Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2013 21:42:11 -0800
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: 1985 - Horn COntact ring on Steering WHeel
In-Reply-To: <50F5F180.80907@comcast.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Hi Todd..
there's this rule..
if anyone mentions WD-40 ..
someone else will always say there is something wrong about it.
I don't know about your WD-40 ..but mine ..
having used it 10's of thousands of times since ...the 60's probably ..
mine does not attract dust and dirt.
heck ....one of the objections people have about WD is 'it's not a
lubricant' ...
and I think if you read you'll see the liquid carrier evaporates
..sothere is nothing oily
to attract dirt and dust. And it sure makes things smooth right away (
it would never be my final choice for say a door latch mechanism ) ..
I use it mainly to displace moisture. I find it quite good for
electrical connections that way.
Seriously ... I have used it on thousands of electrical things ..
for some ..............what ? ...almost 5 decades.
I am not having aproblem with WD-40 .
I don't use it on clocks myself.
and I don't use it as a serious lubricant ..more as a freer-upper and
especially as a moisture elimnator.
but let's do a test ..
find some mechanism you can spray with WD ..then leave it laying around
and see if dirt accumulates on it ...like something would with oil on
it. Idon't find thatto be the case really ..
and if it did..I'd just spray it again.
It's an incredible product..I can only wonder how vehciles and things
magaged without the excellent water-displacing quailties ..plus some
lube-ocity.
If I had to have only TWO Products to use on cars..
they would be WD and Permatex High Tack gasket sealer .
That's how vitally important WD is.
One thing is guranteed about WD-40 .
whenever someone suggests it or says they use it for X ..
someone else will just have to say there is something wrong with that.
Without exception, pretty much.
I saw this weird thing the other day ..I think it was a reprint from
Reader's Digest from years ago ..15 uses for WD-40 you never thought of
....pretty unorthodox stuff ..
don't remember if it was for polishing leather shoes or what.
a lot of them were for cleaning .I was tempted to post it to the group
but thought it was pretty funky/dorky information., so didn't.
Did you see one guy say dielectrick grease only lasts about a year on
this group recently ?
He likes white lithium grease there.
that is my choice ( dielectric ) ..if steering wheel is off.
However..
I personally own 9 vanagons ..that's 9 steering wheels right there..
and each van has about 200 spots on ieach that I want to lube ..
plus I am working on customer's cars ..all of which have 200 spots I
want to lube and service on ..
so for me ..
in terms of 'cost-benefit-ratio' ..a shot of spray lube is 200 % better
than nothingin the horn area ..
and treat the turn signal mechanism a little.
I do a lotof spray lube on dozens of things.
Can't help it. I must have 10 different ones I use here and there.
at least people are more aware of their horn contact rings now !
scott
www.turbovans.com
On 1/15/2013 4:17 PM, Todd Last wrote:
> You might want to rethink that as WD-40 will attract dust and dirt and
> my actually contribute to wear.
> I found this out talking to a clock repair person who stated that the
> number one cause of failure of mechanical clocks was people spraying
> WD-40 on them thinking they were lubricating the mechanism - yet what it
> did was attract contaminants into the mechanism causing the clock to
> eventually stop.
>
> It only takes a minute to pull the steering-wheel - I would go with the
> dielectric grease instead.
>
> Todd
> '88 Westy
>
>
> On 1/14/2013 12:47 PM, Scott Daniel - Turbovans wrote:
>> reminds me ..
>> people could do something to lube their horn contact rings.
>>
>> the wear badly eventuallyat one spot ..since most of the time the van is
>> driving straight ..
>> wearing that one spot.
>>
>> If Ihave the steering wheel off I use dielectric grease on the horn
>> contanct ring.
>> If I don't want to take it off ....I squirt some WD in there .
>> any sort of electric-friendly lube rather than 'just nothing' for years
>> and decades.
>>
>> scott
>>
>>
>> On 1/14/2013 8:36 AM, Dick Wong wrote:
>>> Don't know much about the horn contact ring on the Vanagons (yet),
>>> but I've
>>> been pulling parts from an 86 in a junkyard. I think I remember it
>>> still
>>> had a steering wheel (black, no center pad) attached, I can be your
>>> salvager
>>> (actual cost and shipping) if you need something.
>>>
>>> -Dick Wong-
>>> 78 Scirocco
>>> Original Owner
>>> 87 Syncro 2.5 (slightly crispy)
>>> Third Owner
>>> 12 Golf TDI
>>> Original Co-Owner
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
>>> Behalf Of
>>> Jeff Lincoln
>>> Sent: Monday, January 14, 2013 8:05 AM
>>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>>> Subject: 1985 - Horn COntact ring on Steering WHeel
>>>
>>> So in the midst of tearing everything apart to replace my front heater
>>> blower (success!!!) I somehow got things a little wonky when I put the
>>> steering wheel back on and that contact ring snagged on the little
>>> tab and
>>> it tore the ring at the bottom. That's no good.
>>>
>>> It there any way to replace that or am I kinda SOL?
>>>
>>> --
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> Jeff
>>> '85 GL (Gertie)
>>> '78 Bus (Melissa) Patty's Bus
>>> -----
>>> No virus found in this message.
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>>>
>>
>