Date:         Wed, 17 Feb 1999 18:48:35 -0500
Reply-To:     matt greenwell <mgreenwe@CECASUN.UTC.EDU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         matt greenwell <mgreenwe@CECASUN.UTC.EDU>
Organization: University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Subject:      luggage rack symphonics
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; x-mac-type="54455854";
              x-mac-creator="4D4F5353"

first, thanks for everyone who responded to my last call for help (see
"another gremlin") i'll post the info that i got pretty soon, in case
someone else is experiencing the same problem.

but first...

another problem which has me puzzled. i have an 87gl westy. at highway
speeds (65-75) my luggage rack begins to vibrate against the roof,
turning my van into the worlds largest drum. it's loud. here is what
i've tried so far...

1. replace the seal (the original was rusted away anyway) I ordered seal
from "bus boys". it looked a little strange, and didn't quite seal like
the original (but better than rust). still the noise.

2. run weatherstripping tape/foam around the roof, and underneath the
luggage rack wherever it looked like the two would come into contact.
still the noise.

i then decide that i've actually sealed it TOO well, therby negating
some intentionally designed aerodynamic effect built in by vw engineers
(surely they've anticipated this problem!), so...

3. i replace the bus boys seal with a seal bought from the bus depot,
who advertises a seal that is more like the original. (it is, by the
way, and looks better too.) STILL THE NOISE.

obviously, it's something more fundamental than the seal, but i'm
running out of simple ideas, and have started to consider more radical
solutions (such as some sort of armiture/bracing bolted onto the inside
of the rack to help stop the vibration). the noise, of course, is slowly
driving me insane.

have any of you experienced this problem? any ideas or suggestions would
really be appreciated.

thanks, in advance.

matt greenwell
chattanooga