Date: Wed, 12 Jul 1995 07:58:06 -0700 (PDT)
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: "Tobin T. Copley" <tobin@freenet.vancouver.bc.ca>
Subject: Things fall apart; the center will not hold
Hello everyone!
Christa and I went up camping at Skookumchuck hot springs again last
weekend, and had an... um... eventful time. Well, the hot springs were
absolute bliss, even with the rain, bugs, and a few attention-getting
antics from our beloved camper.
We took the easy route into the springs this time, driving to Pemberton,
then down the east side of Lillooet Lake and the Lillooet River to the
spring. This route has only about 50 km of logging road each way.
We settled in, had dinner, and spent the next few hours floating naked
under the trees and stars in beautiful hot water. Ahhh... We turned
into bed relaxed, pruned, and a little bug bitten. Sweet dreams!
In the wee hours, I started having really disturbing dreams. Death,
destruction, startlingly realistic, with Christa and I meeting all sorts
of horrible deaths. As I rose up into consciousness, one image came to
be more and more distinct. The imagery joined with smells, and sleep
began to fall away.
My eyes opened wide: GAS! I sniffed around the cabinetry, and convinced
myself the smell was real. I jumped out of bed, grabbed a flashlight,
threw on some clothes, and stepped outside. I looked in the engine
compartment: nothing. Fuel filter, fuel pump: nothing. As I flashed the
light on the tranny, I saw it was soaked. Uh oh. Under the car, I saw a
connection on the fuel line was leaking, fast: dripdripdripdripdrip...
"Oh, fudgemonkey!," I thought to myself. I jumped back in the camper,
grabbed a vice-grip, and pinched off the fuel line. I'd deal with the
problem in the morning, when I could see, and when I wasn't holding the
only light for miles around (and attracting every mosquito for miles
around).
In the morning, I stepped outside to take a closer look look at the fuel
line situation. I had also developed a flat tire. Hmmm... It was raining
persistently, and the bugs were pretty aggressive. Let's see: the bugs
are bad, there's no wind to disperse the bugs, the ground is quite muddy,
it's raining, and the hot springs are really beautiful. The fuel line
could wait.
The next morning, the wind came up, the sun came out, and the dirt dried
up (a bit). The bugs went wherever bugs go on windy days. I changed the
tire and managed to tighten up the fuel line clamp enough to stop the
leak. I've got to install one of those fuel line shut-off valves: It'd
make situations like this much easier to deal with.
Satisfied, we closed the pop-top, cleaned up other peoples' junk from the
site (grrrrr!!), and fired up the motor. Seemed a bit loud... By the
time we paved road, the motor was REAL LOUD! I got under the van and saw
immediately that the exhaust system on the left side was hanging really
low, and that the exhaust pipe from the left side (#3, #4) manifold had
sheared off completely at the flange for the U-bend. So now I've got a
completely unmuffled motor. Well, half muffled at any rate.
Here's what VW told me regarding costs for replacement:
Left exhaust pipe $820.10
Afterburner (U) pipe $550.00
Muffler $283.35
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TOTAL $1653.45 (Prov. and Federal taxes, labour,
misc. parts)
VW claims no aftermarket parts are available (although I can get an
aftermarket muffler for $195.00).
I'm hoping I can get the exhaust MIG-welded back together for now. :(
Anybody have a 2.0L Type IV FI motor with an exhaust system they don't
want? ;) Does anybody know of a cheaper aftermarket source for these
parts? My engine # is GD000885 (1976). My heater boxes are, of course,
shot, but I don't really care about that since it's not a winter vehicle.
I don't really expect any miracle solutions; I just wanted to cry on your
collective shoulders. Keep all your fingers crossed so that MIG-welding
will work, ok?
Tobin
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Tobin T. Copley Currently ============= PUTTA!
(604) 689-2660 Occupationally /_| |__||__| :| PUTTA!
tobin@freenet.vancouver.bc.ca Challenged! O| | POW!!
'-()-------()-'
Circum-continental USA, Mexico, Canada 15,000 miles... '76 VW Camper! (Mango)
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