Engine Refresh, Step Four: Hoses and Wiring

Out of all the steps in reconditioning an engine, reconnecting the hoses and wiring can be the easiest part or the hardest depending on what type of engine you have. For cars with huge engine compartments like the Buick, it’s a cake walk—for those of you out there with MkIII or MkIV Jettas, I feel your pain.

I’ll start with what I consider the the toughest part, the wiring. On some cars you might be lucky enough to skip this step if your harness is covered in conduit. Conduit is very easy to clean and as long as it’s not cracked, it doesn’t need replacing. The Buick in this case had wiring wrapped in 38-year-old electrical tape soaked in oil. To begin, you’re going to have to peel all that rotten electrical tape off the harnesses. Work on one section at a time to keep things simple. With the tape removed, check thoroughly for any corrosion or broken insulation around the wiring. If you notice that a wire has green residue on it, it’s corroded and needs to be fixed now.

If you’ve determined that the wiring is good, take regular electrical tape and roll the tape at an angle around the harness, being sure to overlap halfway with each pass. For those who want a factory fabric tape to cover the harness, head to your local Volkswagen dealer and get a roll of part #000-979-950. It sells for about $15.00 and is well worth it. By repeating this set of steps for each harness, you’ll have inspected all the wiring and cleaned it up at the same time.

Working with hoses can be a real simple task or a real nightmare depending on the number of vacuum lines you have. Either way, you’ve taken the time to remove them, so you’re halfway to replacing them anyway. Remember, oil and rubber don’t get along, so check to see if the hoses are hard as rocks or so spongy that they ooze oil. If either is the case, they’re due to be replaced. Don’t worry too much about the hoses you’re unable to replace; I have a tried-and-true method for cleaning them to look like new. Take a clean rag and douse it with brake cleaner. In the other hand take the hose at one end and pull it through the rag. Pull the entire hose through in one motion, gripping the rag just enough to provide resistance. Do this a few times if the hose has overspray from paint on it.

You might have had to start re-assembling at this point to attach a few of the hoses. With this work done, you should be on the home stretch to putting the major accessories back on. Tomorrow, I’ll give you a few more tips on buttoning this project up.