Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2006 06:12:12 -0600
Reply-To: vw.bus@MAC.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Warren Lail <vw.bus@MAC.COM>
Subject: Re: Possible funky smell solution.
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed
I drove an 81 air-cooled Westy for 13 years. I had some leaky push
rod tube seals for a while and so I'm very familiar with the odor you
speak of. My solution was to replace the seals, disconnect the
heater altogether for several months (it was in the autumn) and
reconnect it later. The oil had burned away and the odor was gone.
I also tried the 12 volt heaters. I mounted two of them side by side
at precisely where the heater vents are located on the dash (below
the radio). At first I thought it would interfere with the shifter,
but it did not. What that system did was pick up the warm air from
the VW heat; it boosted the temperature and the volume. I also ran a
12 volt defroster up on the dash. That system would keep me
comfortably warm (toasty) down to about 30 degrees, and then it would
begin to feel a bit uncomfortable. I eventually used expanding foam
to seal the front leaks, but I was never fully successful there. I
added lots of polyester batting under the dash, and so on.
Finally, on a long trip to Colorado in winter, the outside
temperature stayed in the teens, and so I froze my a$$ off (it was
really my feet that stayed so cold). I finally bought some window
shrink plastic at Home Depot, affixed it to create a wall behind the
front seats (it comes with double-sided tape), heated it, and it
stretched to make a perfectly clear barrier behind the seats. Then
it was relatively easy to stay warm while driving down the road. All
of the heat was trapped in the front passenger area. The shrink
plastic lasted all winter with no tears or rips. Best thing I ever
did. However, I still got cold air leakage in the front.
Then one very cold winter day I was driving from North Carolina to
Utah. I stopped to buy gas and noticed an air-cooled Westy the same
color as mine parked out front. There was a guy sitting in the front
seat in a t-shirt. Whoa! So of course I had to inquire. They had
installed a Suburban propane RV furnace under the rear seat. It was
9 X9 X 22 inches and it kicked out 16,000 BTUs. I sat in the back
for a while and marveled at the idea of an air-cooled Westy with so
much heat! I vowed to put the same furnace system in my bus, but I
never got around to it. I got an estimate to have one installed. It
was going to run about $800 but that included a spare battery under
the driver's seat. Prices are probably higher now.
I have since thought of installing one of those systems in Billy
Bones so that even when I'm camped in winter, I can kick on the heat!
Best of luck!
Warren L.
88 Westy "Billy Bones"
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