Date:         Sun, 28 Apr 1996 20:23:09 -0400
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "Kirk D. Hilliard" <kdh5j@weyl.math.virginia.edu>
Subject:      Is this normal? (1977 camper advice)

About one month ago I purchased my first VW bus, a pea green 1977
camper with 135,000 miles on the original engine and transmission.  It
had been used by a single family, strictly for camping, and it has a
beautiful interior.

Transmission:

I have had some difficulty down shifting into first and second gear.
I learned how to ease it into gear, but it would still occasionally
grind.  I have started double clutching as I down shift (revving the
engine while in neutral with the clutch engaged) and with this
technique it always goes into gear easily.  It always down shifts into
third (single clutching) with no problem.  Is this a sign of synchro
trouble, and should I do anything besides getting comfortable with
double clutching?  It never pops out of gear on its own.  It is
sometimes difficult to put into first when stopped, but I found that
if I first shift it into second it then shifts into first easily.  A
friend told me that the gear shift lever has more side to side play
when it is in gear than he is used to.  Also, when it shifts into
first or second it goes with a bit of a click, not from the
transmission, but apparently from the base of the shift lever.  Is
this a sign of a loose shift linkage?

Transmission oil:

My owner's manual says that the gear oil should last forever, but
after all this time should I change it?  If so, is the 90 weight
hypoid oil easy to find?  The only straight 90 weight gear oil that I
have seen is for marine use.

Engine oil:

Is it advisable to clean the oil screen or should I suppress the
temptation and only change the twist-on filter?

I truly do not want to start a religious war, but is there an FAQ
which summarizes the various arguments about engine oil types in a VW.
The PO used 10W40 but the local VW guru suggested using straight 30
weight.  In chapter X of the idiot's guide, John Muir recommends
straight 30 weight, but chapter XX (written after John Muir's death)
recommends 10W30.

Fuel:

Again not wanting to start a religious war, I would like to see a
summary of arguments concerning fuel octane for VWs.  My owner's
manual says to use 91 RON octane and that this is 87 (R+M)/2 octane
(the method commonly used in the US).  The PO had always used low test
gas and never experienced pinging when accelerating.  Someone told me
that the higher octane fuel helps the engine run cooler.  Is this true
even if the engine does not ping?  I plan on running some experiments
once I get my oil temp gauge (VDO dip stick type) installed.  I
understand how higher octane gas might be necessary in hotter weather,
but how does altitude affect this?  At first glance, I would think
that lower air pressure would decrease the chance of predetonation.

My engine does not seem to run hot.  After climbing the Blue Ridge
when it is 80F the engine does not smell hot and the dipstick is
comfortable to hold.  I will find out for sure when I drive across the
country this summer.

Brakes:

To get the emergency brake to hold on a steep hill I need to pull the
handle back quite far and very hard.  Is this normal?

I have not checked the brake pads and shoes yet.  Normal braking seems
to work well, but I see from the service records that the brake pads
were changed often.  Are replacement brake pads from a local auto
parts store good enough, or should I be ordering them from a VW
specific house?  (I was going to order a set from RMMW but they were
out of stock.)

Exhaust:

The line leading to the EGR filter has been crimped off at the exhaust
elbow.  The local VW guru said that this is really common around here.
Does this affect engine performance at all?  I imagine that I would
have to fix this were I ever to move to California (and it seems like
the right thing to do anyhow).  I was surprised that RMMW did not have
any EGR related items (the pipe, the filter, etc.).  Are these items
available?  This is not a California model (no catalytic converter).
Besides paying the impact fee, should I expect any difficulty bringing
this bus to the golden state?

Valve cover gasket:

John Muir says to glue a new valve cover gasket to the valve cover
with "a fast drying glue."  What should I use for this?

VW Parts Houses:

I have RMMW and a WC Metric catalogs.  I have heard that J. C. Whitney
is a good source for VW parts.  How do I get their catalog?


Thanks,

Kirk Hilliard
kdh5j@virginia.edu