Date: Mon, 4 May 2015 08:36:33 -0700
Reply-To: Stuart MacMillan <stuartmacm@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Stuart MacMillan <stuartmacm@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Oil drain plug problems-Help!
In-Reply-To: <01091BCC-7886-431C-9D84-6B37404A4E69@comcast.net>
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Ham handed techs are a real hazard. I think I'll be getting a pump and
changing the oil like they do in boats.
Stuart
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Eric Caron
Sent: Sunday, May 03, 2015 6:45 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Oil drain plug problems-Help!
OH man,
these bugs are one of my worries. I like changing my own oil but
i’m always afraid I’ll mess up one of these fragile bugs.
I bought a lovely 84 Westi years ago and when I got it home I found
the oil plug was missing and a rubber stopper thingy was stuck in their. My
mechanic used a spark plug with a welded bolt head on it to replace it.
Worked for the three or so years I had the van. I think it was a common
solution for air-cooled busses.
Dealing with that plug is partly why my van is over due for it’s oil change.
the other reason is that my Walmart is out of Mobile 1 15/50 in the 4 quart
bottle. the price is best there by a lot so I’m determined to get it from
them! I read this tip from Dennis and he was right! Only reason I’ve been
in that store in a year.
Eric Caron
85 GL auto westfalia.
> On May 3, 2015, at 9:09 PM, Stuart MacMillan <stuartmacm@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>
> It’s just not my weekend for getting anything done. Went to do the first
> oil change on my son’s ’87 and found it has an 8mm hex key (Allen wrench)
> plug that now has a round hole instead of a six sided hole. Is this
> somebody’s idea of a bad joke? I do not see this type of plug for sale on
> any of our vendor’s sites.
>
>
>
> Which brings me to another point, my 1.9’s plug is the conventional bolt,
> but it says “14 1.25” on the top. It’s been rounded off and filed to fit a
> 13mm socket, but the replacement plug I ordered from Van Café is not the
> same thread pitch, it’s coarser. Hmm.
>
>
>
> My options for the ’87 as I see them are:
>
>
>
> 1. Buy a big enough screw extractor to back it out, which may
require
> drilling the hole all the way through and draining the oil over my drill
>
> 2. Take it somewhere and have them deal with it
>
> 3. Sell the van for $25,000 and look for another one
>
>
>
> My 1.9’s have all had a normal plug with a hex bolt head, as did the 2.1 I
> put into my ’84 years ago.
>
>
>
> This can’t be the correct plug, can it??
>
>
>
> Stuart
>
>
>
>