Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2005 14:32:10 -0700
Reply-To: walter bahm <wbahm@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: walter bahm <wbahm@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Used Vanagon -second head gasket in 2 yrs.
In-Reply-To: <4.3.1.20051013122106.00c8ebf8@fire.biol.wwu.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Greetings,
Having followed the discussions in the background over many years, I have to seek your helpful advice. In the spirit of Don Williams i too have lived the ups and downs of our '86 Vanagon GL with 170K+miles. Our four little kids cannot think of anything more fun than climbing through the back of the van, or pulling out the rear bench to play and sleep.
i've replaced the muffler, hammered out the rear bumper yet again, replaced the CV-joints (thanks BenT), replaced the outside mirror (thanks list), replaced the ignition switch..the reverse switch...the fan switch..ignition wires, etc. The thing that now has me stumped is the head gasket. Two and one-half years ago we had a local shop in Berkeley replace the head gasket and followed the mechanic's advice and had new intake heads and more installed. Less than 40k miles later we again have a head gasket leak; again the passenger side. The local shop is not inclined to be of much help in doing the work again, which leaves me to wonder:
1. is it wise to try to get the head gasket replaced again ?
2. who in the S.F.Bay area is recommended ?
3. at $4k+ a conversion does not fit the budget, but maybe another engine ?; or
4. sell the van to CARB for the $650 and buy a minivan ?
Are there any enterprising mechanics that want to take a stab at this problem ? My knowledge is too limited to dare tear apart the engine within the limited off-street paking available to me.
Your comments are appreciated.
Don Williams <williams@FIRE.BIOL.WWU.EDU> wrote:
Having received criticism with respect to the discussion, I might as well
add insult to injury. A person who shells out that kind of money for a
used vehicle usually doesn't intend to experience the learning curve that
is associated with Vanagon ownership. When you buy a vehicle that is
mechanicallly perfect, what do you do with it? You look at it and you show
it off and you have your ego massaged that you are the owner of a beautiful
vehicle. Your friends kiss your a++. It may bring pleasure and it may
bring adulation, but it has always been my contention that the genius
behind VW is the simplicity of the product mechanically and the implicit
encouragement to " roll up your sleeves and dig in to that irritating
little problem that you have. Solving little problems lead to the solving
of big problems and before you know it you have the whole
disgusting engine disassembled on your kitchen floor. You learn what
makes an engine tick and how it works, and maybe even a little behind the
history of internal combustion. Before you know it you are into auto
exhaust pollution, sedentary behavior attributable to the automobile and
the disaster of obesity. People who don't have that experience exist in
a kind of state of arrested development, owning a vehicle that begs to be
worked on and yet unwilling to dive in because they are afraid to that they
will mess up a perfect vehicle. These people generally wear
suits. Different strokes for folks, but I never liked people who had show
cars and didn't work on them themselves. I had a friend from the town i
grew up in who had every year of Ford and Chevy from 1959 to 1970. I hated
the guy-----partially for his wealth (I'm forced to admit) but mostly
because he didn't know a f***ing thing about those vehicles
mechanically. He could identify the year by looking at the tail lights,
but if you held up a tranny or an engine and asked him about the year, you
were SOL. He wore suits. There are differences in the levels at which
people live their lives, and I suppose they should all be celebrated and
respected, but I myself like weirdness in a person and the integrity to fix
something that you have broken, and not to go crying to a mechanic. That
quality is expressly not there in a person who shells out $31,000 for a
Vanagon. My wife recently prepared a newsletter for her mother, who is
soon to celebrate her 93rd birthday. She tried to think of a few key words
about all the relatives. For me: " Don loves his vanagon. When there is
nothing wrong he beats on it with a hammer to break something so that he
can fix it. There is a refrigerator in the van that runs on lp, battery
and 110. By last count he has had it in and out 10 times." She thought
it was kind of insulting to me, but actually, I was kind of flattered.
Don
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Music Unlimited - Access over 1 million songs. Try it free.
| 
