Date:         Sun, 30 Dec 2007 05:28:13 +0000
Reply-To:     Vdub Guy <fonman4277@COMCAST.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Vdub Guy <fonman4277@COMCAST.NET>
Subject:      In  My Defense

Ok, I started a bit of a rift here today, for that I apologize. However, had I not pulled the distributor 2 weeks prior to pulling the fuel injectors for cleaning, this whole thing would not have happened. Yes, a couple of folks had mentioned checking for spark. I did develop tunnel vision here, and kept focusing on the fuel injectors, then the possibility the fuel pump may have been bad, then the possibility that I had fried not one, but 2 ecu's. This morning, after it seemed I had exhausted all other ideas, I did finally check for spark-there was none, which led me to pop the distributor cap off and I found I could turn the rotor 360, and I let out a combination of 4 letter words you wouldn't believe. I'm not new to working on cars, been doing it for 35 years. This is the 3rd non running VW I have purchased and put back on the road. The last one was a '74 Westfalia that I purchased for $1,000.00. It had been sitting for 4 years. It had the nightmarish dual carbs that I rebuilt. I
 completely re-did this Westy from bumper to bumper all by myself including paint for around $1,200.00 for a total investment of $2,200.00. I sold it back in June for $6,100.00, it looked that good. My current Vanagon I bought just over a year ago with a seized motor. I replaced the 1.9 with the current 2.1 following Jim Thompsons write up. Yes, I had to email Jim a few times with questions, and he was very helpful. I am by no means a professional mechanic, this is just my hobby. The only time in 35 years I've taken a car to a repair shop is for air conditioning-I won't mess with it. The worst job I've ever done on any of my vehicles was replace the heater core on a Chevy van-I hear the Vanagon heater core is a bear, trust me, it can't be as bad as a Chevy Van-whole dash had to come out, dropping the steering column, etc. The actual heater core replacement only took about 40 minutes, but a full day to get to it and another full day to put everything back. Anyway, I did screw up big
 time this week, and I sincerely thank those who offered help and support.     Jeff