Date:         Thu, 20 Oct 94 16:16:55 CDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "J. Walker" <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject:      Re: Beds, Valves, Advice

On Thu, 20 Oct 94 15:26:37 CDT Mark Chandler said:
>Question: What can I do--short of a valve job--to keep Daisy running
>for a while?  It's got 138k, and the only things I'm doing are adding/
>changing oil (it seems to use oil like there's no tomorrow) and putting
>gas in it.

that $1500 sounds way high for a valve job ... i've seen whole short block
engines (which includes new heads and valves) for that price! i think you
could check around and find some new heads with valves for a lot less than
that. check Rocky Mountain Motorworks (Bus Stop) or some of the other ads
in HOT VWs and VW Trends.

the question is: what is it doing with all that oil? is it leaking out on
the ground? (in which case, you might want to check your push rod tube seals
... which are cheap and fairly easy to replace on that engine). is it burning
it up, meaning blue smoke coming out the tailpipe (which should be oily and
black) ... which also means likely valve guides are worn out. or piston rings.

>much.  FWIW, I'm just inder 6' and weigh 190.  Worse comes to worse, I'll
>lock the bike inside, and pitch a tent outside.

you could look in junkyards for a 1985 to 1991 model vanagon and see if you
could get the rear seat out of that. it's called a 'weekender package' and
it folds into a queen-size bed. the cheapest thing would be to make some sort
of platform out of wood (after taking all the seats out) and putting a big
foam pad on it. don't forget to make some 'doors' so you can use the storage
under the platform.

>The gas gauge reads fine when full to 3/4, but then it drops like a
>lead balloon.  Any clues on this?

could be a bad sender? the tank is strangely shaped anyway, but i don't
think it should 'drop' like that.

joel