Date: Sat, 9 Jul 2011 15:46:38 -0400
Reply-To: Gary Bawden <goldfieldgary@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Gary Bawden <goldfieldgary@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Cross-country trip report
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Greetings Vanagonites,
I'm in the middle of a trip after getting Hector (my '85 GL) back from Scott
in Medford, OR, who has installed a 1.9 AAZ turbodiesel for me (nice job
Scott!).
I left Medford late on June 30th, headed back home to Goldfield, NV, dropped
off some stuff, picked up everything I could think of that I needed, and
headed out the next morning for Titusville, FL to catch the shuttle launch.
Had some difficulty with blowing a coolant hose which was on the engine I
supplied to Scott, not his doing at all, in fact he was very helpful on the
phone, and actually if it weren't for his encouragement about it still being
possible to run the engine without the oil cooler in the circuit I would
only have gotten as far as Rifle, CO, where I was seriously considering
cutting the trip short and returning home. However, managed to put a hose in
from the FLAPS that was actually for a Honda/Kia/Mazda application, ordered
a hose from the VW dealer in Orlando, FL, to hold for me when I made it
there, and continued on my way, having lost the better part of a day. So I
wasn't able to do as much sight-seeing as I normally would have, but to make
a long story short, I was able to make it to Florida in plenty of time to
see the last space shuttle of the program. It was awesome!
So how do I like the AAZ engine? On hills in the western US it gets the job
done, but one really has to watch the exhaust gas temperature (EGT) closely
- - it'll creep right up there on the pyrometer, on the long grades I tried
to keep it between about 1100 to 1150 degrees, but if you aren't paying
close attention it'll go right up to 1250 (redline temp) in a heartbeat.
Once into eastern Colorado and beyond, the gentler, shorter hills, along
with the increased humidity (my theory), it was actually no problem with the
EGT's - - I could stay in fourth gear on any hill on the highway and not
worry to much about the temperature. It seems to be getting between 25 and
26 mpg at present, however I have a fuel leak on the injector pump so maybe
that'll get better after I get the pump rebuilt. At any rate it is a real
pleasure to drive - - I miss the better milage of my old '82 1.6 n/a diesel,
which could get up to 32 mpg, but I would have needed another two days to
get across the country to achieve that!
Today I'm outside of Ocala, FL, staying at a friend's place, got the new
hose in, oil and filter changed, and am ready to go again! Now that I am
back to my leisurely pace I will try and keep everyone updated as I meander
my way back home.
As a matter of interest, after leaving Utah on the way here, where I spotted
six Vanagons, I had not seen one other one until yesterday, saw a dark blue
Vanagon outside of Sanford, FL. A young guy at a gas station wanted to know
if Hector were for sale, we chatted for a few minutes, and he wished me a
Jerry day! What fun!
OK, till I next find some free internet, signing off - -
Gary
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