Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 23:28:31 -0700
Reply-To: "Steven X. Schwenk" <sxs@SCHWENK-LAW.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: "Steven X. Schwenk" <sxs@SCHWENK-LAW.COM>
Subject: Maitenance Philosophy
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I read Cory's recent observation that all vanagons fall within one of
three categories with great interest. the categories were something
like: (1)low mileage not yet in need of repairs; (2) 100,000 mile range
needing or soon to need some significant maitenance; (3) 100,000+ range
where significant maitenance needs have been ignored, often to the point
of some type of mechanical failure.
My van is in the near-100,000 mile range. I find that people think I am
crazy for the type of maitenance I want to do, such as: replace all
motor-tranny mounts; replace all front end bushings; replace all wheel
bearings; replace water pump (keep old one with 50k miles as spare);
rebuild alternator; replace rear swing arm bushings; replace coolant
hoses/fuel lines; do a pre-emptive head gasket replacement. These
maitenance tasks will be spread out over the next 9-to-12
months...unless I need a new transaxle$$$. I have done
brakes/shocks/replaced rear cv's/lubed front cv's/02 sensor/AFM/coolant
temp sensor/changed all fluids/tune up in the last few months, among
numerous other things.
Am I really crazy for appraoching vehicle maitenance this way and
wanting to replace things before they break? My mechanical background
is maintaining racing dirt bikes, and this is how I approached
maitenance in that context: any mechanical failure was a failure of the
mechanic to anticipate and pre-empt it. And a mechanical failure during
a race was the ultimate shame and failure. Hence, for every hour of
track time, the bike got about 4 hours of prep/maitenance time. Also,
peak performance could be had only with a bike maintained at specs.
A production road vehicle is a little different, of course. I have done
a fair amount of moderate off-roading, though, and a little where
conditions were pretty rough...so althjough the vehicle has been well
maintained, it has had harsher treatment in some respects than a purely
pavement vehicle. At 100,000 miles, I would expect that many of the
components mentioned above will have begun to wear and could fail here
and there over the next couple of years. Maybe just replacing one will
not make a big difference, but doing all of them (and what others?)
should result in some tangible improvement in performance....even if
it's just in the way the vehicle "feels". Not only that, but the peace
of mind knowing that the vehicle is in top condition given the costs of
a breakdown way out in the backcountry seems worth it to me...on top of
the satisfaction of keeping a really neat vehicle in prime condition.
Besides...I hate doing things piecemeal one at a time. Does anyone else
share my maitenance philosophy?
steve
1990 syncro westfalia
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