Date:         Wed, 27 Dec 1995 08:55:01 -0800 (PST)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Steve Johnson <sjohnson@pcocd2.intel.com>
Subject:      FAQ Needs Critiquing


I've written a new section for the Air-Cooled FAQ and would like your
inputs so that I can make it as correct as possible.  I don't want too
much detail.  If the reader wants details, they can dig further. 

Thanks for your inputs.
***********************************************************************

What are VWs about?  Do I want to own one?

In the realm of Volkswagens, knowledge is power!  Therefore, in a nutshell, 
the best way to find out about air-cooled Volkwagens is to read, read and 
read!  You have at your disposal, an internet news group, several mailing 
lists, several Web sites, and several very good books about VWs.   

First, PLEASE read the 'General' section of the FAQs so you get some kind
of familiarity of Volkswagens.  You can gloss over the more technical
aspects for now and just get the gist of what each section has to say.

Next, you should subscribe to the vintage vw mailing list referred to in 
the 'General' section of the FAQ.  From there you can read the posts
from people of various experience and after a week or so of this you can
get a pretty good idea of some of the problems and concerns of the owners
of these beasts.  

If you are more specifically interested in getting a bus/camper (Type II)
then it would be more advantageous for you to subscribe to the vanagon
mailing list.  This group, although titled "vanagon mail list" has 
evolved into a discussion group for all Type II vehicles.

You should also obtain a copy of "How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive!" by
John Muir.  This book is affectionately referred to as 'The Bible' by 
many of the posters in the mailing lists as well as the newsgroup.  It has 
a really good section on how to check out a VW for the purposes of 
purchasing a vehicle.  It's a bit dated and you may want to clarify a 
portion of the checking procedures with the mailing list folks.  But most 
of it is still good information.  Most large book stores carry this book 
in the automotive section.  You can also find it, rarely, at used book 
stores.  Another place to find it is at VW swap meets.  Don't worry 
about the purchase price of the book.  It is very good reading and
full of helpful information that will help you maintain your VW
for many years.  If you find, however, that it doesn't interest you
at all, then maybe you should reconsider your interest in Volkswagens.

Is an air-cooled VW for you?  Well, that depends on you.  Remember, these
vehicles are getting pretty old.  At least if you're in a country that
doesn't make or import them anymore.  The majority of people reading this
are probably in the U.S. and the last year they imported them into the
U.S. was 1982 (Vanagon).  So, you're not going to get the lastest and
greatest amenities with your air-cooled beast like power mirrors, power
windows etc. unless you add them on as after-market items.  And there
won't be any air-conditioning either.  Although you can get that from
after-market dealers as well, but it's expensive and does take a toll
on the already power-lacking stock engine.  So you must take this
into consideration when contemplating the purchase of an air-cooled
VW.

If it's going to be your one and only vehicle to get you through
thick and thin, then you really need to know if the VW is for you.
Are you mechanically inclined?  You may not know.  I sure didn't
when I first bought mine.  My mechanical learning of the VW was
very gradual as there was no internet at the time.  You don't know
how lucky you are to be able to just pop in the news group or mailing
list and post a question that can quickly be answered by a multitude
of expertise and experienced volkspersons.  Oh what I would've saved
in agony and frustration had I these VW lists to turn to.  Oh well.
At least it's my experience and mine alone.  

But the real issue is, are you willing to get dirty?  When it comes 
time for that first oil change, are you going to get on your grubby's 
and get your ass under that car and get some oil on you?  Or are you 
going to wimp out and drive to the nearest Quickie oil change place 
and let some punk mess with your pride and joy.  

You may get away with this for a while, but sooner or later this
pocket change maintenance habit is going to catch up to you and
you're going to have some kind of major maintenance thing pop up
and you're not going to have the "know-how" to be able to do it.
Why?  Because you wouldn't even do the simplest but most necessary
maintenance thing that a VW requires.  So, if you won't do that,
then what makes you think you'll do any other lip-biting-knuckle-
scrapping maneuver?  And if you're on a budget, you certainly aren't
going to be able to afford to have Manny Horowitz's Garage do it
for you either.  So you'd better make up your mind to either consider
doing the work or pass on this type of vehicle, because believe me,
it DOES require maintenance.  And when you break down and you don't
know what to do, it'll strand you and it won't give a damn whether 
or not you're late for work, having a baby or you're cold as hell.

So, if you're still reading, you've must have decided that maybe
you can handle the VW maintenance requirement.  Well, let me summarize
that requirement for you just to make sure.  

First and foremost are the oil change and the valve adjustment.  You
MUST do this, at the very least, every 3,000 miles.  As Muir will
tell you and many people on the mailing will atest to, you can burn
up an engine in a very short time with a valve out of adjustment.
And oil that has been too long in the engine will lose it's lubri-
cating abilities and will shorten the life of a VW engine as well.
So you must do these two maintenance things at the 3K mile interval
and sometimes more often depending on how well the valves stay
adjusted.  Especially after an engine rebuild.  Sometimes after
an engine rebuild, the valves, because they have not settled down
well, will get out of adjustment in as little as 50 miles of driving.
So if you're buying an air-cooled VW that has a new engine, be sure
to keep a real close eye on the valves.  The only exception are the
ones built after 1977.  These VWs have hydraulic lifters and the
valves do not need to be adjusted.  

Okay, that's the most frequent maintenance you'll need to do.  Oh!
I didn't tell you that the tune-up for VW is also every 3K miles?
Oops!  Well, that's right, you've got to change the spark plugs,
points, condensor, rotor and cap every 3K also.  The exceptions 
to this rule are as follows:

  If you have Bosch Platinum spark plugs you can wait till 15K 
  miles, but you should inspect them at 7.5K miles.

  If you have an electronic ignition e.g. Allison, Comu-fire or
  Purlux you can skip changing the points and condensor as you
  won't have any with this set up.

For VWs with drum brakes of which some are all four wheels, but
some have them only at the rear, these need to be adjusted at
3K.  The front end suspension also needs to be greased on most
of them.  (Somebody correct me if I'm wrong here)

You also need to clean and re-oil the oil-bath air cleaner.
You also should Check the fan belt tension.

There's a few more things maybe, but those are the main ones.  But
the point is that this is every 3,000 miles.  And you really should
learn to do this stuff yourself because it helps you understand
what's going on with the vehicle.  It helps you get familiar with
understanding the needs of the VW and is really how you develop
a bond with it as well.  This is very important, because it really
divides you from the people who just drive cars and puts you in
with a class of people who really know and love their cars.  It
also helps you gain a confidence and reassurance that you can get 
out of most trouble spots with the VW.  So don't miss out on this 
very crucial aspect of owning a VW.  It is well worth the experience.

Being in touch with the air-cooled VW sort of leads to the next part
of this discussion.  The VW is air-cooled right?  Okay, so what does
this mean?  It means that the only means of cooling for the engine
is air.  And if that air is hot, it's still the only air that's going
to cool that engine.  It's also inversely true that when it's -20F out,
that that is the same air that's going to keep the engine warm.  So,
when you drive your VW, you need be conscious of what kind of conditions
you're putting your baby through.  You also need to make sure that
your VW can handle those conditions.  This means that for hot weather,
all the seals and hoses for keeping the upper engine compartment air
as cool as possible are in place.  This means the engine seal, the
fresh air hoses, the spark plug seals and all the other things that
keep the hot air and heat from the engine below from coming into the
upper engine compartment must be in place.  Or your engine will die
a certain early death.

Inversely, for cold weather the above should still be true as well
as the flaps in the fan housing that allow air to blow on to the 
engine should be in working order and the thermostat hooked up so 
that it can close the flaps in cold weather and thus, keep the engine 
at optimum operating temperature.  Otherwise, a cold running engine 
will wear out in a much shorter than expected time.

Okay, so you now you know whats crucial to an air-cooled VW.  There's
one more thing you need to know.  That is about the heating system.
John Muir didn't really cover the heating system as well as he should
have.  This is probably because he lived in the Southwest.  Only in
the latest editions is there a discussion that goes into great depth
about the heating system.  The bottom line is, the further north you
go, the less effective the stock heating system is.  For most of the 
U.S. the system works quite well, but for the frigid North, NorthEast, 
Canada, and Alaska, the heating system just doesn't cut it.  Those 
folks, if they're driving in winter, are using some kind of heater 
supplement which is usually a gas heater.  The two main supplement 
heaters used on air-cooled VWs were/are the Stuart-Warner and the 
Espracher.  These heaters are rather expensive to maintain.  Rebuilt 
ones run in the $300 - $500 range.  So keep this in mind if you live 
where it gets mighty cold.

So if you're contemplating getting an air-cooled VW, you must keep
the maintenance/air-cooled things in mind.  These are not really
tough chores to do, but rather like taking care of a baby.  You do
it with care and love.  And in return, you get the enjoyment of
a well running, confident VW.  The maintenance is a regular thing
that develops into a routine that can be therapeutic and rather
enjoyable.  

I hope this helps some of you to make up your mind about the air-cooled 
VW.  If there are any suggestions for this FAQ, feel free to email
me so that I can make additions/corrections.

Steven Johnson

sjohnson@pcocd2.intel.com