Date:         Mon, 16 Oct 1995 14:24:00 -0500
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         daukes@mmts.eds.com (dean c aukes)
Subject:      Re: Maintenance Intervals

>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.

All this lubrication schedule stuff has been on my mind lately too, as I 
have had to bring Opie ('68 crew cab) back to life since he was abandoned 
for 3.5 yrs under an open barn.  I used to look in the owners manuals and 
laugh at all the "oil this, oil that" notations for locks, hinges, etc.  No 
more.  I am convinced that lubrication is the most important factor in 
keeping these old guys alive (no brainer there....).

On the CV joints, I think the key is keeping grease in there and making sure 
that the boots are still sealed.  Based on this list I got a grease needle 
and pumped the boots pretty full in the '73 last fall.  I think as long as 
the joints have PLENTY of grease (even if it is Joel's Moly EP - just 
kidding; it's what I used), then they will live.  It's when the boot gets 
torn and ignored that dirt, water and the other nasties get in that the CV 
goes south.

The bus has lots of cables that run from the front to the back - a long 
ways.  In my Bentley it mentions a ferrule near the tranny to put grease in 
the clutch cable housing.  Along those lines, wouldn't it be prudent to 
drill a small hole in the housings for heater and clutch cables and pump 
them full of grease with a grease needle?  What about the shift rod?  Any 
others?  Yes it would be messy to replace cables after this.  It made a big 
difference when I did this on the clutch cable.

On Opie I've lubed (oil or grease) hinges, window mechanisms, locks, 
latches, CVs, clutch cable, accel cable, heater cables, shifter, suspension, 
and others I can't remember.  BTW - I've removed the shifter on both Opie 
and the '73 and found the ball and socket completely dry with rusty dust all 
over.  Filling that up with wheel bearing grease and lubing the other moving 
parts on the shifter has made a great difference.  That, plus replacing the 
shift coupling in the back (rubber bits) has made the shifting very nice.  
Not as tight as new, but very smooth.

Dean Aukes (Who is thinking of installing more zerk fittings all over.......)