Date: Fri, 18 Oct 2013 18:06:45 -0700
Reply-To: Steve Williams <steve@WILLIAMSITCONSULTING.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Steve Williams <steve@WILLIAMSITCONSULTING.COM>
Subject: Re: 2 thumbs up - John's Repair - Bellingham [Was: Rear wheel
noise... can't be good 1000 km from home :(]
In-Reply-To: <5261A194.2020901@turbovans.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Hi,
Exactly... $45.00 plus tax.
Given that I would have to mess around to find chocks for my wheels,
jack it up myself only to find I needed to take it to a shop that could
deal with the high torque nut anyway... it was a bargain. The fact they
dropped everything (including having to move 2 vehicles out to get my
vehicle to the lift), I was very impressed.
It got me back to my "mobile office" much faster which allowed me to
start working and billing my client. Gotta love being a "mobile" IT
Consultant :) If it was going to take longer, I was going to head on my
mountain bike to the ferry terminal/coffee shop & start working. As it
was, I hung out in the shop and was educated, which is critical for
being an owner of one of these amazing vehicles.
To top it off, it was only about 1/2 of the restaurant bill I had
incurred the night before and I can guarantee that the peace of mind I
will have driving home far outweighs the enjoyment of a fancy meal...
I'm actually going to take a longer route home to Calgary, via
Vancouver, Squamish, Pemberton Highway) than I originally planned now
that I have my confidence restored in "Ruby".
I took Ruby (with Scarlet, my mountain bike on the back) to the top of
the Mt Baker ski resort today and she performed admirably :)
The gate is closed at the ski resort, so I rode "Ruby" as far as they
had plowed the road, then hiked up in the snow to get a beautiful view
of Mt. Baker in the afternoon sun.
PRICELESS!
Thanks again to everyone on the list. Reading vicariously over the
years as well as the feedback provided is absolutely invaluable.
Cheers,
Steve W.
On 10/18/2013 2:01 PM, Scott Daniel wrote:
> PS ..if you don't mind ..........what was that half hour shop labor
> fee ...like 45 bucks ?
>
>
> On 10/18/2013 10:53 AM, Steve Williams wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> Thanks for the advice everyone. It made sense to get the wheel off the
>> ground to get a closer look. First thing this morning I went onto
>> Roadhaus.com and found "John's Repair" in Bellingham. Kudos to them! .
>> They pulled my van into the shop right away and put it on a hoist.
>> Turns out it was just the dreaded "wheel nut" that needs to be torqued
>> to crazy high numbers... the wheel bearing was loose enough to make me
>> very happy I had stopped and investigated. Not dangerous, but loose
>> enough to accelerate wearing.
>>
>> I cannot believe the symptoms I was seeing was wheel bearing... only
>> under load? But whatever, the noise is gone... and it's the only thing
>> that was done (I witnessed the work... just out of curiousity, not out
>> of suspicion).
>>
>> 1/2 hour shop rate was the only charge and I've got peace of mind for
>> the 1000 km drive home. I'll have to deal with it over the winter as
>> the face of the hub is slightly worn but I'm hoping to do maintenance on
>> the CV joints this winter so I'll be tearing that all apart, brakes, CV,
>> wheel bearing.
>>
>> Now to figure out if I add that crazy big socket to my tool box... but
>> what can one use for a cheater bar that will put enough torque on the
>> nut to actually be able to do anything on the road? But if I knew what
>> the problem was & had the socket, I guess I could go to any garage and
>> have them tighten it up... decisions decisions!
>>
>> Thanks for everyone's input!
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Steve W.
>>
>> On 10/17/2013 11:09 PM, Steve Williams wrote:
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> I'm on a bit of a road trip (2500 km so far), currently in Washington
>>> State (Bellingham). I'm 1000 km from home still (Calgary, AB). I've
>>> pulled more sustained hills on this trip than ever before, even
>>> going up
>>> to the "Windy Ridge" lookout on Mt. St. Helens.
>>>
>>> Not that it's very relevant, but I drive very gently, never "flooring"
>>> the gas pedal only pressing down on the gas the while the vehicle will
>>> accelerate. If it won't accelerate/sustain, I let it slow down &
>>> grab a
>>> lower gear. I keep the "working" RPM's in the 2500-3500 rpm range.
>>>
>>> I have a very strange noise coming from the rear drivers side
>>> wheel. It
>>> almost sounds like squeaking rubber, it's hard to tell because it
>>> doesn't happen until 45 km/hr. My gut" feeling is that it's got to
>>> be a
>>> CV joint, but I thought I'd get some list wisdom.
>>>
>>> It only happens under "medium" acceleration. When the noise starts,
>>> backing off on the throttle or flooring the throttle will make it go
>>> away. I had lots of time to experiment on the Mt. St. Helens road, 16
>>> km uphill in 2nd or 3rd gear (steepish, windy road). It either
>>> subsides
>>> or the road noise overpowers the noise as the speed increases above 55
>>> km/hr.
>>>
>>> Happens between 40 & 55 km/hr with some sensitivity to going around
>>> corners. It seems to be quieter when making a left corner, though the
>>> size of parking lots that I can find to test in limits this test a bit.
>>> Does **not** happen in neutral or when going down a hill.
>>>
>>> I have been monitoring it all day (I had a meeting in Bellingham that I
>>> had to get to). The hub is not getting hot driving sustained highway
>>> speeds, so I don't think it's wheel bearing.
>>>
>>> Additionally, when coasting (engine off, neutral) in the parking lot on
>>> a gentle downhill in a parking lot (with me walking beside the
>>> vehicle),
>>> it sounds like there is something rubbing on the brake drum for part of
>>> the revolution of the wheel. This noise doesn't happen in reverse.
>>> Part of me wants to blame the brakes for this one...
>>>
>>> Once, when I parked & forgot to put the parking brake on & it rolled
>>> ahead, I got a little "tick tick tick" out of the wheel for about every
>>> 6 inches it rolled ahead.
>>>
>>> I have tightened all the lug nuts.
>>>
>>> I'm in Bellingham, Washington with a bit of a flexible schedule... I am
>>> going to call around tomorrow (Friday) and see if anyone can have a
>>> look
>>> at it. I'm pretty sure I'm limited to what I can do with the tool box
>>> that I have, and my spare alternator isn't going to help in this
>>> case! lol.
>>>
>>> What's the list wisdom on what this might be?
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Steve W.
>>
>
| 
