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Date:         Fri, 19 Jul 2013 16:53:25 -0400
Reply-To:     David Clarkson <dvdclarksn@AOL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         David Clarkson <dvdclarksn@AOL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Plastic sheet inside doors-transitions to mildly long
              rant/whining of jealous Westy-Hell hath no fury like a Vanagon
              scorned!
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

I replaced the vapor barrier on my 1990 Westfalia about 3 yrs. ago and the pieces (2 per door) were available at the dealership but were very pricey-about $70.00 to do both doors at my dealership cost. The plastic is formed to fit the contour of the inside of the door and has gooey adhesive around the edges to give it a fairly watertight seal. On my vehicle there was one piece that was formed, shaped plastic film that went on the bottom 2/3 and then a gray thin foam piece for the top. The pieces do fit perfectly and if you need to get to something later on inside the seal you can peal back the plastic and then reseal it to the gooey (kind of like the stuff a lot of mechanics called "dum dum") adhesive. I also attempted to fix the waviness in my door panels from the old leaking seals by wetting them down with a spray bottle then putting a flat board with lots of bricks on top of it while it dried. Seemed to get it closer to flat for a while then the bends and curves came back. I am sure others will chime in and suggest other non OEM seals that work perfectly fine and certainly function over form as it is hidden. I just didn't trust anything to not get caught in the window or lock mechanism along with it sealing well and not coming apart with temperature changes. YMMV. Oh and what have I done for my van lately? Replaced the upper control arm bushings that failed after only 10,000 miles (Meyle). So I went back to the OEM-Lemfoerder that lasted 20 years and over 275,000 miles and also installed another set of Gowesty progressive springs to go with the low mileage Bilstein HD shocks and struts. Rides like a dream and when I went to get it re-inspected (it failed Va. state safety inspection for a collapsed bushing) the freaking headlights quit working. I have the relays upgrade and suspect something there was amiss. Okay, the real story is that the Westy ceased to be my daily driver as of about mid march after 12 years of grateful service. Now I get into a Honda Civic every morning since I have to drive about 1000 mi./wk. for my new sales job. She is jealous and acting out. Must show her more regular TLC or suffer the consequences! Hell hath no fury like a Vanagon scorned! Happy Fryeday all. Going to imbibe mass quantities of forget your worries beverage now.

David Clarkson 1990 Westfalia (jealous and persnickety)


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