Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2007 12:24:53 -0500
Reply-To: Mike Collum <collum@VERIZON.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Mike Collum <collum@VERIZON.NET>
Subject: Re: Death Valley
In-Reply-To: <45B78F55.2070603@gmail.com>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
FWIW,
Right after I picked up my '85 westy (280 miles later) the big head
gaskets blew. I was over a thousand miles from home. I replaced the
gaskets, among other things, wheels down over a dirt surface. I had to
dig shallow trenches below each head for room to swing the torque
wrench. I called Vanagain for the needed parts and Ken shipped them
right away. That was over 30,000 miles ago and it's running fine.
Mike C.
'84 GL 7 pass
'85 GL Westy
Michael Elliott wrote:
> Yeah but that's near your house and presumably within easy walking and
> driving distance of tools and parts.
>
> Setting aside the ATV jack that we'd all be wishing we'd packed before
> we headed out into the desert, I reckon that a fellow would need to be
> packing a pretty extensive list of tools -- and probably plenty of good
> beer for afterwards -- to pull off a WBX swap on the roadside out in the
> middle of nowhere. I don't want to start a "here's my tool list" thread
> because that's been done a gazillion times, but is there such a list
> published online? Coolant . . . and how about cleaning up spills so as
> not to leave a mess behind?
>
> --
> Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
> 71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
> 84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
> 74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San Juan Capistrano
> KG6RCR
>
>
>
>
> Jeff Stewart typed:
>> <But if you
>> could do that with a WBX engine, my hat is off to you. Your skillset,
>> the collection of tools you pack, and your confidence far exceed mine>
>>
>>
>> I just did an R&R on a WBX engine in my '84 not too long ago, and on the
>> gravel portion of my driveway, so similiar to being on the side of the
>> road. Luckily, though, with the late arrival of winter here in the
>> mid-Atlantic area (Virginia, anyway) it wasn't too bad. I keep hearing
>> how
>> much worse it is to R&R a WBX over an aircooled (72-79), but having done
>> both, I really don't think the WBX is THAT much more difficult. The one
>> thing I would miss roadside is the ATV jack I bought (and should have
>> bought years ago) to do the WBX swap-it makes it so much easier than
>> trying
>> to balance the engine on a standard floor jack, but it's just too big to
>> take along on a road trip! Jeff
>>
>> Jeff Stewart
>> fonman4277@earthlink.net
>> http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/vwcampersmidatlantic/
>>
>>
>
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