Date:         Thu, 5 Jan 95 10:49:12 PST
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Dave Kautz <dkautz@hpsidms1.sid.hp.com>
Subject:      Back from the Snow

   I've fianlly finished reading the digests that accumulated while we were off 
  playing in the snow. The snow / x-c skiing adventure was a big success and has
  a VW bus component as well since the vehicles used were out '74 camper and
  our friend's '91 "full-tilt-boogie" 2.1 liter Vanagon with the alloy wheels,
  air dams and all those other hot props. Marlin was sure he was going to smoke
  me on all those long hills up Hwy 180 to Kings Canyon and was not amused when
  it didn't happen - He used to drive a '68 bus and figured all the breadloaves
  were that slow. Other observations: It's easier to put chains on a Vanagon,
  there is more room around the tire (Somehow, I ended up putting the chains on
  BOTH vehicles). Those Vanagons sure are nice inside. 
  
    While waiting for Francesca to survive the check-out line at a supermarket,
  the kids and I headed over to the magazine rack for a little reading - In one
  of those "buyer-guide" kind of mags it said that the ONLY Eurovan available
  in '95 is the long wheelbase Euro-Bago and that it is only available at 
  selected dealers. Furthermore, to get any portion of the camper part serviced
  or repaired it would have to be taken to a Winnebago dealer.  They listed the
  curb weight at more that 4700 lbs.!; with 109 hp that results in a power to 
  weight ratio of of 43.1 which is not all that far from the pwr./wt. ratios
  of past Westfalias. They described the performance as "glacial" - clearly, 
  they haven't tried a Diesel Westy. The sad implication is that there will be
  no short wheelbase  passenger only Dyslexivans for '95. Is this true?
  
    I followed the thread on oil lights flickering in Vanagons and I have a few
  questions: Has anyone looked up the circuit to see where the pressure 
  sensor is relative to the oil filter? If the sensor is between the pump and
  the filter, and a more restrictive filter is used it may turn off the light
  but it won't help lubricate bearings, etc. at all. Do any wasserboxer owners
  have an oil temp gauge fitted? After going throught the exercise of the 
  wear index, one of my conclusions was that oil temp might be a problem on
  long freeway trips, especially in the Syncro. Hot, thin oil could be causing
  low pressure indications at idle. If the lights are going on when the engine
  is cold, it must be something else.
  
    I also want to wish Gerry a happy belated birthday. At 34, be comforted by 
  the fact that you are still young. Without revealing my age, I will mention 
  that Francesca enjoyed pointing out that I was the oldest attendee at the 
  recent Pizza gathering.
  
    Lastly, I picked up a copy of the book that David Schwarze has recommended,
  "How to Rebuild your Air-Cooled VW Engine" and I am  impressed with it.
  Very detailed, accurate and with lots of clear pictures. It's only $15.00
  retail and could prove very helpful to someone doing a rebuild. Thanks
  David, I second your recommendation.
  
  
  Best Regards,
  
  Dave Kautz