Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2000 12:24:47 -0600
Reply-To: Alfred Bagdan <abagdan@powersurfr.com>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Alfred Bagdan <abagdan@powersurfr.com>
Subject: Re: new 86 Westy Nova Scotia owners
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Hi Dan,
Congratulations on purchasing your Westy. Seem like a very good deal even
for a 14 year old vehicle.
Buying the van is like bringing home a new baby. If you give it good care
it will give you a lot of joy for many years, but if you neglect it you may
have all kinds of problems with it later.
As far as your battery is concerned, I bought my replacement from Canadian
Tire (Sears is OK too) and the battery is as good or better than the
Autobahn one from VW. I replaced the struts too, bought them at The Bus
Depot, and am perfectly happy with them. They have two kinds there, strong
and regular. The regular once wont last that long but are easier to close
the hatch. I bought the strong ones and am happy with them, they keep the
hatch open even with a bikerack and a bike on it!
Since money is an object for me, I stay away from VW dealers (having been
burnt by them more than once) as much as possible. I bought myself the
Haynes manual and the more technical Bentley manual from the Bus Depot.
Also I bought a floorjack and four jackstands and do all of the servicing
and minor repairs myself. I also found a mechanic who knows Vanagons, for
anything major or dealing with safety. He is fairly expensive though, but
still a lot cheaper than the VW dealers. I use him less and less as I am
learning to be a Vanagon mechanic myself.
One thing that one should replace once every 10-15 years or so is all the
rubber parts, such as water hoses, fuel hoses, belts, etc... The Bus Depot
or Vanagain sell complete kits for these. Nothing can spoil your long trip
more than to have one of these hoses spring a leak and ruin your trip and
possibly your engine if not caught in time.
Also I use the Mann Mahle oil filters (from BusDepot) and 20W50 oil in the
summer and 10W40 in the winter (just the regular Valvoline oil, not the
synthetic). I stay away from the cheap generic filters you can buy here as
they don't have all the proper characteristics needed. The VW filters are
too expensive and do the same as the Mann Mahle.
As far as antifreeze is concerned I splurge and use only the VW Autobahn
antifreeze. The life of the heads literally depends on having the proper
antifreeze. If I were you, I would flush the existing antifreeze and
replace it with new (it should be done every 2 to 3 years anyway). There are
many posts in the archives of this list that will direct you how to do this.
As far as the auxiliary battery is concerned, If you really, really, need
one, get a gel battery, not only for safety reasons but because it can
handle continuous discharging and recharging (deepcycling) a lot better than
a regular starter battery which must stay charged all the time for long
life. (that is why perhaps you needed a new battery because your van was not
driven much and the battery was not charged properly all the time). I use a
Gel battery from Canadian Tire (50 AH) which I use mainly for extra lights
when parked at night and just connected it using the relay already in the
battery compartment. It is a lot cheaper than the Optima Battery. I run my
fridge on propane while driving and while parked and while filling up with
gasoline. Have done this for 15 years without any problems. Besides RVs do
it all the time too. If the intake vent is well sealed around the edges,
the fridge won't go out while driving.
There are a lot of other things you should consider with a 14 year old van
that has not been driven much, like repacking the CV joints, changing the
brake fluid, transmission fluid etc...
Another problem area with vanagons is the electronic and electrical areas,
especially if the problem is intermittent. After so many miles and years,
parts will start to fail, but most of the time not completely. When you take
the van to a mechanic and he checks it out it may work just fine or he may
misdiagnose the problem from your description and replace the wrong part
(you pay for it with no returns). This can continue for a while until he
gets lucky or you run out of money and out of frustration sell the van
cheaply. To help in this situation, a van list member, Darrell Boehler,
developed a tool for diagnosing the electronic system while driving. It is
called the Digitool and since you have an 86 van and a digifant system, you
can download the plans of how to make one from his site, also you can buy
one from him already made, for $100US (if he has the time to make you one).
With proper care and maintenance, your van should last a long time and give
you many years of joy.
Good luck and take care of your new baby.
Alfred
85 Westy
Edmonton, AB
>
> 1. It needs a new battery. I think I would like to install a house
battery
> under the drivers seat as well. A type 41 will fit under the passenger
> seat, will a type 41 fit under the driver seat? If not, is this Optima
> battery that is being discussed THE way to go? With our intended use of
the
> camper, I do not forsee a need for a gel battery. If we get one battery -
> how powerful should it be?
> I have read the battery info at vanagon.com but it really doesn't address
> one battery vs two battery issues.
>
> 2. The struts on the back door don't work very well! HA! Imagine that.
> Anyways, anything wrong with getting new struts from the dealership - they
> are CA$46.00 ea (US$30.60 ea)? Or should we get these super duper struts
> from the Bus Depot that the list mentioned yesterday?
>
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