Date: Tue, 22 Mar 2005 14:45:19 -0700
Reply-To: jbrush@AROS.NET
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Anonymous Digest <jbrush@AROS.NET>
Subject: Re: Recent Trip - FWIW
In-Reply-To: <585JcVsOY5408S07.1111516850@uwdvg007.cms.usa.net>
In <585JcVsOY5408S07.1111516850@uwdvg007.cms.usa.net>, on 03/22/05
at 10:40 AM, Markus Mumper <mumper@USA.NET> said:
>We just got back from a 10 day trip to Baja, Mexico in our '87 West GL
>automatic - original engine with about 200,000 miles of use and a head
>job was done about 30,000 miles ago. We try to do a good job maintaining
>her.
>Before we left there was a discussion on the List regarding the Vanagon's
>reliability - it got me worried since we were going with friend's who
>were driving another vehicle (new Ford 150 pickup) and I did not want to
>let them down if our Westy could not keep up.
>Results:
<snipped>
Thanks for taking the time to write this up. Its natural on a list like
this to see mostly problems and negative issues. We don't often enough
get glowing reports of happiness and success that can counterbalance the
things that are naturally going to be reported here. I just have to
believe that there is more success than failure, more trips without
problems, than there are stranded vanagons. A little bright light is a
good thing :-)
My 81 AC has taken me nearly 100K beyond its first owner's 100K, and it
has failed me only a few times. A dead battery in Yellowstone (very
expensive little buggers in those repair facilities <g>) and once, just
down the road at the grocery store with a bad fuel pump. Neither of those
qualifies as a unique vanagon issue that would not be expected on another
vehicle of comparative age.
My only catastrophic failure was when one of the oil plugs pushed out and
drained the crankcase down onto the clutch.... That was a vanagon only
kind of thing, but I was all of five miles from home when it happened.
I guess a few other things have happened, like my recent CV joint
adventure, but none that left me hanging and unable to enjoy the trip.
As much as I do worry and obsess over possible failures, much of it fired
by the conversations and stories from this list, I have simply never had a
problem on a vacation of any kind that I would blame the type of vehicle
for. If I could get past the phobia of the dropped valve seat that has
been threatened many times here, I would certainly sleep better :-)
Good to hear postive results now and then.
Thanks,
John
