Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 22:42:48 -0600
Reply-To: Gary Shea <shea@GTSDESIGN.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Gary Shea <shea@GTSDESIGN.COM>
Subject: Re: !!!URGENT!!!-NEED HELP/ADVICE!!
In-Reply-To: <d83fb6c9.35fde5e6@aol.com>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Chris -- It sounds like you are having all the nasty standard vanagon
problems known to the list, but all at once rather than one or two per
year. Ugggh.
From the sound of the tranny, it's the standard 3/4 problem which
Todd Hill describes here from time to time. I'm sure he'll use better
terminology than I can, and be more accurate, but anyway, yep, it's
broke, and I doubt there's nothing you can do but take it in to get
rebuilt. Ouch. But hey, Todd is in California too...
The starting problem is likely another infamous vanagon problem,
known as the 'sticky solenoid'. Lots of folks (and I must admit
to having been one of them for a while myself...) deal with this
using a hammer: when the car won't start, put it in gear, put on
the emergency brake (well, if you have one!), make sure that thing
can't move, and slide under the side in front of the passenger side
rear wheel, and give that solenoid a few gentle taps. It'll start,
most times. After a while that starts working less often, at which
point you disassemble and clean your solenoid, get a new solenoid,
or get a new starter. I did the latter as I was in Boulder CO and
home is in Utah.
The emergency brake problem is most likely minimal. I'd guess you
wore the hell out of your shoes, and now the emergency brake lever
can't pull them to the drum. Probably need to pop the little covers
on the back of the drums and turn the adjustment wheel by hand until
you feel the brakes start to engage, then turn it back until it's
free again. It's a pain working in there, but not too bad other than
that. As I recall, there's a direction that it's pretty easy to
turn the adjustment wheel in... that's the direction that moves
the shoes closer to the drums. You might open up the other little
cover back there and see if there's any shoe left at all ;)
Ok, there's my take. Except for the tranny, it sounds like your
problems aren't too serious. The tranny sucks though, and will
probalby require you to find a used one or get the trashed one rebuilt.
Gary
On Mon, 14 Sep 1998, Chris W wrote:
> Dear list,
> I have just driven my 87 Syncro (w/114,000miles on it) from Mass to Santa Fe,
> NM and have been limping since Penn. I was getting off an exit and coming to
> a stop when I tried to take it out of 4th gear but it wouldn't come out, it
> was stuck. I tried moving the gear back and forth but it wouldn't move
> anywhere so I inched across a huge intersection (clutch gas clutch gas...)and
> parked to check the situation. I looked underneath couldn't find anything. A
> mechanic down the road lifted it up and didn't find anything wrong with the
> visible transmission parts underneath. He pulled on the rod a few times hard,
> and figured it was internal (possibly one of the "forks came off/broke...).
> So I had two choices I could wait there until Monday when maybe someone could
> look at it some where (that guy couldn't work on it) or I could just hit the
> road again in 4th gear the whole way. I choose to hit the road and as I got
> started I was able to shift into 3rd then briefly into 2nd and 1st, but 3rd
> was the most reliable if I wanted to shift into 4th gear to get on the highway
> (confusing?? sorry I am seeing triple and my upper back is a knot from all
> the stress of this Bull $%@!!#$ i have gone through in the past 3 days). So
> basically I could shift form 4th into 3rd and back to 4th w/ no real problem
> except a noticeable weird feel, but shifting into 2nd 1st and reverse is
> another story. When I get off the highway I would shift into 3rd and it would
> hold but when I would try and take it out it would feel like it was totally
> trashed. So I limped like this on down the highway (once I was on the highway
> at speed no worries). Then in Illinois it started pouring rain and guess what
> happened next, my driver side wind shield wiper went right off the wind shield
> and would not go back without a little help from my hand w/ my arm out the
> window. Realizing that this was not going to work and it was becoming very
> dangerous I got off the highway and found some Rain-X I had packed. Applied
> that and was able to make it to Joplin Missouri in pouring rain where the fun
> really started!! I got gas and went to start it up and there was nothing.
> The power worked but engine didn't turn. --OK this happened once before at
> the final end of a drive I had made from North Carolina to CT when I filled
> her up, and what I did was push start it--
> So I got a guy to give me a hand (absolutely pouring rain FUN FUN FUN). We
> push jumped it and it started right up. So I limped in 3rd gear to a hotel
> for the night (can't sleep in her cause she is filled to the rim w/my life
> which is moving to San Diego). She started up the next morning and this
> procedure of having to push start when stopping for gas continued all the way
> to Santa Fe. So here is what I know; my battery is good, I tried starting it
> up an hour after I parked here and she started up!? so it has to do w/ a hot
> engine / heat needing to cool down ???? Whatever, it sucks! -and as for the
> transmission the only thing I can think is that (another fun thing) my
> emergency brake has not been working for over a month when I drove w/ it on
> for 30min (ooops), and I have been having to put it in gear to park. I
> tightened the E-Brake cable but that wasn't it VW said (last week) that in
> short it was f!@#ed and needs $1000 worth of repair (whatever they also once
> told a new CAT would cost $995.00 and I got one through Ron for $89.00). So I
> basically I don't know what to do, I need my baby fixed and I need to get to
> CalIf...
> HELP!!! All advice PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!
> Chris W
> 87 Syncro GL
>
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Gary Shea shea@xmission.com
Salt Lake City http://www.xmission.com/~shea
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