Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2003 09:52:45 -0600
Reply-To: Stan Wilder <wilden1@JUNO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Stan Wilder <wilden1@JUNO.COM>
Subject: Re: everybody knows them to be high maintenance
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
I think you guys are going for overkill on this.
The simplest way to maintain a Vanagon of 80-91 is to stop the van and
check things out anytime you hear a strange noise, notice a big change in
performance, get a red warning light or just in general get that seat of
the pants feeling that something is wrong.
Little clinks become large clunks before they go bang.
A flickering warning light will become a steady bright red very soon.
The scheduled maintenance isn't sufficient to maintain an older 20 year
old van .......... remember the manufactured never wanted it to last ten
years and certainly not 20 plus years.
I'm the real "King of Paranoid Maintenance" and have simply replaced
almost every part that required lubrication or had movement on my Westy.
Current mileage is 330,000 plus.
I don't think everybody wants to take this approach but I've found that a
good level of confidence develops after some of these replacements are
done.
Even when you're removing a 'good working part' and replacing it with a
new part there is always the reward that you've now got a spare.
I've had need of spare fuel filters, fuel injectors, CV joints, AFMs,
starters, alternators, fan belts .............. I used most of these on
my engine test stand but I'm guilty of taking some spares (electrical) on
the road with me.
There have been times when I left for one of my 300 mile round trip
camping trips and turned around at the 50 mile mark and returned home to
check things out. It has paid off more than once when I found dead
injectors, weak alternators and loose electrical connectors.
I was fortunate that I found a one owner Westy but replaced both the
engine and transmission within 20K of buying it .............. bummer!
but I got the two big things out of the way and ran 150k on that first
engine and am on 23k of my second engine.
Stan Wilder
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