Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2010 14:23:05 -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: Cockeyed Parking Brake Equalizer
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
reply-type=response
that's interesting about feeling claustrophic under the van.
for one thing...make sure it's on level ground !!!
I myself will feel very unsafe if it's not on level ground.
the extreme last thing you want when under a car is it rolling.
personally....if I get under a car or van that is well supported and raised
up some...
I find it comforting.
Like contemplative...looking around at what's leaking, or rusty ...or what
goofy stuff people have done or not done to it ..but 'safe from the crazy
world' even.
also ....people that work on vans at home..
I can not say it enough ...
to do *anything* on the underside ..it MUST be raised some and well
supported.
Sure, I'll dive under there and mess with the fuel filter say ..
but even still, you can not do as good a job with it on the ground,. on the
tires.
getting a vehiclel up off the ground for any work that's not like ...on the
engine from above, or tail lights or whatever like that..
if Fundamental...to being able to work on it.
furthermore ..it is GOOD to take things apart now and then ...
At least you know they are not stuck or rusted.
I take off a vanagon wheel and it's been on there untouched for 10 years,
and the studs or bolts are shiny dry metal..and an no one, ever, in the 25
years of life of the poor thing has put a dab of anti-seize on the stud
threads, or bolt threads....I just wonder.
you don't adjust and serive bycycle gears and chains in a bike shop with it
on the ground...you put it in a stand to work on it ..same thing on cars..
for any suspension/wheel/brake work...it's got to be in the air, even if
just one end or even one corner.
and ..WELL SUPPORTED ..
mininum is hard flat surface, good jack stands, goos solid well make heavy
duty jack stands.
THEN you can work on it really.
I have long noticed a tendency in non-professinals to not take the extra
steps to make access to the work good.
it really pays ...
get a nice clean solid flat space with decent enough room around the van and
get it off the ground and solidly supported...then you can really work on
it.
Your mind is more clear then.
it's like surugery...........they get the patient all laid out with good
access to what they are working on ...it helps you do better work.
when you've done something a hundred times and know all the nuacnes of it ..
then you can sneak in there with it barely jacked up and do 'just the right'
tweak and get the result..
but until that level is acheived , it really pays to get 'er up and solidly
supported so you can see and think clearly.
and it is really contemplative, fun, reflective, and even comforting to just
lay under there looking up, thinking about all those miles gone by ..
looking at those little rusted spots ....some little thing loose..
all those extra long wire tie tails they left on at the factory ( I hate
'em, always cut them off ) ...
etc. Kinda a private space there safely away from the rest of the crazy
world.
and...you can spray every last tiny part of a vanagon with WD-40 or some
good lube...with exceptions...never on brake surfaces, and I don't spray
into alternators ..
and maybe not on accesssory belts and not not interior materials of
course.......but most vanagons I see are suffering despearately from things
being dry and corroded. WD-40,. for me, so far, is good for all rubber
metal and electrical stuff.
I simply could not fix cars without it. And it doesn't hurt much either.
you know...those spots where the shift linkage slides....you know.
"Lube-it-or-loose-it. " !
like who services their roll up window tracks and mechanisms ?
someone should. I use silicone spray on the track slides.
scott
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike "Rocket J Squirrel"" <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Saturday, July 10, 2010 1:45 PM
Subject: Re: Cockeyed Parking Brake Equalizer
> Jim Felder wrote:
>> There is always going to be some drag in friction through all the
>> various bearings and joints and gears into the transmission. It won't
>> spin like the front wheels do. You will hear the drag as you approach
>> seizure as you tighten, then back off.
>
> Okay, thanks.
>>
>> The rubber plug has a little finger-pinch handle sticking out. It is
>> in the bentley, maybe not close up. It's the only rubber plug back
>> there.
>
> I sure can't see anything like a rubber plug. What o' clock is it when
> facing the backing plate?
>
> Dang I do not like climbing under there. It triggers a claustrophobia I
> did not know I possessed. Totally creeps me out. I can't wait to get out
> from under it.
>
> If Scott is right, then it's moot anyway, since he recommends inspecting
> and adjusting the brakes first before dinking with the parking brake
> tension.
>
> --
> Rocky J Squirrel
