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Date:         Tue, 05 Dec 1995 18:47:00 -0800 (PST)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "Maher, Steve (SD-MS)" <SMAHER@PO2.GI.COM>
Subject:      V6anagon/ Route 66: Day 2 /L

Day 2 of the V6anagon trip began at 6:00 AM-- about 2-1/2 hours after Day 1 ended. Lots of kids to send to school, dogs to feed, workplaces to be gone to, and today an extra body to be shoved off the hideabed. A wonderful pancake breakfast later, I was sitting outside staring at the V6anagon, wondering which problem to tackle first.

Disconnected the 3 (?) fuel connections to the fuel pump, and undid the two bolts holding it and its shield. The new one was a slightly different shape, and while it fit the mount and the hoses, it didn't sit low enough to get under the shield. The shield is heavy-gauge steel, and I finally (and conveniently) decided that it was a rock shield against stuff flung up from the tires (it was on the side of the engine that would have been "front" in the Citation), so I left it off. Bob Hufford called from work about then and spake of pizza, and the sun came out from behind the clouds as the pump went on.

Actually, the weather was fine-- surprisingly so for Missouri in December, according to Bob. Around 45 in the morning, up to 65 in midafternoon, nary a cloud in the sky, except those my brain conjured up while imagining Vanagons stranded in the middle of Route 66 somewhere, outside of pizza-delivery range.

While fiddling around in the engine compartment, noted a few interesting things. The perforated shield that hangs below the rear bumper of the Vanagon, was positioned perfectly to catch any oil that might leak from the engine and blow back-- and perfectly positioned to drip said oil directly down onto the exhaust pipe. Also noticed that the exhaust pipe had a large crinkle and an actual TEAR in the top, as well as being extremely rusty. gently grabbed the tailpipe and lifted, and watched the (clamped-on) muffler pivot easily on its joint. A look at the nuts on the clamp-- forget it. Well, I guess this trip will be a good test of the engine compartment seals. Now I know the source of the raspy exhaust sound. I brought gun-muffler earphones just in case, but the V6anagon doesn't seem loud enough to necessitate them.

Next the rack&pinion assembly. Through the good graces of listmember Bradley, I had brought with me a complete rack & tie rod assembly, with new boots and tie rod ends a la Kragen/Checker. Working on the rack turned out to be as easy as working with tinkertoys, with only occasional assistance from Mr. WD-40 and Mr. BallJointFork. I think the sight of my 2# sledge hammer, scared the old ball joints off the car.

Installation was the reverse of removal (how many times have you read that in the book, only to find it's never true? Well, this time it was), and Bob showed up around lunchtime. We did pizza, finished up the job, changed the oil, topped off the tranny, and adjusted the front alignment as best as a pair of tired eyeballs would allow. I had no way of knowing where "exact straight ahead" was, so best-guessed it, and wound up with a steering wheel a quarter-turn off center. Oh, well, as long as it stays out of the ditches...

Main reason I have been interested in this V6anagon all along, is the extra power that it should have, as well as the prospect of having a real, live heater. So far so good. But some things never change, I guess-- despite the fact that the rack replacement should have been a lot more major than the fuel pump, I can't help but notice that so far, the Volkswagen end of this car has been a lot easier to work on, than the Chevrolet end.

Cleaned up, strategically loaded up the bus, thanked Bob profusely for his magnificent assistance and hospitality, and was off to get an alignment and pick up the bulky, cheap items I hadn't brought with me for the trip (Ice chest, pop, etc.). Van no longer shimmied (much), fuel pump didn't leak (at all), starter started, engine ran, and all was right with the world. Until alignment places started telling me that MAYBE they could fit me in next week sometime. Well, van was tracking straight (steering wheel notwithstanding), wasn't screeching its tires around curves, and so I decided to venture out into the great unknown.

Stopped by a fireworks factory to load up on ordnance for the next /martha trip, maxed out the tire pressure, made a final check of this that and the other, and headed off as the sun was setting. Quickly found out that you can't see diddly for Route-66 attractions when it's dark-- the most interesting ones were shut down 40 years ago.

After about half an hour of beautiful running, while trading feet on the accelerator to relieve cramping from the incredible friction force, the van conked out cold. Coasted over to the side while noting that the amber ignition switch was no longer lit up. While coasting, reached under the dash to count fuses, I rolled No. 1 thru 5, hoping to hit the magic one. No joy, of course-- finally stopped, got out the maglight, and started checking methodically. No. 6 it was, and we were off again.

The remaining shimmy seemed to disappear as the tires warmed up, but I kept the speeds around 55-60 for now. Being able to accelerate up hills in 4th gear is an exhilirating novelty, if you don't mind kicking the sh*t out of the gas pedal to do it. I'm big on control-feel. A nice, linear torque response to pedal-pressure can make driving a pleasure, which this van absolutely did not have. Well, the goal is to get it home where I can work on it at leisure (what leisure???). Redesigning the throttle linkage will be near the top of the to-do list.

Trip was wonderfully uneventful from that point. The console Volvo heater near the back seat, actually worked, and kept things toasty. Good thing, because exhaust and burning-oil smell started seeping into the cabin from somewhere. Never got dizzy, but kept a window open. Thank the lord for the unseasonably mild weather. Rolled into Oklahoma City at about 11:00 PM, put the V6anagon to bed, jotted down the notes you are reading now, and finally fell asleep over my Rand McNally. Thus ended Day 2 of the V6anagon trip.

Steve Maher smaher@gi.com


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