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Date:         Thu, 12 Sep 2013 15:07:08 -0600
Reply-To:     Robert Stevens <mtbiker62@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Robert Stevens <mtbiker62@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Engine Conversions
In-Reply-To:  <4FB3B94A-3A1C-42CB-B7BF-AD9E0C900102@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

Truthfully, any van, stock or not, could cause you grief if you need service while traveling. It all depends on where you break down and the nature of your problem. These are 30 year old peculiar vehicles, and no one outside of Vanagon specialty shops really understands them. Dealerships might take your van into their shop if it's a stock van, but that doesn't mean they'll know what they're doing when they work on it. These days, capably done conversions are as likely to increase the reliability of your rig, meaning you'll be less likely to see the inside of a repair shop.

As for not being handy, that doesn't mean you can't learn a modicum of basic info about your rig. If you have difficulty keeping track of that kind of information, then write it down. You should know or have access to things like how much oil your van needs, and what type. What kind of engine and transmission do you have? What's the problem and service history? Are there known, unaddressed issues? How old is the battery, alternator, starter, and fuel pump? Is maintenance done regularly? As an advanced skill, learn to identify all the major parts in your engine compartment, even if you can't fix them or even know what exactly they do.

Carry a Bentley. Open it and look at the pictures occasionally.

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I've been traveling in vanagon's since '88 when I bought my first one new. In that time, I've never had very much trouble finding a shop that both could and would work on it. Even after beginning to own engine-converted vans, I've been able to find shops with convenient towing distance to get whatever work done that was needed. In some cases, I've found what I consider to be the very best shops I've ever been to (Kingman, AZ comes to mind, TNT Engineering). Other shops in Montana, same story (Culver's Foregn Car Service ).

Also, as mentioned, I've become a much better shade tree mechanic and NEVER let any shop touch certain kinds of projects/repairs on my van. Right now it is being diagnosed after not passing emissions at idle, but I'm doing all the maintenance aside from the electronic diagnosis, which comes from lap tops plugged into the OBD11 port, and I'm getting better at diagnosing specific component problems from that reported code information.

I've been told by my insurance company on 2 occasions, that they will only allow the van to be towed to a specific VW dealer in that nearest city. When I've asked them to actually call that dealer and ask them if they will work on the Vanagon, and the Ins. Company makes that call, I get a call back from them asking me where I want the van towed. That "reality" based interaction has completely eliminated a bunch of haggling and misadvanture.

I suppose not everyone who owns a Vanagon is interested in becoming that kind of owner and ttraveler. It's working in my case.

bob


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