Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2007 16:50:54 -0800
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Shazam <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Shazam <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: Power Window Issue when Cold
In-Reply-To: <C3733A48.33F2%cichowski@montana.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Funny about your horn experience. I've had vw's since the early 70's and
never have seen 'hot weather spontaneous horn blowing.'
On the windows....
Things need lubing and servicing.
I spray window tracks with silicone spray, lots of it.
I try to get wd-40 or synthetic spray lube into all the mechanisms. I truly
believe you could submerge the door ( after removing the door panel ) in
wd-40 and it would be very, very good for it.
For cold weather I spray all the door seals with silicone too. - then they
don't freeze to the door frame.
I got some at an RV place which was expensive, but they claim it's extra
good.
Also, marine grade silicone spray too - good stuff.
A huge portion of all the fixing I do is just treating, cleaning, adjusting.
Like up to 50 - 70 % , very little parts replacing actually. And actually,
'new parts' are not always automatically better than good careful
workmanship, or the original german parts still in there. I must have a
hundred kinds of 'spooge'.
Typical case : 90 SVX syncro westy - dead passenger's power window.
Thousands of dollars invested already in that van, so not wanting another
several hundred dollar repair just then. Simple disassembly, and getting
the motor unstuck, and treating it with wd-40 ...........worked just fine
after that. I doubt it'll work another 3 years or whatever, but for the
cost/benefit ratio at the time, just getting it working again was the right
thing to do. Lubing all the tracks and mechanisms helped a lot too on that
particular power window situation. The load on the motor builds up over
time because no one ever lubes window tracks and mechanisms, near as I can
tell anyway, based on the vanagons I see and work on. So don't let 'lack
of money for a new part' keep you from fixing something. Inspection,
lubrication, adjusting, etc. can go a long way quite often. And ! funniest
thing - lubricating and serving most parts and mechanisms keeps them from
wearing out in the first place !!
Scott
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Ben Cichowski
Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 2:31 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Power Window Issue when Cold
Hi Jeff,
I'm certainly not sure how common it is, I only have one van and limited
experience, but it happens to me for sure on my 88 Wolfsburg Weekender in
Montana. But only the passenger window for me.
I haven't ever looked into it, but thought it might have to do with the
contraction of the metal contacts - you remember how the metal contact
strips on horns used to heat up in the summer and touch together? Your car
horn would hit that magic temp and then just start going crazy?
Just the opposite here of course... but that's where my brain went when
this window thing happened to me.
-Ben
On 11/28/07 3:19 PM, "Jeff Lincoln" <magikvw@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> Ok so this will be my first winter driving Grover full time and I have
> discovered a power window issue this morning. When we went to go to work
> today the windows wouldn't work. They weren't frozen shut as sometimes
> happens they just wouldn't work. Once the temp warmed a little they worked
> fine. Is this common? Can I fix it somehow or do I just have to live with
> it?
>
> --
> Thanks,
>
> Jeff
> '90 Carat (Grover)
> '86 (We call this one Parts)
> '85 GL (Preparing to move to a new Home)
> '78 Bus (Melissa) Patty's Bus
>
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