Date:         Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:12:11 -0400
Reply-To:     Allan Streib <streib@CS.INDIANA.EDU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Allan Streib <streib@CS.INDIANA.EDU>
Subject:      successful 2000 mile road trip
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Just returned from a 2000 mile round trip to Florida over the past
week.  The WBX performed flawlessly, for the most part.  I was a bit
nervous taking it because I have not really done anything more than
running around town with it so I really did not feel I "knew" the van
very well, but we really wanted the space of the Vanagon for this long
drive with the family.

On the interstates, I ran it mostly at the top of the green zone
(4,000 RPM) for hours on end.  This equates to just about 70 MPH on my
speedo, and it just hummed right along.

Did have a few issues -- first of all, the engine seemed to use a fair
amount of oil, I'd typically have to add half a quart or so every
other fuel stop, so probably a ~2 quarts for the whole trip.  I was
using Mobil 1 15W50.  I checked the level at every fuel stop and tried
to never fill it to more than about halfway between the "add" and the
"full" marks.  I never noticed any smoking.  Not sure what "normal"
oil usage is on a WBX, and I don't have enough history with this
vehicle to know whether this is specifically related to the extended
operation at higher RPMs.

Second issue, this happened only once, after a long period on the
highway we pulled off to get some food, and had to sit at a couple of
stoplights right off the exit ramp.  The coolant temperature rose
until the warning lamp started blinking but came down again promptly
once we started moving.  I never heard the radiator fan come on.

Third, had a moment of panic when, 1000 miles from home, the gearshift
lever broke off in a parking lot as I was attempting to put the car
into reverse.  You may recall that I had previously discovered that
this shifter had been broken and welded; the weld was so large that it
prevented the spring from seating properly so I ground it back down to
the original diameter of the shaft.  Well evidently that weld was all
on the surface and grinding it away took most of the strength of the
repair.

I had packed a toolbox for the trip, and drove using a pair of
vice-grips clamped onto the stub of the shifter rod, not fun I can
tell you but I was able to get to a nearby hardware store.  There, I
determined that a 3/8" diameter threaded rod looked like it would just
fit the inside diameter of the shifter, so I bought a tap and cut
threads about an inch into each side of the broken shifter rod.  The
store cut off about a 1 7/8" piece of the threaded rod, which I
threaded into the stub end, and then threaded the top end of the
shifter down onto that.  It worked quite well; I could never really
get the two broken halves tight together so there was some slop in the
shifter but it was vastly better than the vice grips and got us home
just fine.

Allan
--
1991 Vanagon GL