Date:         Sat, 6 Dec 1997 13:03:11 -0400
Reply-To:     mark keller <kelphoto@BRIGHT.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon mailing list <Vanagon@Gerry.SDSC.EDU>
From:         mark keller <kelphoto@BRIGHT.NET>
Subject:      GRIPES about VW and Workarounds for parts issues.
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Well I don't want to start a war, nor incite the ire of folk but I have a
couple things that occured to me while putting my fog lamps on the van.
That led to me just jotting down some other items.  If you know a way
around thess "gripes", I'm all ears. I'm saying this more of a mindsetting
thing so I don't remake the same mistakes. Often it's cleary better to pay
the price and get on with your life.  But I try to consider a workaround if
practicale. I suggest we continue to publish solid solutions which are
equal to a dealer only part, and cost a fraction of the cost.

THE BENTELY MANUEL- Bently clearly states that their manual is intended for
use by profession mechanics.  I spoke to an active VW Vanagon trained
technician, and he confimed that the manual leaves out "redundent"  VW
information, because they, the techs, would already know that.  Case in
point for me was what in the world do the electrical diagrams mean by 30,
and X , and 15, and 58 and so on at the top of the power grid.  Of course
they refer to positive power, which positive power?  Turns out that all
VW's use 30 for Battery, X for the START position, 15 for the "run"
position, and 31 for ground. He couldn't recall what 58 was supposed to be
standardized for.

   Can we as a group publish a list of "standardized" stuff the manuel
leaves out and say index it by the "section". Ie electrical is section 97
and so on.

Secondaly, if VW is going make it so cheap on themselves at least give us a
diagram to do the work by.  Bently doesn't even acknowedlege Fog lamps in
the 90 and on VAns, I don't know about the others.

Lastly I end this foment about secret coding.  It seems that VW, aka,
Benetly sell enough manuals to publish and addendum, so that the manual is
useful to us.  They suggest that the manual is of value to the owner so
that we can't read it in order to more intelligently communicate and
understand with VW service folk. Hump. How about using it to save money.
I'm really stoked over their obscure instructions over bleeding the coolant
system. This is absoulutly ludicrist.


The VW FUSE box.  No fun here. I wanted to use the no. 5 fuse location for
the fog lamps.  Well it's dead. The VW tech, said yeah, those fog lamps
things are a hassle on all of em.  You have to wire the whole thing from
scratch.  Humph. Gosh I guess fog lamps just arn't that common so VW
figures it would be an asinine waste of money to actually pre wire them in
all the way.  It's ludicrist that the don't a least power the buss to to
fuse block. How many accountants do they have?

 Does anyone have a workaround we can publish.  It seems if there would be
a push in type of bridge that would "connect" the fuse to the electical
buss. If no one knows, or some one has a fuse box they can send me, I see
what it takes to do it right.

  Then we would need to know which number pin to tap off of the headlamp
plug on the back of the fuse box.

   I would like a VW p/n for their solderless crimp terminals, so I could
go the rest of the way and just use their plug. Yes I can modify one, but
why, it is already made.

I'll say this so I'll think twice about "circumventing" VW parts.  It seems
that VW engineers are a creative bunch, and would rather reinvent the
wheel.  So rather than our unique little vehicles being built by a large
number of off the shelf items, VW make a unique one for itself. Yes I
realize that one reason the Vanagon is so much fun is that it is
unconvential and thus has some unconvential tooling

It is just apparant that VW controls the lisencing, and betting that the
aftermarket won't invest in the tooling since the VW application is too
narrow to recoup their cost.  I feel VW loses, cause their in reinventing
the WHEEL several losses occur. The consumers looses utility and cost of
maintaining the things make it much more likely for boken things to stay
that way unless absolutly needed or wanted.  So a five year old VW looks
like a street urchin despreatly in need of TLC. A poor image for the used
car, then resale vaule is lower,and new sales taper off because of both
effects.  The after market loses, cause competition is resticted, and we
lose by exhorbitant cost.  The infamous sagging springs and their $500 cost
among others.  The post about a $2 million dollar replacement value still
astonishes me.

  I'm going to say that I looked into bypassing the issue of springs but
was thwarted by their design, yeah I know get in line! It seems that coil
of OEM springs are over 1" apart, and those wedgy things cant reach.  I
tried to use a "mr Gasket" 1" rubber plate.  MY idea was to "bush" beneath
the spring and thus get back some of my camber, cause you can't roatate
tires that have been run out of camber on the back end, and then hope to
have the van drive well because the tire tread is now "canted" and thus
ruined for front end.

  I'd consider researching this for a group purchase.  I know a manufacture
of helical springs.  WE would need one new one to go off of, and then the
will make 50 or more.  Any takers.

All in all, I've done this auto repair thing a long time, have good tools,
and understand much about mechanical apparatus, this littney of VW
shortcomings suggests to me orchastrated corporate policy.

In my opinion, VW is the biggest loser, because their reputation is tainted
by cars which American dealers really can't fix, owners sell cars just to
get out from under them, and the correct notion that their cars are just
plain a lot of extra trouble own. It sad VW dealerships appear on the
decline, here.  But unless corporate thinking changes, I feel the decline
will continue.

The sad part for me, it that VW has been blessed with some honest creative
engineering and has a different approach to transportation.  I happen to
agree, that you don't need to put a 300 hp engine in every car. Or that
cars have to be rolling living rooms to comfortable. VW excells at design
and sheetmetal fabrication among other things.

 Corporate greed is choking them to death though. Hey VW, take care of the
car owner, and you'll see a resurgance in American market. Put some muscle
behind your mouth. Driver's wanted, well get a decent "pit crew" and maybe
you won't have to whine about finding drivers for your cars. That's my
sermon.

Sincerely Mark
91 Carat WE
"Lazarus"