Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2013 10:36:58 -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: Afraid to enjoy the ride?
In-Reply-To: <7FE9D4D5-FF20-4B3A-879E-8ED4F70BF82D@yahoo.com>
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Hi ...
'seems to be running great' ... I truly hope Lola is.
here's what I observe ..working on dozens of vanagonsfull time..
people 'think' their van is fine and they are taking care of it.
I see it ...the shift linkage has been crying out for a few shots of
lube for the last 9 years ..
or since the factory, and the people have no idea, for example.
I have seen a Van that just had 800 bucks of work in a shop that didn't
do much good at all, and a 55 yr old intelligent guy and his 20 yrold
son LOVE that van ...get between allthe loving and car-savvy people
involved, no one could catch that one 1 of the 6 rear running lights is
working. I mean, how hard is that ? Do people wash their bodies and
cut their hair ?
also ..see this REALLY badly a lot ....every time I have watched someone
drive their own van or one of mine to show them how smooth, quiet, and
well-handling they can be ....many of them are total clutzes about
opportating the controls..
abrupt inputs, jerky movements, very little anticiation ..
whether about the driving environment or traffic .. Like I'm showing a
nicely running 84 waterboxer a family ..we're on the level at 35 mph out
in the coutnry, and there is a big hill half a mile ahead....anythought
at all about picking some speed in anticpation to get over that hill ? Nope.
'running smoothly. .....It seems to have stuck in all people's minds
that they was it 'used to be' .....cars got out of tune, when they
didn't run like they should you knew it needed something.
Not so with self-tuning cars, which vanagons with electronic ignition
...electronic idle stability or idle control ...hydrualic lifters etc....
You can have a perfectly smooth running vanagonand coolant thatlooks
like 10 year weakKool-aid ..
which I have even seen in a one year old rebuilt engine installation ( !
) .....
so 'going by how it feels' ..or how you think it feels ..
may not actually result in taking care of a vanagon really.
gettin' long here.......I see this a lot. People's vans are not working
that well and they don't even know it. They only drive one van, so they
never get to drive other ones for comparison ( which I highly recommend
) ...no one drives their van , most shops only care about selling
justifiable profitable repairs ...nothing do to with fine-tuning the
whole van, or spending your $ the best way. A Travesty really, compared
to what is actually possible.
last paragraph ..that van with the crappy coolant in it and the new
rebuilt engine ....those people were driving a syncro Weekender that
vibrated badly at 50mph ....and the brakes were onlyworking about half
of what they should..
the poor old driver, who may be not driving anymore thankfully
...couldn't tell. His very savvy sharp partner couldn't tell because
she can't see that well .....it's agood thing their oil buzzer went off
......otherwise they'd be out there maybe killing you oryour relatives
or themselves.
An extreme example, and I don't think any people on this list are that
old ( 84 ) and driving vanagons ..
but I see lots of whatever ..30's,. 40's etc people driving vanagons
that don't even know they are not working like they should. And you can
not count on shops to tell you that either, near as I can tell, case
after case.
Get with your vanagon buddies and drive each others vans ...that will
helpget some awareness going.
I find throttle swtiches not making contact all thetime, old gear oil,
too advanced timing, old brake fluid ...
dry CV's ...weak or harsh shocks ....stiff shift linkage ..see that one
a lot. Acid under the battery ..
I should start an excell spread sheet !lol.
have fun, be smart ! Aloha,
Scott
On 4/21/2013 9:54 AM, Jeremy Stovin wrote:
> I love my Westy. But the more I read these posts of all the trials and tribulations, it makes me nervous that Lola seems to be running great. Is it just a matter of time? Am I missing something?
>
> Paranoia is setting in.
>
> Jeremy and Lola ('87 Westy)
>
> Sent from my iPad
