Date:         Fri, 2 Jul 2004 10:24:36 -0500
Reply-To:     Jim Felder <felder@KNOLOGY.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jim Felder <felder@KNOLOGY.NET>
Subject:      Re: New Member Intro and Air Flow/Vent Q
In-Reply-To:  <117.34cfd222.2e16d12b@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed

Somebody will probably come along with more definitive advice than I
can here, but it occurs to me that the dash vent's other opening is an
intake near the radiator. You can take a screwdriver and remove the
headlight mask/grille assembly and see the air intake, I THINK. someone
can verify. You probably need to be pushing air into the dash vent to
push all the junk out of the intake, or pulling from the intake.

You don't want to just move it over to the other vent.

Another think you might easily to to help is to remove the pull-off
cover over the instrument panel, and maybe the instruments themselves
(write back if you don't know how) and there you can see the flexible
tube to the air duct. I'm really speaking from experience on a 90 here,
but yours is probably the same. You can get more direct access to the
mess from the tube than through the grille of the dash duct. Cleanup
after that should be simple.

Be sure and check in a behind your radiator for more mess that could
cause overheating.

Last weekend I took a grocery back of bird next parts out of the spice
rack in my diesel westy. The birds brought it in over less than two
days. I had taken the hatch off over the engine while doing some bottom
end work. They flew up in the van from under the car.

Jim

On Jul 2, 2004, at 9:54 AM, Diana Patterson wrote:

> Hi List,
> Brand new member here. I recently bought an '84 Westie 1.9L, was
> driving
> through northern Iowa and into MN when I came across a caravan of VW
> vans going
> the other direction. I turned around and met Budd, Darrell, Jim,
> Chuck, Julia et
> al. Truly a moment of divine intervention. My life will never be the
> same :)
> It was so exciting!
> I have an unusual situation. My Westie had apparently sat for some
> time and
> acquired at least one uninvited tennant (a mouse). When I acquired the
> Westie,
> I did my OCD cleaning job on it, going into every nook and crannie
> exploring
> and scrubbing. I found evidence of mice by the droppings found in some
> of the
> cabinets along the left side of the van. Needless to say it was gross.
> I put in
> a live mouse trap, but never caught anything so it must have been
> leftover
> from a previous occupation. I think the van hadn't been used, or loved
> for some
> time. So here comes the problem, when I turn on the air flow vents,
> the one
> just to the left of my steering wheel, really weird stuff comes out;
> insulation,
> stuff that falls off trees, stuff that looks like it may be moldy. It's
> really creeping me out. This must be where the nest was. I went to the
> car wash,
> removed the vent, and put the super powered suction vacuum to the hole
> and a ton
> of stuff came out. I thought I had it cleaned, but now everytime I use
> the
> vent stuff still comes out so I just don't use it. I want to use it!
> Okay,
> finally here's my question -- how do I totally clean out that vent?
> And, if I stick
> some suction deeper down in that vent, will I harm anything?
> Thanks to all to have any suggestions!
> -Diana
> '84 Westie
>