Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2000 12:33:54 -0500
Reply-To: EMZ <vw4x4@FYI.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: EMZ <vw4x4@FYI.NET>
Subject: Re: Boston to DC Vanagon purchase saga (long)
In-Reply-To: <20000101160748.96213.qmail@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Great story, and sounds to me like you found a great deal. One
note I would like the list to be clear about here:
Cooling system pressure is most important. If the system is
not holding pressure, (witch is a very easy check) you still have
a problem, and should be fixed before driving. Checking the cooling
system for pressure can be done simply by squeezing a hose.
Eric 86-VW4x4
vw4x4@fyi.net 72-240z
Pittsburgh, PA USA 1936-Chrysler
On Sat, 1 Jan 2000, Gary McEachern wrote:
> Hello
> Several weeks ago Sean Bartnik posted his Sunday Washington Post Classified
> newspaper listings of VWs for sale in the DC area. An ad for an '87
> Wolfsburg with 107K miles for $1650 caught my eye. The ad stated the vehicle
> had an overheating problem. I was looking for another vehicle and this one
> sounded as if it could be a great deal. I called the owner and verified he
> still had the van and that it was in good condition except for the
> overheating problem.
>
> I sent an SOS message to the list asking if there was anyone in the area who
> would be willing to check the vehicle out for me. I received a number of
> responses with offers. I was blown away! How cool! A special thanks to those
> who offered, including: Sean Bartnik, Mike Ray, G Matthew Bulley, Dan
> "Finalcut", Mike "MW575", Stu Schwartz and Bob Busick.
>
> Mike Ray ended up being the one who checked the van out for me. It turned
> out he lives about about 2 miles from where the van was located. He did a
> visual inspection and reported back to me that the van looked very nice. I
> can't say enough about the help Mike Ray provided me which allowed me to
> make the purchase and get the vehicle ready for the trip home. Thank you
> Mike!
>
> I booked a flight to fly into DC early Tuesday morning (12/28). I brought a
> bag of tools, my Bentley, a thermostat and a radiator(off my parts car).
> Mike Ray met me at the airport in his '87 Westy and drove me to the Vehicle
> in Falls Church. I bought the vehicle for $1,500 and we moved it to Mike's
> place a few miles away. In addition to everything else, Mike provided me
> with the use of a heated garage to check-out and repair the vehicle. This
> helped make the whole thing work!
>
> THE VEHICLE
> The vehicle is a dark grey '87 Wolfsburg Weekender. The "package" includes
> euro style bumpers, alloys, rear facing jump seats, pop up table and a fold
> out double bed. It's an automatic with AC, power steering, door locks,
> windows and cruise control. The interior and exterior are in very nice
> condition with almost no rust! Woohoo!
>
> PROBLEMS
> The vehicle overheated (as advertised)during the 2 mile journey over to
> Mike's place. The "DOS" oil warning light and buzzer came on when the engine
> was reved over 2K rpm (bonus problem!). These two things were my only
> immediate concerns. There were a lot of other small problems like the
> standard gas tank leak problem, bad rear hatch struts and an some
> intermittent electrical problems caused by a partially melted fuse box.
>
> The engine had a brand new water pump. I went to replace the thermostat and
> found what looked like a new thermostat with the working parts cut out! No
> doubt a drastic attempt to prevent the overheating! I put in the new
> thermostat. The radiator looked OK so I didn't replace it. I bled the
> coolant system, changed the oil and filter and took it for a test drive. It
> didn't overheat but the oil light and buzzer still came on above 2K RPM.
>
> I found that the high pressure sender line was not connected but was
> grounded instead to defeat the sensor. This line is used by the "DOS"
> (dynamic oil pressure system) to assess oil pressure when the engine is
> operating over 2000 rpm. The other low RPM/pressure sensor appeared to be
> working OK. I determined that it was not low oil pressure that was causing
> the oil pressure warning and chalked it up to a problem with the wiring or
> the DOS electronics in the dash. Since the engine sounded OK, I decided to
> start my trip home early Wednesday morning.
>
> THE TRIP
> I headed out around 4am and all went well for the first 200 miles. The
> engine started to overheat and so I pulled over to top up the coolant and
> get a bite to eat. This top up took me half way through the NJ turnpike
> where I had to stop again to top up the coolant. With a few more stops along
> the way, and some anxious moments with coolant temperature climbing while
> going through the NYC tolls, I finally made it home around 5 PM. WooooHooo!
>
> THE PROBLEM
> I found the pressure relief cap on the expansion tank was not holding
> pressure as it is supposed to. I replaced the cap which allowed the system
> to pressurize properly for the first time. After bleeding the systen and
> letting the vehicle idle for about 20 minutes,with no problem, I took a
> short trip to the grocery store (1/4 mile away). When I came out of the
> store I found a large pool of coolant on the ground. Arriving home I found a
> 6" split in one of the rubber hoses apparently the result of a weakened hose
> unable to withstand the normal operating pressure of the system. If I had
> found the problem and replaced the cap in Virginia the hose may have let go
> in the middle of my trip causing me major problems! It may be just as well
> that I didn't discover the bad cover after I got home! It appears to me that
> the defective expansion tank cover may have been the main cause of the
> overheating problem the PO had as a result of loss of coolant from the
> system. When I picked up the vehicle he mentioned to me that he was loosing
> coolant but couldn't find the source of the leak! How ironic!
>
> Thanks once again to all the list members who helped me with my posts
> requesting information I needed prior to going on this great adventure. I am
> quite pleased with my purchase and feel I got a steal getting such a nice
> vehicle for $1,500.
>
> Gary
>
> Gary McEachern, Reading Ma.
> '84GL Sunroof
> '87GL Wolfsburg Weekender
> '75 Spitfire
>
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