Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2018 14:02:25 +0000
Reply-To: Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: On a flat bed
In-Reply-To: <A418E865-A778-4D34-A455-F2503C86C2DB@icloud.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Ours was not too bad or too exciting.
We were on a trip SW from Richmond to Chattanooga and beyond, camping and exploring, and arrived at the Barber Motorcycle Museum in Alabama at dusk on the fifth or sixth night. The place was closed but I hopped out to check the hours for a visit the next day when I first heard the metallic whine from the engine compartment that turned out to be the alternator bearings going out. All the luggage stacked in the wayback must have muffled the noise from the inside. My wife was somewhat panicked but I felt pretty confident since I'd found a junkyard van and had picked up the alternator along with a coil, distributor, injector, plug wires and the like to carry as spares and had them under the driver's seat.
We found a nice camping spot in a park right outside Birmingham that turned out to be near the NAPA/AutoZone/Advance/O'Reillys strip in town and next morning swapped out the units in the lot of one of those stores. I'd heard of recommendations to carry the electronic portion of the alternator in case of failure but had not had time to remove it so had tossed in the entire assembly and that turned out to be what I needed; the problem was mechanical rather than electric. Luck.
We did get to meet listmember John Rodgers on that trip. We contacted him while in the Barber lot in case the problem turned out to be major and after the repair swung by to thank him for his offer of assistance. Yay, John! My wife did confess that after having the right part on hand and the tools and knowledge to replace it at the roadside that she would never again complain about my hoarding tendancies. That right there, folks, is marriage GOLD.
I later had a blowout experience on a Miami trip and discovered the difficulty in finding load-rated stock size tires for a Westy while traveling but that also turned out well, as did the second blowout on an even later trip. Moral: be sure to replace aged tires on your van. Monitor the date codes and remember that six years max is the recommended limit.
Stephen
On Friday, January 26, 2018 8:05 PM, Eric Caron <eric.caron@ICLOUD.COM> wrote:
Hi folks,
At the risk of bringing up bad memories do you have a good breakdown story to tell?
Some time around 1992 I had a 1976 auto weekender I bought from a German Mechanic outside of Ithaca New York. He was the go to guy for older VW work and had a field of bugs and buses. I decided to purchase a bus from him because the mechanics would be good and I could work on the body stuff.
I took my savings and purchased it and with a friend headed out on a summer trip out west.
About 500 miles away we started to notice white smoke at start up. About 1,500 miles away it was much worse.
I ended up being towed to a VW dealer after hours. I think maybe in Minnesota or Michigan.
Dozens of people stopped to talked to me as I cooked dinner and set up for the night on the dealer lot. I heard so many VW stories.
The next day the dealer said they couldn’t help, my van was too old.
Somehow I got towed to a local shop and stayed there part of the time and with a rental car went to a hotel a few nights. The shop was really for working on race cars. they took out my engine and rebuilt it and put it back in. It was a challenge for them but I never had trouble with that motor right up until I sold the van a few years later.
The original Mechanic I purchased the van from was not interested in my call from the road asking for help. he also was not interested in paying any of the repair costs.
I think eventually he did split the cost with me, but I had to hear a lot of yelling.
The Transmission on that bus will be a different break down story.
So though I’d rather not break down, Other then the original mechanic so many people were supportive and willing to give time and energy to work on the bus or at least offer a story and good advice. I had so much time to kill that I listened to music at a used CD store for hours. I could only afford a few CD’s but those new artists and albums I found are still some of my favorites!
I wish you all either no breakdowns or ones that add to the joy of VW living.
I had lots of great trips but I remember the breakdown adventures the most and they worked out ok.
Got a good break down story?
Mark Drillock’s story of repair on his frozen 85 comes to mind.
Eric Caron
Vanagon currently getting a breakdown prevention spa treatment
On Jan 25, 2018, at 01:33, Eric Wunrow <VW@ERICWUNROW.COM> wrote:
If you find out, we're near Parker if anyone needs a hand.
Eric
Eric Wunrow Pictures
303. 988. 8717
VW@EricWunrow.com (for this list's emails)
EW@EricWunrow.com (for private messages)
On Jan 24, 2018, at 10:35 AM, Rob <vwrobb@gmail.com> wrote:
> I'm in Quartzsite AZ just sitting here.
>
> Out the window I just saw a brown Westy on the back of a flat bed heading
> towards town down Dome Rock Rd E.
>
> If you see this I feel for you!
>
> Rob
> vwrobb@gmail.com
> Not in a vw today....
>
