Date:         Mon, 27 Aug 2001 12:08:07 -0500
Reply-To:     John Mileham <jmileham@BLUE.WEEG.UIOWA.EDU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         John Mileham <jmileham@BLUE.WEEG.UIOWA.EDU>
Subject:      '82 Westy Diesel Intro + Injector / Timing Belt / General
              Questions
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Hi Vanagon Volks,
        Over the weekend I drove 800 miles to look at a Diesel Westy,
and it was love at first site.  The bus is pristine, with 63K on the
clock.  The owner recently passed away, and the owner's son learned
the importance of replacing the timing belt in the VW diesel the hard
way on the drive home... :-(
        Long story short.  The belt slipped and a new head was ordered.
(I'm surprised they're still available as I thought they went obsolete
several years ago....) Anyway, the son couldn't find any VW mechanics
near home - the beautiful hills of western N. Carolina - so he had a
local Truck mechanic put on a new head and get the Westy running again.

***Truck mechanic = Good, bad, any thoughts?  My dad, an old trucker,
says good.  Myself, a VW guy, have my doubts.....***

        Anyway, I drove the bus, and it drives and sounds great.  I'm
planning on flying into Atlanta and driving the Westy home, but I'd like
a few tips from the other diesel Wsesty owners out there if they'd care
to respond.  (FYI, I'm a former diesel VW owner - but it was in a Rabbit,
and I've also owned a Wet Westy before - an 83.5 Wasser).  So I'm semi-
familiar w/ the territory....
        Anyway, when I popped the lid to look at the engine while it was
running, I noticed one severely leaking injector (diesel was bubbling out
of there, w/ a pool below it), and one injector w/ a minor leak.  (wet,
but nothing running.)  I seem to recall there's a heat shield between the
injector and the head, and so I got to wondering if the mechanic cut a
corner here.  (Then, I got to wondering if he cut a corner on the timing
belt too, since it wasn't broke, it'd just slipped.....)  But I'm trying
not to go the latter route in my mind....

***Are the belts obviously "new" if I were to remove the timing belt
shield?  Is it a major PITA in the back of a Westy to do so?***

***What about the leaking injectors?  Big deal, not - sign of something
else? Anyt ideas?  Anybody know a cheap source of new or rebuilt
injectors?***

***Any other words of wisdom before I point the westy north in two weeks?
I was thinking about taking a couple of injectors along, although I'm not
sure they're even available anymore.***  (AAA+, cell phone, etc. - covered!)

***Anything else peculiar to the diesel westy I should look out for?***

        (FYI, the Vanagon has seen little action in the last decade.)  The
previous owner was hard-core VW guy though, he owned three of them in his
last 50 years.  An early 50's split bug, an early 60's sub-hatch, and this
diesel.  I guess his wife wanted to kill him for bringing home another
vehicle w/o AC in '83.  They were in their 70's then I guess... :-)

***Speaking of which, anyone know any good VW mechanics in the Chatanooga,
TN area where I could go if need be?  (Or anywhere between Murphy, NC and
Chatanooga, TN for that matter.)  I wouldn't mind having the breaks checked
out, being a flat lander.... :-) ***

        Sorry for the long post/bandwidth, thanks for reading and thanks in
advance for any feedback.

Peace, John
'82 Diesel Westy, '69 Westy, '66 Bug, 2 - '56 Oval