Date:         Tue, 30 Aug 94 13:28:58 CDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "J. Walker" <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject:      Re: misc

On Tue, 30 Aug 94 12:56:45 CDT DZIADECKI JOHN said:
>GAS CAP   Every time I filled the tank I'd get gas fumes in the bus for
>about the next hundred miles, especially when I turned a corner. ...
>FUME PROBLEM   My mechanic replaced a short section of fuel line where it
>bends in the rear air intake. That seemed to help somewhat but not
>completely. He says the next thing to check is the filler neck. Anyone
>have this problem and know a solution?

you could take off the interior panel near the filler neck and see if you
can smell the gas ... it's probably the big rubber hose connection between
the filler neck and the tank. i don't think you can fix it without getting
in behind the engine. :(  maybe it'll be something else.

>HEATER   OK, I've had my share of ice-box winter driving here around the
>foothills of the Rockies. Anyone know of an effective non-smelly,
>heat-producing solution? ...

the cheapest solution is to clean off the heat exchangers, fix any leaking
valve cover gaskets, and install an inline blower fan on the hot air tube
coming from the rear of the bus. that keeps the hot air flowing at idle
(like at red lights and stop signs) which is when the human needs it the
most.

>FORD/VW   Reading about the Quest/Villager on this list reminded me of a
>brief article in Popular Mechanics about two months back. Something about
>those vehicles needing an update in the near future and about a joint
>Ford/VW van which is marketed in Europe.

yeah, but the pictures i've seen of it ... well, it's not really a 'van'.
just a 4-door slope-nosed station wagon. bleah.

>VW/Winnebego   I thought this joint venture was basically the VW Eurovan
>with the camping component manufactured and installed by Winnebago. Am I
>mistaken? Is there a completely different vehicle out there somewhere?

that's the one. there are, however, TWO versions of it: one for vw and one
for winnebago (called the Rialta or something like that). the vw is cheaper.

>and now I'm told this is the weak link in the VW muffler and it costs
>about $100 itself. Is this for real?

uuhhhhh, yup. see if you can get it welded up (instead of replacing the whole
pipe).

joel