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Date:         Wed, 9 Jan 2008 22:56:40 -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: Upper Control Arm Bushing Replacment?
Comments: To: pdooley <psdooley@VERIZON.NET>
In-Reply-To:  <0JUE000B5Y2LQ050@vms044.mailsrvcs.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Well yes, I was getting a bit adamant about bogus information particularly where safety is concerned. Would it not bother you if some person on here reads that you don't need to tack weld the bushings and they drive their family and children around in their vanagon and something happens ? Sorry, I will have to speak up when I see bogus information, particularily where safety is concerned.

True, one would likely get some warning. And..........you'd be surprised how often people can't even detect the most obvious signs ! I'm not joking either. I can cite plenty of cases where they had to be YEARS of warning before something finally broke completely, and they were oblivious the whole time.

AND...sorry to get excited here............it is not JUST THEM that they might be endangering. If they only drove on their own private property I could say 'do whatever you want with your suspension, brakes etc' ..........but they'll drive on public roads, the ones you drive on. It's not important to you that OTHER vehicles on the road are repaired correctly in critical systems like brakes and steering ? I could say 'this is a very 'me' culture' .........that many Americans think they can do whatever the hell they want. Burn gas 10 mpg if they can afford it. Don't' tack weld their upper control arm bushings, like their actions don't affect others. Now that the planet is so crowded, our actions affect others very much. Perhaps this culture will slowly catch on to that. There are actually people who think it's fine to kill other people if that's what it takes to keep gas in our cars. Frightening. Last line - I'm very concerned about the republican candidates - especially McCain - they don't get that our over consumptive lifestyle as great cost and impact on the rest of the world ( notice how much the Bush administration drags their feet about reducing green house gases for example.........they are in denial about it ) ..............it's our children that will get blown up in wars if this culture continues on this greedy path, So yes I do care very much about what other people drive where it affects others.

You ought to see how bad it is in Port Townsend Wa. Cars only have to rattle across town for about 3 miles at 30 mph there. The nearest freeway is an hour away, and by Western US standards that's not even a real freeway, so people don't get to drive their cars fast where it might matter. ...........and get this ...................there are ZERO SMOG CHECKS or VEHICLE SAFETY CHECKS ON THE OLYMPIC PENINSUA. Zero, none. People have no idea how bad their cars are, no idea at all. And they even think you're trying to rip them off if you tell them about majorly shot steering parts. There was a 17 year old kid there driving a Mazda RX-7.............the headlights did not work. His parents only let him drive it in the day. If you applied the brakes about 40 %, the right rear locked up instantly due to incorrect home brake shoe work. You know about 'idler arm' play, right ? ( vanagons don't have idler arms ) .......2 inches play at the right front wheel is consider 'oh my god shot to hell'.........this Mazda RX-7 had 11 inches of play there, fully 80 Degrees slop in steering on the right front wheel ! it had to be shot for the previous 9 years, it was that bad. When I told the people about it they didn't really believe. me. The father was defensive because it was about his manly technical abilities or lack thereof. . Fortunately I reached the mother, and she was smart enough to be grateful that someone cared and was honest. That's how stupid people can be about suspension, so nice idea - that there would be some warning, but it's not like people really notice stuff like that or pay attention or are educated about it. It's a joke really. And their ignorance could kill you actually. We are not alone. Scott

-----Original Message----- From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of pdooley Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2008 9:33 PM To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM Subject: Re: Upper Control Arm Bushing Replacment?

Hey, lighten up there Scotty. If somebody gets killed with "information" from here, it's their own damn fault. The user of said information is responsible for injecting a fair amount of common sense into any opinion they get from this list or anywhere else.

Besides, I really think the front end is gonna give you some warning sign- (pull, play in steering wheel, clunk, squeak, rattle, etc.), before the wheels fall off.

-----Original Message----- From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Scott Daniel - Shazam Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 12:14 AM To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM Subject: Re: Upper Control Arm Bushing Replacment?

Thanks for saying this Jake. It bothered me too that someone would just dismiss the need for the tack welds with ' It's not going anywhere.' .........kinda wishful thinking. Obviously there's a reason it's done that way, and it is a critical item. < people think brakes are the most critical system on cars. They're not, the *steering* is and you sure don't want anything coming out of place in that system >

and your point about keeping the bearing surface be what it is supposed to be is right on. I mean, somebody could get killed with 'information' carelessly posted on the internet. If the guy didn't weld his say, and drove 70K miles with no problems, then he should say That, not just dismiss a critical item with those words 'it's not going anywhere.' I'm amazed how people justify taking shortcuts so easily.


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