Date: Wed, 2 Sep 2009 13:20:23 -0700
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: Vanagons and part
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I would also say that generally, vanagons are pretty fixable.
I do think fuel injection and 'engine running right' can get rather tricky
at times, for shops and owners.
But never impossible - just challenging.
I find I might have to test or check 30 separate things sometimes on a fuel
injection or running problem. Or more.
mechanically - as cars and vans go, vanagons are about as sweet to work on
as you can get. I can think of one, possibly two things in the whole van
that are unreasonably difficult to deal with - the very worst one, is
adjusting the clutch master cylinder push rod length, up under the dash.
That adjustment is a real bear, and I wish the engineers would be there,
and bust their knuckles dealing with it. A real PIA. Fortunately, that
adjustment almost never needs to be messed with. Changing the pedal
assembly - bit of a bother, but nothing impossible, and you almost never
have to anyway.
but the rest of it - engine , suspension, dash.........all of that is very
nice to get at.
Especially the dash and instrument cluster- vanagons are about 10 times
easier to work on in the dash and instrument area than most cars.
Syncro's have their own challenges of course, but 2WD vanagons.....
there is hardly part that isn't pretty fundamentally reliable in the first
place, and most of them are real easy to work on.
granted, removing the gas tank isn't a fun job, but on most cars, dealing
with the fuel tank is just not fun or easy anyway.
but overall..........really ............they are very nice to work on, as
cars and vans go.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Don Hanson" <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, September 02, 2009 8:23 AM
Subject: Re: Vanagons and part
> On Wed, Sep 2, 2009 at 6:21 AM, Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@cox.net> wrote:
>
>> . These ARE, despite
>> the attitudes of many on the list, really difficult vehicles, for both
>> owners and shops. One has to have an interest in them for the sake of
>> other qualities they have (and really, it isn't that they are good
>> vehicles, it's that we like certain features), in order to put up with
>> them. Dave Mc
>>
>> Dave,
> I have to differ with you on Vanagons being "really difficult vehicles"
> That is just not so. Vanagons are relatively simple straight forward
> machines. I agree that as supplied by the factory, they have some
> shortcomings, but 'difficulty' isn't one of them.
> A difficult vehicle...Almost every vehicle on the road is harder to
> wrench
> on than a VW Vanagon. Porsche Boxster? Gotta remove the motor to change
> the spark plugs! Porsche 928? over 80 relays in that one and 32 valves
> run
> by a belt that turns 4 camshafts..A Ford? If you don't have the
> multi-thousand dollar computer diagnostic tool...forget it..
>
> I agree that dealers might find it difficult to make money working on a
> vanagon. That doesn't make the vehicle itself a 'difficult' vehicle.
> They would like to be able to move in a "Unit", stick in on the
> diagnostic, have the fault sheet printed out and their Tech unplug the
> faulty "Module" and replace it with one costing a few thou...Get the Unit
> out the door and move in the next Unit...All without anyone knowing
> much..other than how to put new paper into the office printer so that the
> invoices get printed correctly and the inventory of "modules" are
> correctly
> re-ordered for the next faulty "Unit" that makes them a profit..
> When a "profitable (for the Dealers) vehicle" has a problem, we're
> expected to flat-bed it to the dealer for diagnostics or get a whole new
> vehicle..."You bought the extended warranty, right?"
> When a 'difficult' Vanagon has a problem, you pull over and dig out your
> screwdriver and crescent wrench and fix it..or find a mechanic who
> actually
> remembers what a toolbox is.
> Don Hanson
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