Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2004 23:10:46 -0600
Reply-To: Chris <chris@MCCLURKEN.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Chris <chris@MCCLURKEN.COM>
Subject: Re: stuck in 4th, further ruminations
In-Reply-To: <5.2.1.1.2.20041103203518.00bd5bb8@postoffice9.mail.cornell.edu>
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Robert,
Thanks for your reply. It sure felt like linkage to me, I've had those
problems before in other vehicles. I had someone play with the shifter
today while looking at the shift rod going to the tranny and it did
move a little. I don't know if that means anything or not. I'm going to
work on it some more tomorrow with hopefully some better weather to
work in. I'll try what you suggested.
Considering I spent a week sleeping in it on my last trip, I've already
gotten attached to the van. Everything BUT the transmission and shifter
are new or rebuilt. 6000 miles on the engine and all its
components....new clutch...new brakes...new tires...hell, even the A/C
works! My first vehicle with an A/C that does anything but hum.
I hope it doesn't come down to selling it because even with potential
problems with the van I feel its at least AS reliable as anything else
I could afford which is next to nothing.
On another note.... does anyone have labor estimates for transmission
replacement? I'm usually pretty good at location parts, it's the labor
costs that scare me as I'm not up to doing it myself.
Robert, I love my van and think it's worth the trouble. I want to keep
it. I glad we're not all too cynical yet (although I may be after years
of ownership).
Thanks,
Chris
85 GL
On Nov 3, 2004, at 21:54, Robert Harris wrote:
> Chris, the fact that you could get 3rd gear for a while there by
> pulling up
> on the shifter makes it sound like maybe, just maybe you do only have a
> problem in the shift linkage. I hope!!! Worth checking anyway I
> guess. You can see the shift gate from under the car. Drop the spare
> tire
> and look for a metal box up under the floor pan there -- shift gate is
> visible inside. The main adjustment point is a clamped junction in the
> shift tube, just behind the gas tank. Maybe that clamp has slipped
> (?) I
> hope for you that it can be so simple and cheap.
>
> Digression. One person recommended you sell out. This gets me
> thinking. I guess we all pay a lot, either in time or money or both,
> to
> keep our old Vanagons on the road. In pure economic terms many of us
> might
> should sell out! My Vanagon experience is tiny compared to others on
> this
> list, and this may be extreme, but in under a year of ownership I've
> gotten
> used to spending almost as much on parts each month as a new car
> payment
> would be. Every month I think I have solved the last of the PO's
> deferred
> maintenance and lingering problems, but there's always something more
> to
> break! Electrics, radiator, tires, heater cores, hoses, seals, shocks,
> front end, cat, brakes, cv's, ENGINE, etc... about the only thing left
> to
> go at this point is that 3/4 slider I think! Is it worth it? For me,
> absolutely!!! No question. The Westy suits my needs so I accept high
> running costs, and it's getting more reliable each month as problems
> get
> solved.
>
> There's more than that, though. When I first got my Westy, I tolerated
> breakdowns because I had to, because I wanted a little camper and
> getting
> greasy from time to time was part of that package. Like most folks, I
> had
> no zero interest in what was happening under the hood of my cars. I
> put
> gas in them, I squished the big pedal on the right, and they went.
> Take to
> dealer for service every 3K because they tell you to; otherwise
> ignore. Now I find my whole attitude to cars and driving has shifted.
> I
> find myself paying much more attention to driving... always
> subconsciously
> listening to the motor, watching the gauges, feeling all the little
> signals
> coming out of the car while driving down the road, all to be alert for
> any
> problem... and I get a small pride from this. I get a perverse
> satisfaction out of carrying a hundred pounds of tools and spares in my
> Westy at all times! Maybe you do the same. I get satisfaction out of
> being ready and increasingly able to handle almost anything that can
> bust,
> any time on the side of any road, with some help from the list if need
> be
> (like a couple days ago when I couldn't get the upper ball joint out
> of one
> of the steering knuckles -- thanks for the tips guys!). I find myself
> "looking down" on suburbanites whipping by in whatever SUV they just
> leased, and it's not just because the Westy sits you up high on the
> road. Do you guys know the feeling I mean? I guess almost a prejudice
> that those people don't deserve to be behind the wheel just by forking
> over
> the dough each month, with no clue about HOW or WHY their complacent
> mortgage-banking or sales-managing or tax-lawyering arse is getting
> motored
> down the road, and worse yet no curiosity. It's the cost of our
> prosperity
> these days that we have become such specialists: wrapped up in our
> narrow
> professions... expert in that, ignorant about all else, in too much of
> a
> hurry to care. Vanagons are a good antidote. I hope you CAN keep it.
>
> Robert Harris
> Ithaca NY
> '84 Westy "Busaru" EJ22
> '93 Honda CB750
>
>> Well tonight in the rainy dark at an intersection it finally bit the
>> dust. Luckily I figured out its stuck in 4th and was able to coax it
>
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