exhaust clearance with WVO tank

[northriver]

Hi,

I have been working on a WVO conversion over the last couple of weeks and am trying to fit a custom aluminum tank in the space where the spare tire normally goes.

I am finding that there is very little clearance to re-route the exhaust once the new tank is installed. I'm estimating that I will have about a 1/4" of clearance between the exhaust and the new custom tank. Does anybody know what the minimum required distance is for the exhaust to anything else (frame of vehicle, tank ...)?

I have also been reading that people remove the rear sway bar to make more space. Is this legal or advisable?

Thanks,

Chris

[rezdiver]

you need more than 1/4 inches. i would say 2-3 inches minimum would be best. also any point where it nears the body or other components should have a heat shield installed. considering the exhaust moves from vibration and engine movement, at 1/4 inches you will get contact and rubbing in that area which will cause friction wear on your tank.
can you get away with doing a side exhaust (I am not sure on BC laws for side exhaust but i think they are no allowed but as long as it exits cleanly and away from doors and windows they should not hassle you.

[after oil]

regarding the rear sway bars: pre '92 L300 are without sway bars, so i presume its okay to remove them. i removed them from the space antelope to make room for a tank, and they were already removed form turtle. both those vans have side exhaust. i do not know the legal implications, but as long as the rear window is closed, side exhaust will not endanger anybody in the vehicle.

check out my tank:
http://www.delica.ca/forum/turtle-wvo-i ... 11165.html

[northriver]

can you get away with doing a side exhaust (I am not sure on BC laws for side exhaust but i think they are no allowed but as long as it exits cleanly and away from doors and windows they should not hassle you.

I have not found a definite answer to this question but this is my understanding ...

A side exhaust is only legal if it comes out behind the rear tire. I believe the intention is that the end of the exhaust pipe has to be a certain distance from occupied areas of the vehicle (in other words the passenger compartment).

[mararmeisto]

can you get away with doing a side exhaust (I am not sure on BC laws for side exhaust but i think they are no allowed but as long as it exits cleanly and away from doors and windows they should not hassle you.

I have not found a definite answer to this question but this is my understanding ...

A side exhaust is only legal if it comes out behind the rear tire. I believe the intention is that the end of the exhaust pipe has to be a certain distance from occupied areas of the vehicle (in other words the passenger compartment).

That's the jist of it - the pipe should be far enough back on the vehicle so the exhaust cannot enter the passenger cabin.

That being said, I'm not certain all the vehicles I've seen on BC roads with side exhaust are adhering to that criteria, Delica or otherwise. I always like the little big-rig-pickups that have the tall stacks right behind the cab.

All that being said, you definitely should keep the pipe away from whatever tank you fabricate in there. Although it may cost more, a non-rectangular shaped tank might be a solution as well, in order to leave enough room for the exhaust pipe to go by.

[rezdiver]

why dont you weld in a 6 inch tube right through your veggie oil tank. and have the exhaust feed right through the tank. this way you can use the exhaust to warm up the oil but have a big enough space between the pipe and tank to spread the heat so you dont get isolated hot spots.

[northriver]

Thanks for the ideas and pictures ...

I am still not quite sure what I am going to do about mounting the tank ... I can mount the tank no problem but am still not convinced I can re-route the exhaust with adequate clearance after this is done.

I think I would have no problem fitting the exhaust without the sway bar, but I am not convinced that eliminating the sway bar is a good idea.

One suggestion has been to take the installed tank to an exhaust/muffler shop and get them to re-route the exhaust for me ... this is not a bad idea but I'd like to make sure I do not go to the effort of installing the tank only to be told re-routing the exhaust is not possible!

I have thought about modifying the tank so that the exhaust is not in the way ... that may be as cost effective as taking it to a shop to re-route the exhaust. A little less tank volume but definitely peace of mind.

I am going to carry on with other parts of the conversion while I think about this a little more ...

[jessef]

Do not remove the sway bar on an L400. The handling will suffer and can get downright dangerous at high speeds.

Do you have one of Andrew's tanks ? If so, there's a number of L400's using his wvo tank and only needed minor mods to the rear section of the exhaust.

[after oil]

sorry, i had not realized that youre in an L400. perhaps you can make a cardboard mock tank and go to the exhaust shop to see what they say. if you dont like what they say, try another exhaust shop

[northriver]

Do you have one of Andrew's tanks ? If so, there's a number of L400's using his wvo tank and only needed minor mods to the rear section of the exhaust.

I do have one of Andrew Horvath's tanks.
Is anybody aware of any pictures taken of the exhaust of an L400 conversion?
Given that other L400 conversions have been successful I am tempted to cut the exhaust and install the tank. Worst case I take it to an exhaust shop and find out there is not enough space.

[jessef]

Do you have a SWB or LWB?

Les in Whistler has a LWB with Andrew's tank installed and the exhaust needed minor tweaking.

A SWB may need considerably more, possibly a side-exhaust would be more appealing.

[Profister]

Is anybody aware of any pictures taken of the exhaust of an L400 conversion?

Here you go. This is the exhaust from Muffler Tech and this is the 100 L WVO tank from Andrew installed on my SWB van.

[northriver]

Do you have a SWB or LWB?

My Delica is a SWB (short wheel base).

I did not realize until this question was asked that the Delica came in two lengths.
This is starting to make more sense to me ... I assume an LWB would be easier to work on because there would be an extra couple of inches of clearance ... that is all it would take to make this a much easier job.

[northriver]

Is anybody aware of any pictures taken of the exhaust of an L400 conversion?

Here you go. This is the exhaust from Muffler Tech and this is the 100 L WVO tank from Andrew installed on my SWB van.

Thanks for the pictures!

From what I can see you have a side exhaust coming out in front of the rear wheel well ... were there any issues with this in terms of licensing the van? (I just do not know that much about side exhausts.)

Now that I have seen these pictures I am going to call an exhaust shop and ask.

[nxski]

Many of us have side exhausts. Unless you permanently seal the rear side window and possibly the middle one then technically your van is not legal. I have never had anyone question mine though. The exhaust shop never mentioned this either (my excuse if I get pulled over for it)