Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2001 08:29:37 -0400
Reply-To: Éric Giroux <eric.giroux@NRC.CA>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Éric Giroux <eric.giroux@NRC.CA>
Subject: Re: New to list...a few questions, and I need some stuff
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
Hi Dave,
Welcome to the Vanagon territory.
A couple of thoughts hereafter:
>Now, this thing has no A/C, but does have dual heaters. I disconnected the
>rear heater when I did the other cooling system repairs, as the "T"s in the
>lines were also rusted. However, I cannot for the life of me figure out how
>to turn off the front heater. No matter what I do, there's still heat coming
>out of somewhere, be it the floor, the defroster, where ever. I have no
>owners manual with this thing, and I can't seem to decypher the alien
>pictograms on the control panel. Some help on this one would be nice...it's
>too hot for heat.
See http://www.vanagain.com/heaterv1.htm
>Issue 3: This thing handles like a pig. I am used to track-worthy Rabbits,
>and highly modified A2 Jettas that go around turns hard enough to throw
>things around the cabin with deadly force. I know better than to expect this
>thing to do the same, but there's got to be a way to make it better. Does
>anyone make swaybars for these things? I'd rather not lower it, but I'm sure
>that's an option as well. Bilsteins are an absolute must, and will be coming
>soon. ;-)
Bilsteins: half the people say yes, half the people say no....
Then you can get lowering springs (OEM Boge) from http://www.busdepot.com
And make sure the stabilizer links are not broken (a common occurence)
>OK, now, I need some things for this Van. For starters, I need a jack and a
>toolset. Anyone know where I can get those second hand?
You want original? Look into http://www.ebay.com. That's were I obtained
my second hand jack (Bilstein). They do pop up from time to time. For the
toolset, you can get a nice little one from http://www.motorworks.com/vw/.
Jack and tool set are still available from the dealer, but expensive, as
you know. They ARE listed in ETKA (Group 0)
>Also, this thing
>needs some different wheels. The stock 14" steel wheels are not cutting it
>for me. I am a huge fan of steel wheels, especially on a vehicle like this,
>and my intentions for it's use. I'd like to do some 15" steel wheels, and in
>fact, I have a set from a '99 Passat. They are the correct bolt pattern,
>however, the hubs on the van are too large for the wheels. I thought about
>grinding them out a bit(there's not too much of a difference), but they'd be
>a pain to balance. So, does anyone have some wheels out there they'd like to
>come off of for a reasonable price?
I understand that your Passat wheels are not strong enough for our trucks,
that's the word on the street. You can get 'official' 15" steel wheels for
the Vanagon from http://www.tiico.com.
Yours,
Éric
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