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Date:         Tue, 27 Jun 95 9:19:29 EDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         dcarment@ccs.carleton.ca (David Carment)
Subject:      Trip report, oil, handle and rebuild

Hi all. We returned last night from a two week trip to points south covering about 2500 miles. Our trip included some of the best camping that Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York have to offer. Our trip took us through Binghamton, Gettysburg, the Ohio River Valley, Athens and Buffalo (we stayed in Fort Erie on the Canadian side). I was surprised by the beauty of the Appalachians, the Poconos and the Allegheny mountains. Expecting major industrial buildup through the region we found instead some very beautiful and well preserved small towns in Penn, Ohio and West Virginia, specifically Athens, Franklin and Oil City. Only parts of the Ohio river valley have coal fired steel mills and electricity production which tend to mar the serenity of the river valley drive.

The 82 Westy performed very well. Here is a brief summary on performance. Overall mpg: 23 (imp). All highway.

I found that oil temps are a function of two things: speed and ambient air temperature.

At speeds below 60 mph and temperatures below 80F, oil temperature would hover between the 190 and 210 marks.

At speeds above 60 mph and temps below 80, oil temps would hover around 210F.

At speeds above 60 and temps above 80 (we had six days of 90F+ weather) the oil temp would increase to 220 and occasionally hit the 230 mark. This is with a second oil cooler mounted above the tranny. To increase air flow I hooked up two flexible clothes dryer tubes slung out each side in front of the tranny underneath the body. They do not hang lower than the lowest point on the car (rear engine mount) but do provide air flow at speed. The oil temp switch that activates the fan gave out after four days (a Bergmann purchase). I chose to run without it instead of having the fan permanently on hence the higher than expected oil temps. Since 230F is the mid point on the gauge, I assume that is not an abnormal level for oil to run at (15W50 synthetic).

Head temps never exceeded 375 at speed and usually ran at 350 (as expected).

Whatever small oil leaks were at the seals at the beginning of the trip have now stopped.

The hill factor does not seem to play as big a role as assumed except on the 90F+ days when everything gets hotter.

I found that the full throttle switch has little effect, even when adjusted properly. No surprises there.

The GEX seems to be coming into its own. Last checked compression was 145+ all around. After 13000 miles it seems to "like" synthetic....

The final run from Toronto to Ottawa took us into a head wind of a very big storm. I was able to keep up a speed above 65 on all but the biggest hills which for this Vanagon (fully loaded) was quite good.

Fixed along the way: water pump switch on tap; broken sliding door handle, left rear flat; accelerator switch; right windshield spray nozzle.

We needed to buy a hose to fill the water tank as most of the state parks do not provide a hose for filling the tank at the site.

On fixing the sliding door handle. I was quoted a price of $140 CDN to replace the door handle from VW. There are few door handles available from wreckers. Here is how we resolved the problem:

The handle is composed of white metal which cannot be welded. The diameter of the portion that tends to crack is about 1/2" (slightly larger). Using an about 3/4" length of 1/2" copper tubing (brass may also work) I ground the circumference of the white metal until I could bang the copper tubing over top so that the crack would close. I then cut the tubing to length and removed it. Then I spread liberal amounts of weldbond on the inside of the tubing and "slid" it back on. The copper is flexible enough to widen without cracking but strong enough to keep the crack together in combination with the weld bond. It is also the right diameter to be inserted into the door lock mechanism. Then I spread weld bond on the outside of the tubing and let is set until almost dry. At that point I inserted the handle into the door lock so that the still soft weld bond would shape to the circumference of the door lock. It was then removed and let dry and then re-installed. The handle seems to hold the load after about a week.

Given that door handles are both expensive and difficult to repair I would suggest that people remove their door handle and check for cracks before the handle breaks completely.

As for GEX engines (which we have). There are several advantages of having one (though this is probably true of most engines with guarantees). They will will allow a certified mechanic to work on the engine and will cover the cost of parts and labour if it can be proven that the fault is with the engine. Case in point: our initial GEX had an endplay that was out by several thousands of an inch as determined by a mechanic. GEX replaced the engine without cost and without question. A second advantage is that they will ship directly to you and you could, if you are so inclined, install the engine yourself; sinking the money spent on labour into items that should be replaced anyway such as a clutch and heater box components, tranny fluid, rubber skirt, FI valves etc all of which are easier to install and check with the engine out. Just make sure you take pictures of disassembly, so you have an idea of how everything goes together.

That's it for now

David C.

---------------------------------------------------------------------- David Carment School of International Affairs Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6 voice - (613) 788-2600-6662 fax - (613) 788-2889 Email address: dcarment@ccs.carleton.ca ----------------------------------------------------------------------


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