TheSamba.com :: View topic - 85 Vanagon

Tue May 03, 2011 8:18 am

Hi, I'm Pete, first time poster, long time lurker. I'm the proud new owner of this base 85 model which I picked up about 2 months ago. Since that day I've been searching this site and reading the bentley and learning a ton of stuff. I've owned about 10 other watercooled vw's and I'm familiar with wrenching on them but the Vanagon is an entire different beast.

Here she is as purchased:

It's in decent shape except for a few small rust spots, especially for a northeast van. Already picked up a new rear bumper from the classifieds here and a roof rack for hauling my canoe and kayak.

I got a long list of receipts dating back to 2 previous owners. Seems like the owners dumped some major money into it in 2004, respraying it and resealing the engine.

I also have a bunch of receipts for miscellaneous parts that were replaced, including rear axles about a year ago even though one of them is clicking under load. It clearly states on the receipt that the owner opted for cheaper replacements. But even cheapo axles should last longer than a year, no???

Recently the starter stopped working. Already pulled the old one out and have a new one waiting to go in along with a hard start relay. The body of the solenoid was completely rusted and the short braided wire between the starter and solenoid was completely gone. Hopefully I'll get a chance to install it today.

So far the family and I are loving this thing. I already covered about 800 miles in 2 months of ownership just driving weekends. My 3 year old daughter wants me to drive it all the time, and if I tell her it's broken she wants to help me fix it. :D

Next up: new fuel lines and new grounds.

Can anyone recommend kits for replacing these or should I just piece it together?

Thanks to all who post on this site. It's a refreshing change from the other vw forum which i've posted on for the past 11 years.

Pete

Tue May 03, 2011 8:45 am

Congrats on the Van. Looks great.

For fuel line:
I used the Van-Cafe.com kit last month. I priced it out to buy the pieces separately and didn't see any real savings. My local VW supplier has decent priced clamps, but fuel line was expensive, over $40 just for the line. I didn't check FLAPS. You could probably save a few bucks tracking it all down, but for me my time is money too. A kit from a Vanagon parts vendor was the best value.

Some don't like the clamps Van-Cafe uses, but clamps are very nice it you need to loosen them, like I did on the fuel rail when I forgot to remove the metal cuff by the injectors. Plus I know how to tighten a screw-style clamp and can check for looseness periodically. I can't say the same for some of the crimp-style clamps others recommend.

Tue May 03, 2011 8:52 am

Welcome and nice van

1st thing is the Fuel lines, for everyone's sake
Busdepot, Vancafe, Gowesty all have a kit available.
make sure you also replace the plastic "union fitting' on the engine compartment bulkhead.. you can use steel/brass or just ignore it and bypass with uncut rubber.

they really are a comfortable 'base camp' of a vehicle, in bad weather or hot days. keep your eyes open for some late model seats with arm rests, there's no substitute to driving comfort.
and a rear bench that'll fold to a bed, it's handy for you or the kids to catch some quick Zzzs or best for watching a Drive-in movie or sunset out the back hatch..

a few items we've added to the regular passanveger vans in our family fleet..
* a swivel base to the pass side, it's amazing how much more room and comfortable to be able to swivel the seat to the rear.
* a folding rear bench/bed, as mentioned for those cat naps or just loafing with kids & pets. ie. Drive-ins or the beach.
*a faux hardwood floor in cargo area, great for cleaning up afterwards and adds a classy interior decor
*a rear hatch screen to make all those that much better.
*an awning, I'm not sure what kind of roof rack you bought. but if it's a capable it's really nice to mount a retractable house awning. they stock them at Chrostmass tree shoppes for ~$200..
* if you do ever plan to take the tykes camping in it once you've a bed/bench then adding in a Jalousie window to the DS middle is great for cross ventillation. especially in humid rain

pizzavandriver wrote: Hi, I'm Pete, first time poster, long time lurker. I'm the proud new owner of this base 85 model which I picked up about 2 months ago. Since that day I've been searching this site and reading the bentley and learning a ton of stuff. I've owned about 10 other watercooled vw's and I'm familiar with wrenching on them but the Vanagon is an entire different beast.

So far the family and I are loving this thing. I already covered about 800 miles in 2 months of ownership just driving weekends. My 3 year old daughter wants me to drive it all the time, and if I tell her it's broken she wants to help me fix it. :D

Next up: new fuel lines and new grounds.

Can anyone recommend kits for replacing these or should I just piece it together?

Thanks to all who post on this site.
Pete

Isn't it though.. I find I come to the VW Vanagon forum here on The Samba to get away from the Drama, attitude and ignorant conjecture of alot of the rest of the internet..
Quote: It's a refreshing change from the other vw forum which i've posted on for the past 11 years.

though wait till you figure out you can put some of your old favorite VW watercooled engines in the back ;-) though they all take a fair bit of $$ in adaptation
16valve, 1.8T, VR6, Turbo Diesel, TDI, 2.0 ABA :twisted:

Tue May 03, 2011 9:21 am

Welcome! Nice van, i like its baseness. Check that your CVs are tight, they should be retightned some miles after installation. Also I have had a couple of new boots come loose from the CV and lead to lube loss and noise. Cleaned, repacked and peening the boots back into place made fine.

Tue May 03, 2011 9:52 am

That looks just like my 85 GL except mine is blue with black interior.

I did the gowesty fuel line kit and it was an easy install.

For grounds I just cleaned mine up.

One thing I did to my van was crawl underneath and grease up all the slots that the shifter linkage runs through. This made the fan shift really nicely. I also lubed up the shifter box area above the spare tire.

Tue May 03, 2011 2:20 pm

thanks for all the advice. definitely going to look into the fuel line kit to keep it simple.

just finished installing the new starter and she fired right up. 8)

Fri Jul 01, 2011 8:26 am

i got lucky and noticed a fuel line leak close to home under the van in the return line to the gas tank. i immediately parked it and ordered the kit from gowesty. definitley not a smart move putting that off!

other than that, the only progress was adding a stripe, passing NJ inspection, and installing new carpet...

at a vw show:

rolling shot on the way there:

Fri Jul 01, 2011 10:01 am

I like the "Santa Cruz" sticker on the back window!

Fri Jul 01, 2011 4:43 pm

BEST color for a vanagon in my opinion, just like mine. :wink:

Here's ben's place info on replacing fuel line at the injectors, a spot some folks seem to miss, but important because it's right *over* the hot exhaust.

http://www.benplace.com/fuel_line.htm

as for those clicking cv's, it's not too difficult to get under there, loosen the 6 bolts at a cv flange, pull it open at the top and shoot a bunch of grease in there.

For the cv's in the 'dark cave', not so sure about recommending it though, I took a grease needle and poked a hole real close to the flange, pumped in grease, and taped it up. Poked the hole at the inside of the rib, figuring centrifugal force would be trying to push grease to the outside ribs.

As I said, probably not recommended but it was late at night in the middle of nowhere, and I was wanting a quick fix.

Mon Nov 05, 2012 2:06 pm

so she got into a fight with Sandy and she lost...

luckily the damage was not fatal and she can continue to be my work horse.

anyone think i can push this dent out so she at least won't carry a puddle when it rains? :P

i guess i have to drop the healiner and see what i'm dealing with...still waiting for electricity to be restored at home. :x

Mon Nov 05, 2012 2:19 pm

Ouch! :(
Altough it has a nice factory interior, maybe installing a poptop can solve the problem

Mon Nov 05, 2012 2:54 pm

A Country Homes Camper roof would cover that up.

Mon Nov 05, 2012 3:28 pm

That is repairable by a body shop. I would think they could pop that back up fairly easily. You probably could not do any body work besides touching up any cracked paint after they popped it out if you didn't want to.

Mon Nov 05, 2012 3:29 pm

Dang... I started at the beginning of the thread and when I saw the New Jersey plate I got a sinking feeling what the update was going to be.

Best of luck as you recover and review your options.

Mon Nov 05, 2012 3:31 pm

duplicate post

Mon Nov 05, 2012 3:43 pm

You could Put a jack inside the van with a board standing on it and just push it back into place.

Mon Nov 05, 2012 4:49 pm

I think you can probably push that out with your feet. the roofs of these beasts are not that strong.
I would however, also advocate looking into the addition of a pop top, either westy or country homes. Even if you do not cut a hole and use it, just bolt one in place and cover that dent. : )

Mon Nov 05, 2012 5:24 pm

were just in the process of fitting a hightop to one of our vans. (We have another top for sale) if your interested or want to see pictures let us know. We had it supplied by the guy in Canada and are holding another here in VA for him to sell. They look good and way about the same as the westy top. What ever happens hope your back on the road soon.

Mon Nov 05, 2012 5:31 pm

xoo00oox wrote: You could Put a jack inside the van with a board standing on it and just push it back into place.
Exactly what a buddy of mine did to his Baywindow.
In the broader areas he used a piece of plywood scrap.

Mon Nov 05, 2012 6:33 pm

don't take the advice from your drunk buddy that says "fill it with just the right amount of acetylene and toss a match at it".