Date:         Tue, 19 Dec 1995 11:46:10 -0600
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         drphibes@siu.edu (Peter DePaoli)
Subject:      3 feet and as many hands

This is along the lines of "wierd Bus behavior,"  on returning from
Hebron,Ohio in the summer of '92, we stopped at a rest stop just east of the
ohio border.  we have lunch, and go to depart and what?!?  no start, quickly
diagnosed by myself as the starter motor either hot/or went south.  so we
get a bunch of people to help us push start the old '71 Westy.  We're going
along fine and then some traffic so I start braking ,but now she wants to
die, not only literally (being that the brakes are 1 pump then good) but the
engine wanted to quit in a big way.  so I'm pumping the brake, clutching,
and trying to feather the gas pedal all at the same time.  Waht next?  well
now the brake pedal (possibly because its about 90 F outside) starts to
stick in its depressed position, so thinking on my feet, I tell my wife to
fetch a piece of string from somewhere in the Bus.  I guess you could say we
did'nt want the Bus to stall.  So she finds it and then we tie it to the
brake pedal and its sole purpose is to pull tthe brake pedal up from its
stuck positon after I use the brakes.  It works! so I tie it around the
thumb and index finger of my right hand with just enough slack so as i can
still reach the shifter lever.  What with all the regalia and three footing
her and all it starts to wear on my nerves a bit.  So we stop for gas, yes
she stalls Uh Oh we'll have to push start again?!?  indeed. the gas station
is on a hill so cool hop in neutral coast, then clutch in, second gear dump
the clutch, and Yes she starts right up, but &^%$# still wants to stall
again.  I made my "Whats become loose back here test of the engine
compartment,"  and eevrything checked out OK.  So to make things worse we're
almost home to ILLinois, and the worst thunder storm of the season is in
full swing with winds of over 60 MPH.  We're driving still with the three
feet and stringed braked pedal around my finger, then the winds come rolling
over the stone quarry along I 80/94/294 in IL.  The interstate goes right
over this huge quarry.  Been There?  well the wind is blowing us from lane
to lane I'm quite serious.  and the roof of the westy is banging like you
would if you had to go to the bathroom bad and it was locked with =noone on
the other side of the dorr.  Ok. , but one good thing is happened now
everyone sees whats happening and gives me lots of room.  Some may have
pulled off the road, but this was my Ididerod (sp?).  We get home and me, my
wife and our traveling companion are all nervous wrecks.  We all go in for a
cocktail and then leater I decide to go out and find out whats up with
Natasha ('71 Westy).  Well she stars right up, with the key, no push start,
and then she purrs k=like a kitten for a few minutes and then stalls.  i go
troublshooting and then I noticed plain as day that the idle sloenoid an the
old 34 Pict had backed out and there was big vacuum leak so I tightened it
up and yes the starter motor was bad so I replaced that and the brake pedal
well that kind of fixed itself.  So the moral of the story is always bring a
friend on the VW trip with you in case you need more feet or hands.  Or...
Was this really some kind of night terror?

Peter DePaoli
'69 Panel Camper
'71 Westy (parts anybody)
'73 Super Beetle
a chevy 2bikes, 2 cats, 2birds, 2 dogs and a story