Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:09:34 -0400
Reply-To: "Jack R." <jack007@COMCAST.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "Jack R." <jack007@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: The Value Of a Mechanic That Knows the Vanagon
In-Reply-To: <86476e250810101330h66ea1218pcb227b1c708ea0ee@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
We had a similar experience last year at the Bus boo in Grand Rapids MI. In
once case the owner had taken her van to a local expert, shelled out big
$'s, just so it would be road worthy. Well, she limped to the event,
needing to keep the RPM's above 2000 or it would stall, and based on her
description, we felt it was a vacuum leak. I located the cracked hose, cut
it back with my pocket knife, and the van lived again. The other van had a
similar issue, and another experienced owner/mechanic resolved that issue,
using a piece of garden hose, as when he removed the breather hose it
crumbled in his hand. These OLD hoses crack at the ends, and leak, causing
all sorts of issues. They are so easy to replace, and should be a first
thing to check or do if you are having issues. It is hard to see the cracks
due to the covering, so careful inspection is good PM.
The lesson to this is... ALWAYS go to Vanagon events!!! You will surely
find some experienced folks willing to lend a hand. And, when successful,
it sure feels good to help them out. It's also fun to give advise... always
FREE!
Jack R.
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Loren Busch
Sent: Friday, October 10, 2008 4:31 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: The Value Of a Mechanic That Knows the Vanagon
At a WetWesties gathering last weekend there were two vehicles that were
having some problems. One was expecting to replace a throttle cable, maybe
even on the trip home. The other Vanagon would start and run for a couple
of minutes but was having great problems keeping running after that. The
owners had an appointment to have the AFM replaced to try to cure the
problem. But we had in out group the Wizzard of Walla Walla, a top VW
(actually any European vehicle) mechanic. And he took a look at both. The
throttle cable problem was cured by repositioning a spring to the right
anchor point. And the hard running problem was a cracked crankcase breather
tower, temp fix with duct tape.
Both problems had been looked at by good, experienced mechanics, one by the
owner and one by mechanics at a shop with a very good reputation. But the
experience and understanding and familiararity with the vehicle found, in
very short order, the true problem.
So, if you are like me and depend on someone else to troubleshoot and
maintain your engine compartment AND you have a REALLY good mechanic treat
him (or her) very, very well.
BTW you have noticed that I didn't give the name of the Wizzard of Walla
Walla. That's because I don't know whether he wants to be deluged with
requests for work or not.
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