Date:         Mon, 16 Oct 95 13:17:37 CDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Joel Walker <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject:      Re: Maintenance Intervals

On Mon, 16 Oct 95 12:37:01 CDT John Foster said:
>But what about other items??  VW ( and Bentley) say the hypoid gear oil
>doesn't need to be replaced. Good idea?? [I still have the now 9 year old

in some books by Robert Sikorsky, he makes a point about ALL fluids in a
car should be replaced at least every two years. transmission oil, brake
fluid, steering fluid, coolant, everything.

>original.]   VW doesn't mention the fuel filter, but I have changed mine
>about every 50,000 miles.  I also replaced spark plug wires, cap and rotor
>at 80,000 (even though all tested OK on my ohm meter) and performance seemed

i change my fuel filter every 25,000 miles (for you non-water-cooled types,
ours is a great big metal jobber that costs about $30. not those little square
plastic things.  i also replace my cap and rotor every 25,000 ... just because
i like to spend money. ;)

>to improve; and shortened the 30,000 mile replacement interval on plugs and
>air filters.  And I have replaced drive belts every three years---one broke

drive belts i change at 50,000 miles, with the oxygen sensor. air filters i
change about twice a year. i used to change plugs every 7,500 miles (three
oil changes), but then i got these Bosch triple-prong plugs and i'm up to
15,000 miles on them.

>Has anyone seen modifications from VW on any of these since the original
>intervals were set years ago??  Or developed their own sense of reasonable
>preventative maintenance??

i've not seen anything from vw about this ... and the owner's manual says
that the coolant does NOT need replacing!!! well, i'm gonna replace it.
it's my belief that fluids/oils/coolant wear out ... if engine oil gets all
cruddy and loses viscosity and all that, then so can transmission oil. and
so can coolant (otherwise why does everyone tell you to "check" your coolant
before winter sets in?? if it was ok last year, why not this year?? :)

yes, you spend more money. but would you drive a car and never change the oil?
you could save money that way ... in the short term. but it would eventually
tear up the engine, and THAT would cost a lot of money. :(

for those of you with water-cooled vanagons (and eurovans!), don't forget
that you have power-steering fluid! and it has a little donut-shaped filter
in the top of that tank. i've been replacing mine every two years (well,
actually i let the mechs do it). so far, so good.

another thing to think about in scheduling maintenance is cleaning and
regreasing the cv-joints. some say every 30,000 miles. i've done mine at
75,000 mile intervals, but i cram a LOT of grease in there. my brother has
done this on his rabbit, and has the original joints at over 200,000 miles.
naturally, his rubber boots have rotted and had to be replaced several times.
but the point being that if you'll clean and regrease BEFORE they start
knocking, the joints will last a long long time.

joel