Date: Fri, 14 Aug 2009 20:23:02 -0600
Reply-To: craig cowan <phishman068@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: craig cowan <phishman068@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: TRIP HOME. Traveling across the country, without all your gears...
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Hey guys!Well first i'd like to say how great its been driving my Bostig
powered, Westfalia converted, 85 piece of crap bus these last 10,000 miles!
Since May I have drive from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania to Reno Nevada, spent a
great deal of time there and in the surrounding areas, and have now made it
safely back home to Pittsburgh PA. All this, driving alone in a bus i've
"literally" built over the course of the last 5 years with list members help
(I started when I was 15 years old!).
My journey home was planned to be the same as my trip out. Follow I-80 and
shoot for 500 miles a day, taking breaks every 100 miles or so to get out,
walk around, fill up with gas, or whatever else I needed to do to stay awake
(Driving alone is tiring). My first night was spent in Salt Lake City Utah
at list member Tom Buese's house. Their hospitality was exceptional once
again, and Bob Stevens showed up again to grace us with his presence and
Subaru Powered Syncro Westy. It was great seeing these guys again and all
was well other than seemingly getting bitten by a spider (Which subsequently
got pretty bad somewhere in Iowa, but has since turned towards recovery).
The following day I drove from Tom's to Sidney Nebraska to stay at Cabelas
(it's cheap). This was my 21st birthday and I was able to celebrate with a
great meal of Baked Beans, Gouda Cheese, Summer Sausage, Fresh grapes, and a
New Belgium "Fat Tire" ale (Which the gentelman at the store insisted he
could not sell me untill AFTER my birthday. After reminding him that that
made absolutely no sense, he obliged.). So, on the morning of August the
12th I awoke to head east without a destination in mind, my goal was just to
get as far as I could that day and park where I could. The following evening
was planned for Peter O's in South Bend Indiana. Well my bus was developing
a problem....
See, some of you may remember that earlier in the summer after my trip west,
i complained of trouble engaging 1st and reverse gear, as it would grind
slightly. I later found out that this was only when the transmission was
hot, from long sustained driving....as it NEVER did this while in and around
Reno for 3000 miles. Well back on the road, it was doing it again....
The problem really scared me when I pulled off for gas somewhere in Nevada
(A state I hate with a great passion) and when I started again after the
regular slight grind into 1st.....it was making a terrible whining sound
(Which it never repeated). I immediately pulled over, let the tranny cool
down for an hour, ate some lunch, and called our expert Daryl of AAA
Transaxle. He gave me a list of possible problems, possible solutions, and
some great advice, most noteably to baby the transmission starting in 2nd
when possible (Always possible with the zetec) and slow down a bit (I was
doing 85mph most of that day....). Well that got me home, but 65mph is just
boring!
As a result, I tried to limit my shifts and thus my stops. So my length
between brakes went from 100 miles (or close to it) to 250 miles! As a
result, I was making good time and ended up within 200 or 300 miles of
Chicago by evening. My plans had changed.
There was no way I could go through Chicago without first gear and the
potential to loose second (assuming the needle bearing supporting the main
shaft had gone. Hopefully not the case). I had found out on the way out that
Chicago area of I80 is packed even in the middle of the day, so that left me
one sane time to try to tackle it..... the middle of the night.
So, I pressed on past where I had planned to stop for the night and made it
to an area 100 miles outside of Chicago where I chose to pull off and grab a
few hours of sleep. I found a busy Hotel and just slipped in amongst the
cars for 3-4 hours of sleep. I awoke somewhat refreshed at about 3am and
tackled chicago by 5am. With that out of the way, I was much too close to
home to warrant a stop at Peter's, so I just pressed on! I ended up making
it all the way home by 3pm on the 13th of August.
I had driven from Sidney Nebraska to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, alone, in a
1985 Vanagon pretty much non stop in just over 35 hours!
Home, Transmission Problems:
Well I found that 1st and Reverse were still there. I did grind into second
once after a really hot stretch, making the transmission Guru's advice about
possibly loosing the main shaft seem like a reality, but I've sense began to
reconsider. It makes no noise, and works just fine when it's cold, which
points to either a clutch problem (as if it's not dissengaging the
transmission fully), a Pilot bearing problem, a fluid problem, or a linkage
problem. The linkage I know to be less than perfectly adjusted, but this
does not account for the randomness of the problem and the relationship to
heat. The clutch, possibly? I'll have to bleed it and see if there's air.
The Pilot bearing, possibly? I will save this for last, as I have very
little interest in removing the transmission if it can be avoided. The
fluid...
I drained the fluid yesterday (after getting home from a REDICULOUS day of
driving) and found it wasn't "terrible". It was dark, as I expected it to
be, but it was like looking at used motor oil, if you don't see metal in
suspension, the color is fine. There was no metal in suspension but there
was some stuck to the drain plug. Not a TON, it wasn't looking like a
magnetic toy with hair growing from it, but it had some. It didn't contain
needles or large chunks of bearings, so I don't think it's much indication
of anything other than wear from grinding. I put new fluid in using the
valvoline Synthetic that I had available to me and figured "well if $25 in
fluid fixes it.... that would be nice". So far around town it shifts MUCH
nicer. I have had no trouble with engaging any gear and while I haven't
gotten the transmission very hot yet, it seems to be improved. It's possible
my fluid was just low. I'm going to measure out what I drained out
tommorrow.
In the next few days, I'll be throwing some highway miles on it and testing
again and again (After bleading the clutch). I am hoping I don't need a new
transmission at this point, it's not exactly in the cards right now....
Well the final report:
I drove 10,000 miles this summer, living out of a VW bus of my own build for
3 months. It's been a blast.
I have stories and pictures from far away. I've met some incredible people,
pursued some great dreams, and just lived and loved life. I thank you all
once again for the parts you've played!
Sincerely,
Craig Cowan
'85GL turned WESTY
BOSTIG in the back
Slept in a bed for the first time in 3 months yesterday!
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