Date: Sun, 15 Oct 2000 21:08:43 -0500
Reply-To: arbosch@RA.ROCKWELL.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Alan Bosch <arbosch@RA.ROCKWELL.COM>
Subject: Of brakes, accelerator cables, exhausts,
and dripping coolant...(long)
Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Hey gang!
Wild times for old Phred and me the last week and change.
First to go were the brakes. Driving to work last Friday, the peddle went
all the way to the floor before the brakes would start to engage. Called
for some very defensive driving - anticipating every little thing way far
in advance. Knowing that Phred need brakes anyway, I decided to go for the
whole shooting match and get pads, callipers, hoses, drums, shoes, wheel
cylinders, and a new master cylinder. One of the list vendors was very
accommodating and shipped everything to my door for Saturday morning -
wanted to get a head start on the weekend as Phred is my daily driver.
While really a very straight forward job, the brakes turned into a four day
headache. Many of the original brake components were rusted in place and
no amount of WD-40 and tap, tap, tapping were going to budge them.
One of the thing I discovered doing the brakes is the value of a
brake-bleeder tool. It's a box end wrench with a little cut in the side
that allows the wrench to be slipped over the brake lines, affording a good
grip on the nut you have to remove if you're swapping the callipers or the
wheel cylinders. For $10 or so, it proved to be some of the best money I
spent. If you're going to do the brakes, get this little wrench. You will
thank yourself for being so bright. Oh, and get it before you start the
project, not during.
After the brakes were done, I drove Phred to work on Wednesday. The
throttle seemed to be sticking, so when I got home, I put the bus up on the
ramp and squirted a little synthetic lubricant one the accelerator peddle
linkage and on the assemble where the cable meets the accelerator rod that
goes back in to the engine bay. Working the linkage, the cable promptly
snapped. Some quick calls to various list vendors and assorted FLAPS and
dealers proved fruitless in finding the cable. The plans I made for BBTT
this weekend were vanishing fast. BusDepot was the only one that said the
could get the cable to me by Saturday, at the earliest. (One note here:
Camelback VW in Phoenix could get the cable, for early next week, at a cost
that was slightly more than twice the price - not including shipping - of
what BusDepot quoted, including shipping.) Installing the cable took a
little more than two hours - a very straight forward procedure. (If anyone
wants details, just ask.)
The exhaust is shelved for the time being. It appears - and feedback on
this is welcome - that you need to remove everything from the collector
pipe to the tail pipe in order to get to the top bolts on the muffler/cat
connection. Judging from the condition of the entire exhaust - from heads
to tail pipe - the whole thing is going to need replacing. Think I'll just
buy the pipes one at a time until I get the complete system, and they do
the whole thing.
Approaching Phred for the test drive, after installing the accelerator
cable, I noticed a little puddle of coolant on the ground. It's never been
there before, and Phred has not been run since Thursday. I crawled back
underneath for a look-see and could find nothing to indicated a leak from
the heads. The coolant lines are all dry and the connections seem good.
In the past, I've noticed dried coolant around the heads on the drivers
side, but have never detected anything actually dripping or leaking. Maybe
it'll get me through the winter, maybe not.
Thanks to the folks on this list that responded to cries for help over the
last week. Many of the suggestions were very helpful and encouraging. For
those that fear repairing you bus, don't. It's not that bad, and the only
way to overcome that fear is to get your hands dirty.
Sorry about the rambling...
Alan Bosch
& Phred ('88 Wolfsburg) - running and stopping - what could be better...?
Rochester, NY
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