Date: Sun, 7 Jun 2009 13:30:02 -0700
Reply-To: Jake de Villiers <crescentbeachguitar@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jake de Villiers <crescentbeachguitar@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Found my Syncro project.
In-Reply-To: <48bd05410906071242m75c295e3j7b76c2c52668bd10@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Hey Brendan, sounds like you lucked into a nice one! Congrats.
On Sun, Jun 7, 2009 at 12:42 PM, Brendan Slevin <totorovan@gmail.com> wrote:
> Well now it just so happens that a 7 passenger syncro popped up on CL for
> $500. The guy hadn't driven it all winter and finally charged the battery
> to
> drive it. It started giving him trouble like it wasn't charging, said he
> jumped it and it ran again so he drove it to the shop he likes to have it
> looked at. On the way it started running poorly and died. He had it towed
> to
> the shop where the tech began to diagnose it. Meanwhile, fed up with
> putting
> money into it for the last 12 years of being the second owner (lots o'
> reciepts in the glove box) he posted it on CL. I called and went to look at
> it at the shop.
>
> It is an 87 with 164k on it. It was purchased 12/87 in Vermont but,
> thankfully, moved away from the salt to Bend sometime in 88. The first
> owner
> kept it here in Bend until 96 an sold it to the second owner who moved to
> Chicago until 2000 when he moved back to Bend. In that time it definitely
> got some rust underneath, but nothing too cancerous. The two receipts that
> caught my eye ar both from September 2006, $1400 for a clutch job and some
> other minor bits and $300 for tires, not great tires, but new nonetheless.
> That was at 160k. the odo and speedo seem to function just fine, and he did
> say he hadn't driven it much in the last few years.
>
> After filling out the paperwork with him and parting with five crisp,
> hard-earned Benjamins, he left and I set to work. Checked oil and coolant.
> I
> brought my old working alternator and Totoro's battery. First I saw the
> battery in it was sitting disconnected at 12.4V so I hooked up the ground
> and turned the engine over. It started right up and idled well (better that
> Totoro and quieter), and the battery jumped to 13.8V. So it's charging and
> the battery seems fine. I let it idle a bit then revved it up a bit. It
> started running worse and worse and the oil light came on. Shut it off and
> started again. Idles fine, no oil light, then started to run bad again.
> Disconnect the O2 Sensor. Starts, idles great, revs good. Idles fine. Oil
> light again.
>
> The oil pressure light is supposed to come on under low pressure conditions
> over 2000 rpm. That is where it would come on each time. I added some thick
> like honey oil additive and carefully and gently drove it the 3 miles home
> trying to keep it under 2000 rpm.
>
> The coolant light started flashing about halfway home with the needle
> having
> barely moved off the bottom of the gauge. I stopped and checked the
> coolant,
> everything seemed ok, for good measure I topped off both the expansion tank
> that was a bit low and the pressurized tank that was also a bit low. Drove
> the next mile home without incident.
>
> I didn't see any receipts for a new engine or rebuild, so at 164K, the
> chances that this engine is due some rebuild love are very high. Definitely
> a project, but I have the free 2.1 with 30k sitting there ready to seal
> back
> up. It is now going in the Syncro instead of Totoro. Otherwise it drives,
> shifts, sounds way better than Totoro.
>
> Oh, and it has a rear locker. [image: Happy] Woot woot!
>
--
Jake
1984 Vanagon GL
1986 Westy Weekender "Dixie"
Crescent Beach, BC
www.thebassspa.com
www.crescentbeachguitar.com
http://subyjake.googlepages.com/mydixiedarlin%27
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