well, if one's intention is to replace every possible part that can present a problem ever, and one is doing the oil cooler o-ring, then one might as well replace the oil cooler itself as well.

There was a case of a syncro owner on this list a couple of years ago, who wanted to 'do everything' until there was nothing else remaining that's could possibly fail, in the whole van. I would say that's not possible almost. If you replace 300 parts in a vanagon ...... there still will be 50 that could have a problem somehow. Where do you draw the line ? are the brake metal lines all new ? are ALL the suspension bushings, including in the rear, new ? Is the rear end aligned ? what about window rubber seals and rust under them ? Are those all perfect ? I could keep on writing things like this for two pages.

I think you do what you can do, you keep an eye on things .... That's what you do with an aircraft, or a race car. You inspect frequently ......you are often upgrading systems anyway, during which you notice other things that need attention or are old. And besides...........some things go downhill just by being worked on when they didn't really need to be worked on - either quality of the parts are not the same, or workmanship is weak. There is a lot to for 'leave well enough alone' - sometimes.

are the seat belt latches lubed ? There are hundreds of things on vanagons that no one ever lubricates. Is there rust behind the license plates that should be treated ? ......etc. It can go on forever. The fuel tank- is it original ? How about the brake proportioning valve ? There must be a frayed seat belt, or retractor that's reluctant to retract. My point is, .........it's hardly practical to try to do EVERYTHING ........and you can loose ground trying to do that anyway.

I think a reasonable goal is to do what is obvious. Do what you know is important to stay on top of. Then enjoy the van.

And I would say there is a LOT to be gained with upgraded wheels/tires/brakes/suspension. That's where I'd put money- carefully. and for that matter ..........a nice engine conversion to a better engine. Or even an upgraded waterboxer if one insists on staying with the stock-type engine.

anyway ........point is to have fun with your van and just enjoy it. If replacing at many parts as possible is 'fun' .........then we're having a great time here aren't we !! I thought maybe clutch hydraulics havn't been done yet, on that long list. Brake booster - don't think that's been changed. I would suspect, that that's one of those parts that degrade very slightly in performance over the years, and you never notice much difference........bit if you had a new one, you would. Head light relays, those are always better to have. Even a dedicated starter button and circuit, so as to not depend on that underbuilt electrical part of the igntion switch- the possibilities are endless. Better headlights ? etc. etc. ! Scott www.turbovans.com

----- Original Message ----- From: "Jeff Lincoln" <magikvw@GMAIL.COM> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> Sent: Tuesday, September 08, 2009 6:49 AM Subject: Re: go over for '91 camper, mechanical soundness and reliability

> Dave, > > That's quite a list It looks to me like you have hit a lot, if not most, > of > the important stuff. > > My only suggestion is to change the oil cooler O-ring sooner than later. > When mine went there was A LOT of oil loss. It's kind of a PITA job to do > yourself but it isn't impossible by any measure - hardest thing for me was > that there isn't a lot of room to work with and it was a bit difficult to > get all the hoses hooked back up and clamped. > > Sounds like you've got a real nice bus. > > -- > Thanks, > > Jeff > '90 Carat (Grover) > '86 (We call this one Parts) > '78 Bus (Melissa) Patty's Bus