Date:         Sat, 5 Dec 1998 14:46:29 -0800
Reply-To:     YauMan Chan <YAUMAN@CCHEM.BERKELEY.EDU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         YauMan Chan <YAUMAN@CCHEM.BERKELEY.EDU>
Subject:      Re: Vanagon Gripes
Comments: To: vanagon@VANAGON.COM
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

Great observation.. but let me take a stab at this and add a few more:

>>> Hajasz <hajasz@VISI.NET> 12/04 10:32 PM 
1. The #@!% plastic parts in the cooling system, please find the
engineer who thought this was a good idea and let him fix them on the
side of the interstate when it is raining.
>>
Yea. but they learnt their lesson.. all the replacements for the plastic flanges I had to put in are metal... better late than never..believe me.. I replace them one at a time as they cracked.. one after another and yes usually on the freeway..

>>2. The Captain's Chair Arm "Warning your armrest will self destruct in
30 seconds.... Make that 10."
>>
Well only if you weight 300lb or if you try to steam up the van with your lover in the front seats - I usually lay down the back seats for that <g>

>>3. The footwells that attract rust. Here was one problem that should
have been left behind with the good old Microbus.
>>
No comments.. I am in an unsalted part of the country..

>>4. No lights on the heat or AC controls but the cigarette lighter gets a
nice green halo... maybe a disgruntled smoker in design at VW. "Make me smoke outside, just try to set your heat at night"
>>
Now if you've visited Germany you will appreciated this.. 90% of adults smoked the last time I was there..

And let me add a few from those of us who work on our beloved vanagons:

5. How about the front disc rotor and the wheel bearing hub as one piece. Grease and brake surface all in one... Changing or resurfacing the rotor becomes a major operation with bearing press and all.

6. 250 foot-lb torque on the rear axle nut.. are they nuts? 

7.. and of course my all time favorite.. brake fluid reservoir on the top part of the dash behind the instrument cluster!  Forgot to siphon off some fluid when changing brake pads?  Or don't have a steady hand for topping off the brake fluid?....you've got gooey mess all over the electrical stuff in the dash.. You would think that a nation that gave us Werner Von Braun and Ferdinand Porsche can do better!

Ahh.. but we love them.. they're so cute and so unique! (But then I also love the Citreons and the Pugeots too.. there is no accounting for taste or am I just a masochist!)

Yau-Man Chan
87 GL