Date: Wed, 05 Oct 94 18:28:21 CDT
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: "J. Walker" <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject: Re: ok here we go...
On Wed, 5 Oct 94 16:41:34 CDT <BSNICH01@ulkyvm.louisville.edu> said:
>doesn't work now. My Qs, anyone ever have these problems? How hard is it for
>us mechanically challenged folks. To answer a criticism before it starts, I
>have BENTLEY but it's pretty sketchy re: the heater controls and Im not yet
>sure about the back wiper.
for the rear wiper, you're gonna have to remove the panel on the rear hatch
... and that's a sort of pain. i.e., it's hard to do without tearing the
cheesy fibreboard or breaking one of those little plastic tabs. you just have
to be real careful. check the fuse FIRST! that's easier.
there are some strange 'screwdrivers' that are made for taking such things
off, but what you need is a flat bladed thing with a 'gap' in the blade. then
you have to rotate the plastic tab until you can see the 'arms' ... and line
the 'gap' in the blade up with the 'arms' on the tab. arrrgh. that's not
very helpful, is it?
well, you can do it with a wide blade screwdriver but you have to be very
careful to get the blade far up under the plastic tab (or it will break off
the top) and exert steady pressure slowly. and put some cardboard between the
screwdriver and the metal of the hatch (or it will scratch the paint).
once you get about four or five of these things off, the rest come out easier
cause you can get a better angle at it. once you get the panel off, you can
see the motor and wiring and a silver box-thingie. the box-thingie is the
gearbox. it might just be jammed a bit. and you will have to tinker with it
by wiggling the wiper arm. i can't describe exactly what to do cause i don't
exactly know ... you just have to tinker with it. and hope the gears aren't
stripped badly.
>Anyone seen any of the plate-like vanagon hubcaps at a salvage yard?
check the yellow pages for Hubcaps (might be under Automobiles - Used and
Rebuilt Parts ... or something like that). some places specialize in hubcaps
and they don't always know what car they came off. most any 14-inch cover
should work. you might even find some you like better. ;)