Since its no longer legal for tire stores to plug tires, I doubt its too smart to do your own that way except in extreme emergencies.

On Sun, Aug 24, 2008 at 1:27 PM, Roger Whittaker <rogerwhitt1@gmail.com>wrote:

> dear alll with tires > carry a small compressor and a radial tire plug kit > as well as a pair of strong needle nose pliers to remove object - > most tire repairs can be done on a tubeless radial right on the spot > small compressor to pump up and back on the road again > yours > > On Sat, Aug 23, 2008 at 4:28 PM, Michael Diehr <md03@xochi.com> wrote: > > > Update for the archives -- > > > > Overall it was a nice trip -- san diego up 395 to oregon to visit > > relatives, then back again, staying at lots of nice sierra campsites. > > About 2000 miles. > > > > The good: > > > > * none of the things I fixed before the trip broke! > > * having the AAA with premium tow package was reassuring > > * the relaxed driving schedule was nice (but needed, sadly) > > > > The bad (but lucky) > > > > * on day 2, the fuel pump started making a constant buzzing noise when > > the air temperature was over 90 degrees. in hindsight I realize it's > > always made this noise ever since I bought the van, but would only do > > so very rarely, so I never diagnosed it. Decided to play it safe and > > stop until we'd dealt with it -- major hassle with this one was trying > > to find a new part on the road, in small towns, in ultra hot weather > > -- finally found a FLAPS replacement part which I bought but didn't > > install. The old fuel pump made it home just fine, so now I'll get > > a proper Bosch replacement. > > > > * on day 6, one front tire separated internally, and took us a few > > hundred miles to diagnose. If you've never had a separated tire > > before, it's pretty strange -- the tire looks fine externally, and > > drives fine at speed, but around 5-10mph it introduces a horrible > > wobble. It can wax & wane as the tire heat & cools -- making > > diagnosis tricky. It finally got bad enough that we could see the > > tire was out of round. Les Schwab had some LT tires in stock, so we > > decided to just replace all 4 (on the theory that the tires on the van > > were 10+ years old, even if they had tread left). > > > > The bizarre: > > > > * about 100 miles after buying the new tires, we ran over a nail and > > got a flat. Luckily found a tire shop that patched it and we were on > > the road again in 15 minutes. > > > > Lessons: > > > > In hindsight, perhaps I should have payed more attention to missed > > cues, and done more preventive maintenance -- driving with 10+ year > > old tires in ultra hot weather was asking for trouble... > > > > -mike > > > > > > > > > > On Jul 22, 2008, at 8:51 AM, Michael Diehr wrote: > > > > My travel partner is, to put it mildly, skeptical of our vanagon's > >> ability to make a planned 1500 mile road trip this summer. This is > >> not without cause : in the 6 prior trips, three were problematic: > >> once the engine blew up, once it overheated in rather extreme heat > >> and we had to pull over for an hour, and once the alternator died > >> (**) and we couldn't run A/C and lights at the same time. That > >> time I had a friend bring a new alternator and replaced it at the > >> campground. I thought this was kinda fun but I guess definitions > >> of "fun" differ? :-) Other 3 trips it was fine. > >> > >> Negotiations with said partner have focused on strategies for > >> increasing chances of next trip to be a winner, and reducing anxiety. > >> > >> Ideas included: > >> * getting known issues fixed ahead of time by an actual mechanic > >> * not driving up southern california mountain passes I-5 or I-15 in > >> traffic + 110 degree heat > >> * a relaxed driving schedule so we feel no need to press on in > >> adverse conditions > >> * getting AAA plus (100 mile) or premium (200 mile) tow package > >> * having a list of vanagon friendly mechanics along the route > >> > >> The van has a new engine (about 10k miles), ecu, afm, battery, > >> starter, alternator**, alternator wiring, fuel hose, injectors > >> (professionally cleaned), and radiator. (**) the alternator was > >> probably fine, it was the bad wiring. > >> > >> Known issues : minor exhaust leak, automatic transmission leaks a > >> bit but works fine. The transmission is my only major worry, as > >> it's more or less the only major trip-ending failure I can imagine. > >> > >> Any recommendations? This is as much an emotional as technical > >> issue, methinks. > >> > >> > > > -- > roger w > There are two kinds of jobs in the world: > Picking up garbage and telling people things. > Successful people do both, with the same good attitude. (riw) > ---------------------------------------------------------- > Explore printed work at: http://www.prliving.ca/ > View the growing list of video work at: > http://revver.com/find/video/?query=LastonLastof&search_on=owners > and ... older work at > http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7135104650374818257 > http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3259745150182742364 >

-- Jake 1984 Vanagon GL 1986 Westy Weekender "Dixie" Crescent Beach, BC www.crescentbeachguitar.com http://subyjake.googlepages.com/mydixiedarlin%27