Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 17:44:55 -0400
Reply-To: "Fitz-Randolph, Douglas" <dfrandolph@TALKAM.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "Fitz-Randolph, Douglas" <dfrandolph@TALKAM.NET>
Subject: Syncro Engine Block Heater Mystery Solved!! (long story,
happy en ding)
Content-Type: text/plain
I realize this isn't really the season when people think about stuff like
this, but I was sooo excited I had to tell someone who *might* care...
After some particularly cold weather back in February, I started trying to
find out about getting a block heater for my '90 syncro who does lots of
nasty things on very cold mornings. Went to the VW dealer - they had one - a
little metal "brick" that bolted onto the bottom of the engine case. It was
part# ZVP 289 104 and, according to the book, fit all Vanagons, EXCEPT the
syncro. Nothing at all was available for the syncro - Bummer! Then I ran
across Harry Yates' website when he was selling his syncro Westie - and he
had a block heater listed as one of the options. I e-mailed him, and he was
good enough to go out and look under his van to get the part numbers. He
gave me the following: "CSA Model OP-8 LR 20976 Made in Canada". I couldn't
find any reference to that part anywhere, and it appeared to be a non-VW
part. Where to find one? Who knows. Oh well.
I then posted a question about the topic on the westfalia.org forum. Mike
Soehnlein (Capt. Mike) responded that he had fit the non-syncro VW part (ZVP
289 104) on his syncro, but in looking at it, it looked like he had to bend
the part a bit and drop the skid frame to get it in. Hmmm...
Shortly thereafter, I posted a question to the Vanagon list - several people
replied - I believe they were all from Canada - with the same info as Harry:
"Model OP-8 etc." It was beginning to look like this was a Canada-only part.
David Hayward even had the original part number from his invoice - it was A
009 203 H. I called the dealer in BC he recommended, as well as a few other
Canadian dealers - no luck. The A 009 203 H number was obsolete and had
been replaced with the ZVP 289 104 number. Oh well, I thought, they must
have found a new supplier for the part when they changed the number, and the
new model doesn't fit the syncro.
About a month ago, I was ordering some parts from Bus Depot - Ron had the
ZVP 289 104 block heater for not too much $, so I figured I'd give it a shot
and see just how much I'd have to bend it to make it fit. When I placed the
order, Ron (correctly) told me that this part won't fit the syncro models.
"I know", I said.
Well, when the order arrived on my front porch, I went right for the block
heater. It was in a nice, sturdy little box clearly labeled ZVP 289 104. I
opened the box and pulled out the shiny little thing and lo and behold -
what was stamped on it but "CSA Model OP-8 LR 20976 Made in Canada"! They
were the same part all along!! (And the "CSA" was that electrical
certification symbol you see on all kinds of electrical items (a circle with
the SA inside of the C), and the "LR 20976" must be the certificate number,
cause my coffee maker's got an "LR number" too!)
It fit my syncro just fine - I didn't even have to drop the skid frame. It
was as simple as removing one nut and one bolt, bending one of the little
tabs slightly to clear the stud on the engine case, then replacing the nut
and bolt. I used a bunch of zip-ties to safely route the cord up to the
license plate door and voila! One engine block heater installed, probably
about 40 minutes work!
I wish all Vanagon stories had such a happy ending! Thanks to all who
contributed.
Doug Fitz-Randolph
Yarmouth, ME
dfrandolph@talkam.net
'90 Syncro
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