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Sun Feb 07, 2010 11:08 pm

I will not admit to using my head to hold the seat up or to putting vinyl tubing on a funnel to fill oil or searching the Bentley and forum for the clutch reservoir. I did learn not to unscrew the armrest adjusting knob.

I did use the search.

Aloha
tp

Mon Feb 08, 2010 12:21 am

Steelhead wrote: Careful with the bottle opener, I've seen it bite off the glass lip of the bottle more than once.

I've wasted more than a few beers that way, eventually I wised up.

Mon Feb 08, 2010 9:22 am

BCWesty wrote: I've owned my van for just over a year and had no idea about the oil filler tube! Came in very handy when I changed my oil today :D

I replaced the engine in my van before I noticed the filler tube! :cry:

Mon Feb 08, 2010 1:42 pm

BCWesty wrote: I've owned my van for just over a year and had no idea about the oil filler tube! Came in very handy when I changed my oil today :D

Didn't know that one either untill I went to add some oil at a service station in Canada. The kid looked at me like I was an idiot when I asked for a funnel. He walked around to the back, pulled the tube out and walked away. Pretty much killed my westy cool. :lol:

Mon Feb 08, 2010 2:07 pm

I knew about the oil filler tube before I knew I had a gex. The previous owner showed me the oil tube, but forgot to mention it was a gex :shock: surprise surprise.

Mon Feb 08, 2010 4:04 pm

BCWesty wrote: I've owned my van for just over a year and had no idea about the oil filler tube! Came in very handy when I changed my oil today :D

You lucky dog :D

I've owned mine for 19 and didn't know about it until today :oops:

Mon Feb 08, 2010 4:11 pm

Are y'all saying I don't need to empty the back, lift the cushion, take off the lid, unscrew oil cap and pour it in.???? Haven't been paying much attention to this thread but I repent my lapse. Now I have something else to figure out!!! oops reread from the beginning and I guess I still have to do all that.

Clutch reservoir??? I found the brake fluid when I was doing something else. Think I already mentionned that even with the manual I couldn't find the darn WW reservoir. Who thinks of these things, I mean the original designer!!!!

Mon Feb 08, 2010 4:20 pm

Quote: I've definatly fallen victim to the broken bottle lip! It sure is tempting to go ahead and drink the beer anyways though.

Hell, a little broken bottle never stopped me from drinking a beer before. You just have to be careful about glass pieces! If you're really worried you can pour the beer into a glass or something to make sure no glass fell inside the bottle.

And I love that little prop for the rear seat! I found it after owning my van for a month or so. I wondered what the heck it was at first, but figured it must be there for a reason! And it is! A very handy reason.

Mon Feb 08, 2010 4:23 pm

save the beer whatever you do. Filter it thru something first tho. I do that with wine corks but I wouldn't want to do it with glass.Suddenly I feel smarter, I knew about the back seat thingy before I bought my Westy.

I find getting into the back seat "trunk" storage a pain in the neck. Personally I'd like to be able to move it higher.
\ nathan@el wrote: Quote: I've definatly fallen victim to the broken bottle lip! It sure is tempting to go ahead and drink the beer anyways though.

Hell, a little broken bottle never stopped me from drinking a beer before. You just have to be careful about glass pieces! If you're really worried you can pour the beer into a glass or something to make sure no glass fell inside the bottle.

And I love that little prop for the rear seat! I found it after owning my van for a month or so. I wondered what the heck it was at first, but figured it must be there for a reason! And it is! A very handy reason.

Mon Feb 08, 2010 4:39 pm

Here is a handy tip for the next, next time you take your battery out.

Ok so this time you are going to struggle because the VW engineers were dumb when they designed the battery box, especially in the camper. If you have removed your battery you know what I mean. So go ahead and take your battery out, get it over with.

Here is the secret. Take a piece of seat belt or webbing. Wrap it around the battery and lower it in the hole that is to small to even fit the damn battery. Now put your battery cables on, take the excess seat belt puit it over the terminals and reinstall battery cover.

So what has the seatbelt accomplished. Insulation from your METAL battery cover and a tool to remove the battery next time. I have a pretty funny two beer story about that stupid metal battery lid. I can be very dangerous.

So now that we have done this little exercise go ahead and take the battery out again. Right!! Friggin genius!!! I can't take credit for this even thouugh I came up with it myself and hopefully others have already done this too. Pass it along. Every Vangon owner should do this.

Oh Yeah for the beginner mechanic guy. Disconnect your Negative battery terminal first. When hooking the battery back up hook up the postive first. Don't ask why, just do it that way.

Back to work. Packing up a pair of bumpers for a neighbor to the Great North.

Mike

Mon Feb 08, 2010 5:00 pm

Simba'sWestyWings wrote: Are y'all saying I don't need to empty the back, lift the cushion, take off the lid, unscrew oil cap and pour it in.???? Haven't been paying much attention to this thread but I repent my lapse. Now I have something else to figure out!!! oops reread from the beginning and I guess I still have to do all that.

Clutch reservoir??? I found the brake fluid when I was doing something else. Think I already mentionned that even with the manual I couldn't find the darn WW reservoir. Who thinks of these things, I mean the original designer!!!!

Do you have a converted (I-4 [gas], diesel, subaru...) van? If not you should be able to fill your oil through the license plate door. the tube slides out after you take yhe cap off the tube. If you've got an engine conversion of some sort you'll likely have to remove the cushion and hatch

Mon Feb 08, 2010 6:47 pm

Should we include that power mirrors are heated and are activated by the defroster button. A fellow member was asking about it in a different thread.

Mon Feb 08, 2010 7:07 pm

RTFM! :lol:

Mon Feb 08, 2010 7:15 pm

I am not even going to mention the Oscillation Overthruster.

Mon Feb 08, 2010 7:23 pm

Quote: RTFM! :lol:
Not everybody has a manual for their van :roll:

Mon Feb 08, 2010 7:45 pm

ha!

I just discovered the seat prop and filler tube while doing some maint.
I have the original manual too...dont read it much.

Mon Feb 08, 2010 11:23 pm

syncrodoka wrote: Should we include that power mirrors are heated and are activated by the defroster button. A fellow member was asking about it in a different thread.

Ah. I was just about to post something never mind, carry on. :lol:

Tue Feb 09, 2010 12:01 am

syncrodoka wrote: Quote: RTFM! :lol:
Not everybody has a manual for their van :roll:

At about $75, the manual would nearly double the price of some vanagons. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Tue Feb 09, 2010 12:30 am

Spinal Tap wrote: I replaced the engine in my van before I noticed the filler tube! :cry:

Haha, shoot, me too. My van had a cut off plastic pepsi bottle in the storage nook at the top of the rear cabinet that had been used as a funnel, so i continued to use it. Now i've got a subaru and have to remove the decklid to add oil. Which i'll now only have to do every 4,000 miles!

I did figure out the seat holdup relatively quickly.

I've only had my van since august or september though.

Tue Feb 09, 2010 11:03 pm

Any other easter eggs in the van besides the rear seat prop and then oli filler?