Date:         Sun, 20 Oct 1996 12:22:18 -0400
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Derato@aol.com
Subject:      love my 87 westy

hi vanagon lovers,
        im getting comfy in my newly acquired 87 westy, and just wanted to
share my experience.   first off...u should know ive been driving vw buses
all my life.   first  a 67 split window van,,,then a 71 westy, then an 81
westy...now an 87 westy.   cant seem to get away from vw vans.   i concider
them to be the most versatile vehicle on the road.
        i was wary at first , having driven aircooled all my life, to go to
water cooled.   i knew the advantages(heat, quiet, more power)  but i feared
the unknown...
        and my fears were realized a week after purchase when i was stranded
on the road with my coolant spilling all over the road. ;(  my first
tow.....ever!
         a week at the dealer(i concider dealers evil, but on this occaison,
it seemed my most viable option) ,waiting for parts, and 400$ and i was again
mobile....but paranoid.
         its now a few weeks since  "the tow"...and im happy to report
nothing imobilizing has happened since;)    i love the quiet, the power, the
heat  and have been having fun working out the smaller problems. for example,
my sliding door cracked opened up while driving.....didnt like this much.
 after taking apart mechanism,,,cleaning and lubing, and increasing spring
tension on bottom spring ,   seems to be alright now.  
        when i bought the van the electric mirrors and left front speaker
didnt work...found the problem to be the wiring between body and door.   the
rubber conduit  had pinched the wiring harness so many times the wires were
all severed.
       my fridge is pretty cantankerous....and seems to prefer just a few
pumps 1-7,,over many pumps. seems prone to "flooding" .  somtimes i just cant
get a light out of it..
       needed a new pop top vent/skylight...139$  !!!  (the po locked himself
out and thought it wiser to break in through skylight rather than insurance
covered window glass $#@***#
        bought a new water pump for sink thru jc whitney  20$   vs 50$ or
more from other sources.  wonder why westfalia went for in tank pumps over
earlier setup of external pump?  submersible pumps seem prone to failure due
to water leaking into pumpmotor.
       getting psyched to remove dash to replace blower fan which has seized
up du to water getting in thru air inlet.(anyone come up with a preventative
measure on this one) Update:  after removing dash and airbox...found
blowermotor seized due to...u guessed it..moisture and lack of lubrication.
 moter seemed fine once i lubed and worked free... took the advice from one
of the postings on the vanagon list and drilled a little hole in the blower
fans hub so to get oil to the front bearing...im wondering now if i shouldnt
have sealed that hole back up as it probobly will allow water directly onto
the bearing (; .  anyway ive done the job now and i can do it again......tho
i did get into a little disagreement with my wife on the subject of doing my
own repairs...after she saw what my dash area looked like after teaking it
apart....she told me i was insane, and she wasnt kidding!   i showed her
tho....and instead of paying vw 600$ to replace my front blower fan...i did
it myself for nothing!  ;)   very satisfying  as so many of u know know. 
         in the process of doing the blower fan i found evidence of darn
varments#*/#!!.   they  chewed wire insulation ,,, made a fiberglass
insulation home in the bottom of the airbox, keeping the passenger air flaps
from closing completely.  gonna have to seal off the mouse doorways at the
air intake between the black plastic bug screen and body!     
        noticed gas lines in engine compartmnent leaking at crimped
clamps....could just re crimp to stop .
        a/c hasnt worked in a few years....bad reciever drier...(leaks
there), want to get it working again...it seems worth it to me to pursue
getting the ac working even tho the system has been open for years. i realize
it may be a waste of money,,,but my 81 has ac which didnt work when i got it
and after getting it fixed ive enjoyed it ever since.
         my a;lternator light has been taking longer and longer to go out.  i
took the voltage reg. off and pushed the brushes back and forth a few times,
then reinstalled.   works fine now..or for now i should say. anyone found a
source for just the brushes?   
      ive got a good stereo in it..tho the original speakers dont have much
base response, so im thinking about subwoofer locations..or replacement of
door speaakers.   can one improve the sound with replacement of same size
door speakers ?  or do they really have to get bigger to markedly improve
sound?( hate to screw up the nice neat doorspeaker installation,,coomplete
with intact moisture barrier.)
     improved my shifting action(stiff and hard to pull out of third) by just
lubricating the shift linkage support/bushing  at the rear of the gas
tank...(a vast improvement over my 81 westy...bushing is very hard to get at
in front of gas tank)amazing how such a simple act of lubrication can make a
world of difference..;)
   at this point im pretty pleased with the vans performance,   and very
happy to have the opportunity to share experience and resouces with other vw
lovers.
         
                                      peace