them.

[PeterH]

Thanks Dan. I did some searching and feel that it is a good idea to run it for a few days at 12V to seat the brushes properly. It makes perfect sense to me to do so, even knowing a lot of others feel otherwise. :-)

[PeterH]

As I reported a few days ago, the Kostov motor arrived ok. Oddly the crate was labeled "solar panels" which made not sense... the truck driver wanted to know what sort of solor panels weighted 192 pounds so he stuck around for me to open and inspect the contents.



Two days ago I ordered 45 160 Ah HiPower lithium cells for delivery sometime late December. Spent all weekend trying to figure out where I'm going to stash all those batteries. Haven't come up with a satisfactory solution yet.

Anyone seen a completed project using a Geo Tracker like mine with that many batteries?

I also had a panic attack at one point Saturday. I took my tape measure and measured the length of the transmission, added the length of the motor and guessed at the added length of the adapter that I ordered, and it suggested the motor would extend past the steering linkage... which could be a show-stopper! At worst, I should be able to raise the front end of the motor/transmission assembly a few degrees to clear any linkage, without causing problems down stream with the drive shaft or rear end. Right??

Then I got to thinking about this... the Kostov is a bit shorter than a Warp9 and the adapter I just ordered was for this very vehicle and a Warp9 motor. That would certainly suggest that I'm worried about nothing because this would have been a problem for anyone converting this rig, not just me, and no one else has raised alarms... so I'm not going to worry about this till the adapter shows up and I put it all together and find out if it all fits or not. Hoping that will be this week sometime.

I have a local fabrication shop making a 10 inch diameter, 3 inch wide, 1/4 inch steel ring as the start for my motor mount. Seems there aren't any pre-fabricated mounts for this motor that I could buy off the shelf. So I'll be making my own. I'll post pictures and a report about that as it happens.

Today's problem? Found another complete vehicle like mine in a local salvage yard. Do I really need a third parts rig? Common sense says no, but if I can get it for $200, the pack-rat in me, says go get it! I can always part it out... discovered the hard way, that parts for my rig are getting VERY hard to come by!

Pete

[Yukon_Shane]

Originally Posted by PeterH

...Anyone seen a completed project using a Geo Tracker like mine with that many batteries?....

I also had a panic attack at one point Saturday. I took my tape measure and measured the length of the transmission, added the length of the motor and guessed at the added length of the adapter that I ordered, and it suggested the motor would extend past the steering linkage... which could be a show-stopper! At worst, I should be able to raise the front end of the motor/transmission assembly a few degrees to clear any linkage, without causing problems down stream with the drive shaft or rear end. Right??


Pete

Hey Pete,

I actually moved my motor above the steering linkage on my tracker. It seemed to be the easiest approach and it should help protect the motor a bit. I'll try and attach a picture (haven't tried this before so it may not work).

As for fitting the batteries, take a look at this example: http://got-ev.blogspot.com/

It's a Lead-Acid conversion but the approach he took looks pretty solid to me.

Shane

[PeterH]

Ok, got the adapter I ordered yesterday. Didn't take me long to figure out it wasn't going to fit. I'm guessing that since most Trackers are 4WD and I have a factory version of a 2WD rig, the transmission is different. Just my luck... You can see here the difference.



Not exactly sure what to do now. Hoping I might be able to find a local machine shop to fabricate what I need.

Randy at CanEV was understanding and suggested I ship it back for a refund.

Everything else is on hold now till I resolve this issue.

Pete

[madmike8]

Will the 4x4 bell housing bolt to your trans? Might be easier... Since you already have the adaptor.

[PeterH]

Interesting idea Mike... if I had access to one, I'd jump on that idea. Unfortunately, my 4WD parts rig still has the motor in place so it would be big job to pull it apart to test out that theory. But... now that I have pics of the adapter, eventually I'll know if that was the cause for the different trans. Meanwhile, I think I've got the help I need to build an adapter and coupler locally.

I'll be posting updates as they evolve. :-)

Pete

[PeterH]

I don't do "waiting around for parts" very well... so I've been working on cleaning up the wiring harness and the dashboard. So far, I've managed to eliminate a lot of wiring!



Thought I'd cut one too many wires because my turn signals weren't working... After way too long, I found where the turn signal relay was located... and plugged it back in. Suddenly the turn signals were working again! :-) Big relief! Can you imagine the trouble to put some of that mess back together again to replace a cut wire? Got more wiring to careully remove before I'm done.

I also removed all of the air movement equipment under the dash. Cleaned out a lot of dust, dirt, and loose change AND pulled out all the A/C hardware. Won't be needing that!



Replaced all the long-gone foam gaskets with 1/4 inch foam insulation from Home Depot. Works perfectly and seems to be the same thickness as the original material. The 21 year old foam was all rotted away so everything was very noisy.

Now the problem is just how to connect the various air handler controls on the dash... the PO had it all ripped out and never even tried to put it all back. Fine with me, helps explain why I got this so cheaply...

Paid $525 for the entire rig, drove it 90 miles home, pulled the motor and sold that last week for $300. Going to sell the old, fancy rims, and recover more of that original $525 cost. I have two sets of factory rims for summer and winter tires. :-)

Pete

[PeterH]

Still waiting for my new adapter plate to show up. Meanwhile, I've been busy trying to get ready. I fabricated the basis of a mount for the motor. I had a 3 inch wide, 10 inch diameter band of 1/4 inch steel rolled at a local shop and then I welded on two flanges and drilled some holes for two grade 10, 10mm bolts. I'll paint it up once the rest of the mount if fabricated and before I make the final install.



I suspect that by the time I'm done, I'll be cutting off the flanges and starting over again with a better eye to the proper angle needed. But this might just work.



I am however, wondering how best to mount the motor in the engine compartment. You can see here the two motor mount bolt points on the frame.



Annoyingly they are off set from each other. I think one is about an inch or two further front than the other. Nothing that can't be overcome, but it just complicates things a bit.

So the question in my mind now is should I bolt right to these frame mounts, or use the original motor mounts and bolt to them? I really don't know which is better. I've seen pictures of builds where the original mounts were used and others where it was bolted right to the frame.

I suspect torque will be an issue, but I'm guessing I'll burn out the standard clutch in this rig before I twist a motor mount off... but only experience will really decide. I asked at a local parts store and learned that the standard clutch is the only one they can get. They suggested I try some of the online performace sites to see if I can find something there.






If I bolt right to the frame I can use the motor mount brackets shown above to bolt to the frame and just weld to that bracket.


Or I could use the motor mount shown above (this is the original and is not usable because it was broken when I bought the rig) for some bit of dampening. Is that really a benefit or necessary?



I've got a month or more to figure this out... and find replacement motor mounts if I decide to go that way. That might not be easy because new parts for a rig this old seem to be difficult to come by. Apparently, I got the very last transmission mount left in the inventory... least that is what the NAPA parts counter dude told me.

I actually spent a few hours this morning while the sun was out and before it started to rain, out in the driveway, under this rig with three cans of brake cleaner and a toothbrush cleaning the transmission tunnel and the engine compartment of oil buildup. It looks a lot cleaner than these pics show... I also cleaned up all the rust around the old battery tray and spray painted the area around it with blue spray paint, that almost matches. :-) That was probably my last chance to do that before our first snow which is rumored to be later this week. Oh joy...

Any thoughts about the best way to mount the motor on this rig?

Thanks,
Pete

[dtbaker]

go to the orginal motor mounts if at all possible. You'll get the compliance that rest of the drivetrain needs.... and everything will be lined up under torque as designed.