Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2007 16:51:54 -0800
Reply-To: Jake de Villiers <crescentbeachguitar@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jake de Villiers <crescentbeachguitar@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: WARNING(virus check bypassed): Re: Re: Death Valley
In-Reply-To: <010c01c73ff9$bc90c7c0$657ba8c0@MAIN>
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I'll enthusiastically second that motion Robert.
A WBX on the cradle and carrying the entire exhaust is a piece of cake to
install compared to almost anything else.
Its the closest thing to plug & play.
Bolt it in, connect the fuel line, wire it up and bleed the cooling system;
sure beats pulling the head and dropping the pan on my '57 Chevy pickup to
re & re the rod bearings.
As long as you've got some dry, level ground its not that bad.
Its probably better to do your maintenance on a preventive basis, though.
:)
Seeya, Jake
On 1/24/07, Robert Fisher <refisher@mchsi.com> wrote:
>
> Well I believe the original scenario was the choice between replacing a
> ventilated piston on top of Mount Crumpet or paying a $2K bill to get
> towed
> down from there. I can't see paying $2K (even if I have it) for a two-hour
> tow so that leaves me to consider my other options.
>
> I've 'replaced' the pistons in my WBX (rehabbed them anyway, had to take
> them off, re-ring them and put them back on) and in the process I pulled
> and
> replaced the engine. Given the two jobs I'd pick the engine R&R every time
> pretty much regardless of the circumstances. I know that some of you have
> done the piston work with the engine in the van and even do that routinely
> but I think I'd only do it that way if I absolutely had no other choice.
> To
> my memory pulling and replacing the engine was pretty simple and
> straightforward and didn't take very long, and the piston work was pretty
> much the opposite. BTW, I have an automatic, if it matters.
>
> As for the tools to do the engine R&R, I take my tool box with me on long
> trips, and I don't recall needing anything for the job that I didn't have
> in
> the box. On the other hand, I had to create a doohickey to get those
> pistons
> off and on and I don't even know where that is at the moment. I could
> re-create it easily enough in a hardware store, but I certainly don't
> carry
> it around.
>
> Obviously you'd need to get the van off the ground and keep it there, but
> I
> always carry bottle jacks and I have often taken a small floor jack on
> trips. Basically I think the biggest practical issues assuming you
> actually
> got ahold of another engine would be getting the van up in the air and
> dealing with the coolant. When I go camping, anyway, I take firewood and
> lots and lots of water as well as at least one bucket and a dishpan, so I
> think I could finagle that part of it and if I actually had gotten into a
> town to rent a truck and find and buy an engine hopefully I would've had
> the
> foresight to get some ramps (among other thing) while I was there.
>
> Having said that I think it's pretty clear that if you could get to a town
> and get a rental truck you'd rent the truck and a dolly and pull the van
> out
> yourself before you'd do any of the rest of it; then you could find a
> storage place or something to do your work, or find a mechanic and a motel
> room.
>
> So basically I don't know that the skills, or the tools (outside of the
> jacks and such) would be beyond what many folks on here have already
> indicated they have and carry. I don't know what to tell you about the
> confidence. I can count on one hand the number of times I've paid a
> mechanic
> to do anything outside of smog checks and tire work. I don't think I'd
> feel
> the same about doing an engine swap out of just about any other vehicle in
> that situation but of the ones I have done the Vanagon was so easy,
> comparatively, that I was amazed.
>
> So give these choices: A $2K tow (and all the rest of the expense that
> would
> follow), rehabbing a piston in a camping spot, or swapping a WBX in that
> camping spot (assuming the availability of a working used engine, a rental
> truck or the equivalent, etc.) I'd go for the swap. I think it'd be easier
> and take less time than rehabbing the piston and it'd probably be cheaper
> by
> half than the tow.
>
> Cya,
> Robert
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Michael Elliott" <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2007 7:50 AM
> Subject: Re: Death Valley
>
>
> > Robert Fisher typed:
> >
> > <snip>
> >> In all seriousness I wonder if wouldn't be simpler to take
> >> an engine to the van and swap 'em out. Get a ride to one place or the
> >> other,
> >> rent a truck, buy an engine and go back. It'd be cheaper.
> > Robert, if I am reading this correctly, that you would drive an engine
> > out to your Vanagon which is sitting on some dirt road in the middle of
> > nowhere and swap in a replacement engine, then I am mightily impressed.
> > If it was an aircooled engine, then I reckon it might be possible for
> > even me to do it -- barely -- if I was lucky enough to have all the
> > needed tools at hand and had a helper (at least for my '71 -- the engine
> > never goes in easily because of that stupid mustache bar) . 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.
> >
> > --
> > 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
>
--
Jake
1984 Vanagon GL
1986 Westy Weekender "Dixie"
www.crescentbeachguitar.com
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