Date: Wed, 4 Oct 1995 15:07:42 -0400 (EDT)
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Jay.Goldberg@ska.com (Jay Goldberg)
Subject: Trip report - NJ->Canada
Hey Now
I've been debating whether or not to write this one up, as it's just a
tad bit embarrassing in parts.
Last weekend was KenStock, a large party at my friend Ken's place
outside of Ottowa, Ontario. I figured to take the new '77 Westy up for
a visit (after all Robert Tommaselli's '95 EuroVan Camper would be
there, and the two of them could chat).
Did a tune-up the weekend prior; valve adjustment, points gapped, new
plugs, timing set. Even replaced some missing heater control boxes and
other plumbing (although it seems my heater fan is burnt). The Westy
was running great and raring to go!
Set out from New Jersey at 7pm Friday night with my friend Janet and
started driving. West into Pennsylvania, then north. Just about when
we were crossing into New York, the car started running odd, like the
timing was off. Pulled over at the first available rest stop, pulled
out the tools and flashlight, and checked the timing. Off by about 12
degrees! So I reset it, and put the wrench on the distributor clamp
nut, thinking "This time I'll tighten it good so this doesn't happen
again."
The stud twisted off.
Called AAA, got a flatbed into Binghamton and a hotel room. The next
morning the tow place got a new adjuster stud in there, and so I
retimed the engine and off we went. Putting pretty severely.
About 8 miles north of Binghamton, completely lost power. Got out the
tools again, and regapped the points and reset the timing. The points
didn't seem quite right, and the distributor didn't seem in the right
position at all! Couldn't retime it. Called AAA again, the same guy
who picked us up at the hotel that morning came back out to pick us up
on the road. Took me to the local VW dealer at my insistence, even though
he knew "a guy who specializes in VWs and Audis and Hondas and Subarus
and all those kinds of foreign cars."
I figured the points needed to be replaced and the distributor needed
to be reseated. Didn't have the parts, nor did I have the time in case
I was wrong.
Rented a car, had a great time at KenStock; rolled in about 7pm, 24
hours after leaving home in NJ (this is a 7 hour drive!) I had to
sleep in a regular tent on the ground, though. I had been really
looking forward to camping in the van! Came back on Monday, and picked
up the Westy, which was running great again; exactly what I had
suspected... replaced the points and condenser, reseated the
distributor.
Drove another 4 hours home, the Westy behaved as though nothing was
ever wrong with it. That 1800 engine really pushes that car down the
road! I was breaking 85mph on level ground, but the turbulence made
that feel unsafe so I averaged about 70-75mph through the mountains of
Eastern Pennsylvania. I was really impressed with the performace
(well, not compared to my Acura, but certainly when compared to my '60
Bug! :-))
LESSONS LEARNED:
- It ain't a tuneup unless you *replace* the points and condenser.
- I really am going to have to learn how tight to tighten that
distributor clamp nut - this is the 2nd time in as many cars
that I've had this sort of problem...
- Don't leave on a trip without a spare set of points and condenser.
- Replace the points and condenser with a CompuFire, like I did
in the Bug. Beats gapping points any day!
If there was a dummy light for this trip, the "Replace VW Mechanic"
light would have been flashing pretty brightly! Thanks for your kind
indulgence in listening to this long tale; I hope that somebody besides
me can learn something from my experience!
--
Jay Goldberg IT5 UNIX Support 212.238.2678 \/ axion consulting svcs
Credit Suisse Group jay@ska.com \/\/ jay@intac.com