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Date:         Sun, 25 Jun 2000 20:54:20 -0500
Reply-To:     arbosch@ra.rockwell.com
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Alan Bosch <arbosch@ra.rockwell.com>
Subject:      Of spare tires and broken wires...
Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

For those who have not do so yet, or in a while, you may want to consider dropping the spare tire on your van every once in a while. It seems the bolt that secures the spare tire pan can get cruddy and rusty and may not break loose when you need it most. While trying to get to the bottom of a tight accelerator cable over the weekend, I needed to drop the spare to get to the linkage that connects to the gas peddle. Drove the van up the ramp, walked underneath with my trusty 19mm socket, the lug wrench, and, just in case, a smallish breaker bar. Following the Bulley rusted bolt removal process - generous amounts of spray lubricant and copious amounts of tapping - it would not budge. Rusted solid. Turing neither here nor there. This way or that. Sooooo, this morning I brought ole Phred to a local service station that does more than sell pop and allow you to pump your own gas (darn few true service stations around these days, btw). The mechanic on duty pulls his trusty impact wrench, fits a 19mm socket on the end, and blasts the bolt loose and sends me on my way. (I really tried to give this guy a fiver for his time and good humor, but he'd have nothing of it.) When I returned home, I undid the bolt and dropped the pan. After tinkering for an hour or two, I slathered the bolt with some grease on both the threads and the washer and reinstalled. I do this for the lug bolts too, each time I rotate the tires, or whenever I have the tires off. Seems to prevent them from seizing. Have never had a problem with a stuck lug bolt.

So there I am, standing under my , staring at a little black box, with what can only be described as a deer-in-the-headlights look. This little box appears to be where the cable from the transmission junctions to the speedometer - I think. But there's a fitting with three wires on it that also seems to go up the past the radiator fan and into the dashboard. The connector on the fitting has three wires - red, blue, and green. The green wire is cut - and appears to have been do so intentionally. That is to say, it's not frayed of chaffed, merely cut thru. My question is: What is that connector for? And is it a big deal that the green wire's cut in two? It bugging me...

Alan Bosch & Phred ('88 Wolfsburg) Rochester, NY


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