TheSamba.com :: View topic

Wed Aug 13, 2008 3:29 pm

Okay most of us post on here when our vans are not running at their best. So ....how many out there have a van that is running great!

Wed Aug 13, 2008 3:34 pm

Titties :D

Wed Aug 13, 2008 3:45 pm

I was thinking the same thing! (knock on wood) To me, the joy of ownership is not breaking down on a trip and using ingenuity to get me home. To me, the joy is having a van I don't have to worry about!

Wed Aug 13, 2008 3:50 pm

PDXWesty wrote: I was thinking the same thing! (knock on wood) To me, the joy of ownership is not breaking down on a trip and using ingenuity to get me home. To me, the joy is having a van I don't have to worry about!

That is the exact reason i decided to do the bostig conversion.

Wed Aug 13, 2008 4:09 pm

first rule of vanagon - don't talk about good running vanagon

Wed Aug 13, 2008 4:13 pm

I just fixed an exhaust leak (blown gasket at the Y-joint before the cat) the van has had since I bought it. My '90 is now officially the quietest vehicle I've ever owned. Keep in mind it is also the newest vehicle I've ever owned! I've seen people on here complaining about them being noisy, their other car must be a Lexus.

-Rob

Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:49 pm

BIG titties.

Mine runs just the way it should. Took a few months after we got it, but has been fine for a few years. In fact, it runs so good and just as it should, that I finally got the nerve to put the Suby in. That 82hp wheezer of a 1.9wbx in an automatic Westy is just too slow. But, it is doing just as it should. The Suby will do so much better though.

I guess I can not leave that turd alone.

Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:54 pm

The Itinerant Air Cooled guru nailed it! The Beach Bus is running so good I'm gonna put it back up as my Avatar. No better feeling than running around town in the westy with the kid in back. Beautiful.

Camping trip this weekend...

Best,

Lanval

Wed Aug 13, 2008 6:22 pm

soreyes wrote: first rule of vanagon - don't talk about good running vanagon

Wed Aug 13, 2008 7:02 pm

Well the engine has been good for a long time now, but on a different note I have finally finished the project of going through ALL the interior stuff, new screws, bolts for everything with nylon washers where able, seat sliders,window felt, sound deadener, insulation. No more rattles or squeeks!

it's reeeeeal quiet :))

Wed Aug 13, 2008 7:10 pm

r39o wrote: BIG titties.

....and beer. 8)

Wed Aug 13, 2008 7:58 pm

Just replaced my exhaust gaskets too, and actually took the time to get all the joints lined up. Whilst it sounded cool roaring down the road, i enjoy stealth mode WAY more.

My vans been running pretty damn good lately, it makes me really happy! :D

Wed Aug 13, 2008 8:54 pm

So, you have a VAN huh?...

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=293287&highlight=carat

Thu Aug 14, 2008 7:24 am

My wife an I have had ours for years. Had some major engine work done when we first bought it. It (He) runs great, always has. Never left us on the side of the road. I have had to do a lot of mainteness to him but He warned me before we ever got to far from home i.e. overheating, leaking fluids. There is much work to be done, but I feel comfortable taking him anywhere.
The current large project is interior striping and cleaning, rust repair, and soon to be seam rust repair and shortly after that I may DIY paint him. I am also looking into some gauges.
After every winter slumber, I charge up the battery, he starts right up and away we go for another summer of adventures.
Couldn’t be happier. And to think I was contemplating on selling him a few years back. :shock:

Thu Aug 14, 2008 7:43 am

I have had my current Westy coming up on one year. Before that I had an 83.5 Westy that was in much worse shape (never broke down), so I upgraded. My van has never had a problem, there is no rust and it does not leak any fluids. I have a subi 2.2 engine in my garage on an engine stand that I want to put in, but the current engine is doing so good I just can't do it. I am always poking around the engine trying to see if it needs any maintenance but all is well. It always fires right up. It drives great on the flats, but of course the hills slow it down. I like to generate good Karma by using pullouts and letting all the speed racers get off my ass. Anyways, that is my good running story, and the story continues..............

Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:10 am

Both are ship shape. The blue '89 is down to cosmetics, now blue with Rust Bullet spots. The red '88 is getting a Red Tek conversion this weekend, otherwise there is not much to do but wash it and watch for trouble.

I need another Vanagon so I can start the madness again. :roll:

Titties and Beer indeed. Hello Chrissy...

Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:51 am

Robw_z wrote: I just fixed an exhaust leak (blown gasket at the Y-joint before the cat) the van has had since I bought it. My '90 is now officially the quietest vehicle I've ever owned. Keep in mind it is also the newest vehicle I've ever owned! I've seen people on here complaining about them being noisy, their other car must be a Lexus.

-Rob
Glad you finally got to it, but if you have a functioning O2 sensor, that leak probably cost you several mpg's ever since it started. The fact is, a leaking exhaust will let some air into the system AHEAD of the O2 sensor and fool th injection into running too rich. In fact, if you get a leak ahead of the sensor, you should disconnect the sensor to make it run on the default settings.
Yes, I've done it too. Sometimes replacing a pipe is not the favorite item on my agenda.
Al

Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:59 am

Even though my VanaJetta conversion now has a crack in the exhaust, it had an AWESOME 5-600KM test run through Whistler/Pemberton/Lilloet/Yale etc. B.C.

Pulled well on hills started every time, no surges, rad fan worked properly (there is a long steep ascent in beginning from Pemberton to Lilloet) didn't use any coolant, minor use of oil.

Whatta thrill!

Video soon!

Neil.

Thu Aug 14, 2008 1:12 pm

Other than not having a temp gauge or fuel gauge (not voltage reg) my van is running like a bat out of hell. Well, maybe a mentally challenged and sonar disfunctional bat our of a very warm place.

Thu Aug 14, 2008 1:36 pm

Mine has been pleasant evenly running van for a year now. The last issue I had was the @#$% fuel pressure regulator dying on a trip. Naturally with my wife along and in Hesperia, CA (read: next door to hell). My wife suggested; "replace anything else that can fail!" This was said while she was hot, sweaty and delirious. I did take her at heart and finished up with a couple of other items, like a preemptive fuel pump strike and a couple of plugs.

She is very pleased with the Recaro seats, curls up like a kitten and sleeps. My son startled me coming home last week late at night. My wife awakes from her slumber, looks back and see no kid! 'Where is Alex!' Oh my god, I think. Did I leave at the last fuel stop in Newbury Springs??? Then much to my relief, a voice issues from the floor, 'I'm down here.' He had crept down to sleep on the floor. Not safe, but apparently comfortable. The RedTek keeps the van cool and has really been one of my most used an pleasant mods to the van.

I just wish I had more time for trips this summer, but I may get a break and go in September, Ramadan is on, so nothing gets done in the Middle East.