Date:         Fri, 21 Feb 2003 12:53:14 -0800
Reply-To:     Harald Rust <harald_nancy_vw@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Harald Rust <harald_nancy_vw@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      The Flat Tire Encounter
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

As forwarded from:
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/vw-camping/
I don't want to bore anyone about flat tires,
but I recently had this interesting encounter.
Driving west to the coast, I saw this '68ish
VW bay window bus, pulled over on the side of the
road.
The bus looked loved, so I decided to pull over and
see there was anything I could do.
Greeting the young driver, I notice that he is
struggling with the T2 car jack by his rear
flat tire. Somewhat bewildered, he complains
that he's already tried for half an hour,
and the jack does not work. He asks if I could
drive to a phone booth and call a tow truck for him.
I ask him if I can try. He hands me the T2 jack,
which he has been struggling with upside down.
I realized the last time I held this familiar
contraption in my hand was in 1984, when I still
had my trusty '72 VW bus. The T2 jack looks
like a device designed by a drunken monkey.
The bus owner curiously watches as I turn the
jack right side up, put the metal pin in its place,
and jack his bus up.
Then his lug wrench doesn't work, and so I hand him
my breaker bar, and he uses it to change his flat
tire.
Moral of the story:
Make sure you have the instruction manual, so
you can manage to change a flat tire, in case you're
stuck in the middle of nowhere by yourself.
It doesn't hurt to practice in your driveway sometimes
just for fun.
Go to Sears and buy a half inch breaker bar,
2 1/2" extension, and a 19mm socket.
(don't know what socket size the EVC uses.)
I also carry a 2 foot galvanized pipe extension
for the breaker bar, in case a lug nut is really
stuck,
which happens quite a bit.
Then you can leave the flimsy original VW lug wrench
that came with the car at home. Those OEM lug wrenches
are generally inadequate, and can leave you stranded.
Do you agree? Disagree? Just wondering.
Harald
'90 westy
Btw Part numbers
Craftsman Breaker Bar, VV-44202
Extension 1/2", H 44133
Socket, 19mm (buses, vanagons)
2 foot galvanized pipe extension


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