Show us your emergency, break-down Tow Pics!!

[Corwyn]

When I had a waterboxer engine, I would plot my course so I was no further than 200 miles (AAA Premier) from a good Bosch mechanic.
_________________
'90 White Westy ("The Longship")
FAS Gen V 2.0
The Annual Baja Rally
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=604813&highlight=baja

"If anything's" gonna happen, it's gonna happen out there"
~ Captain Ron ~

[danfromsyr]

Turbo Subaru in a Syncro in death valley?
wonder what your IATs were running? where is your intercooler mounted?

[danfromsyr]

to everyone else out there.

maybe read the Towbar thread. https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=520559
the head piece fits in the spare tire in the clamshell
the arms can live in the bottom of the closet, rear bench or bolted to the frame under neath.. but $90 towbar and all you need then is to rent the U-haul van.. much cheaper than the box truck+car trailer.

even for the Syncro owners out there.. towbar=4 on the ground towing it's A OK.
_________________

[Corwyn]

AAA Premier. $126 a year for peace of mind. I had four flatbed tows between Yuma and Medford, OR coming back from Baja this year with overheating issues that turned out to be blown head gaskets. I can't imagine what a Uhaul would have cost or where I would get one, broken down halfway between Needles and Las Vegas.
_________________
'90 White Westy ("The Longship")
FAS Gen V 2.0
The Annual Baja Rally
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=604813&highlight=baja

"If anything's" gonna happen, it's gonna happen out there"
~ Captain Ron ~

[16CVs]

That’s the rub. I don’t have an intercooler as my van has no Turbo.

Stacy
_________________
1987 Syncro Westfalia Triple knob (bastard)
1989 Syncro Tristar Triple knob "Swedish"
2013 Jetta Hybrid a true "Zwitter"
Samba member # 14980
Call anytime number 650 722 4914 .
Keep Your van running and upkept tastefully for the love of the hobby.
Don't let your van end up in an "abortions" thread.

[kamzcab86]

Well, after nearly 10 years of ownership, my van has finally joined this prestigious club.

Rounded a corner after a red light, heard a slight noise, saw the oil pressure light begin to glow and the buzzer wimpily trying to sound, and immediately pulled over and shut the engine off. Opened the lid to find steamy smoke, but no obvious problem... no leak, no broken belt, etc. But, the engine was obviously hot (early stage of overheating) and the cheap plastic loom around the engine ground strap was melted.

A one-mile flatbed tow later...

My van is clearly demanding new coolant pipes.

Oddly, it didn't puke coolant all over everything until the guys were unloading it.
_________________
~Kamz
1986 Cabriolet: www.Cabby-Info.com
1990 Vanagon Westfalia: Old Blue's Blog
2016 Golf GTI S
"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance." - 孔子

[16CVs]

Let this be the poster child as to why you should not run Plastic coolant pipes. At a minimum you should drill and put a couiple of rivets in the inserts.
Luckily you were close to home and probably didn't do any more damage.

Stacy
_________________
1987 Syncro Westfalia Triple knob (bastard)
1989 Syncro Tristar Triple knob "Swedish"
2013 Jetta Hybrid a true "Zwitter"
Samba member # 14980
Call anytime number 650 722 4914 .
Keep Your van running and upkept tastefully for the love of the hobby.
Don't let your van end up in an "abortions" thread.

[levi]

Interesting decals though!

Glad you caught it early.

What did the tow truck driver catch his hooks on to winch the van up on the bed?

I hope it wasn't the small holes in the bottom of the frame, like a driver did to mine. :2gunfire:
_________________
One of these days I'm gonna settle down,
but till I do I won't be hangin round.
Going down that long lonesome highway,
gonna see life my way

https://youtu.be/cSrL0BXsO40

[Abscate]

Good sit awareness >> early shutdown>>> happy Vanagon owner

Well done, Kam
_________________
.ssS!

[kamzcab86]

[danfromsyr]

Plastic pipes are fine, IF you give them the preventative maintenance of said rivets. they'll go another ~20+years.
rivet pics- https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=924457
significant'y easier, cheaper and quicker than SS coolant pipes.
Kam, that metal crush collar will tap back inside that pipe and rivet in place.
~1hr and $5 later your back on the road..

[kamzcab86]

[16CVs]

You can not buy replacemewellnt inserts. You could clean them up or have them made from S.S. The problem is is that they were cast into the plastic.
When I built my Westy and on a budget I bought a beautiful set of take out tubes trhat still had a VW parts sticker on them. 6 months later when I did an engine conversion they were already starting to push out.
I already had the S.S. in my Tristar and my dads truck already blown them out as well.
My thoughts are id never run a van without them.

Stacy
_________________
1987 Syncro Westfalia Triple knob (bastard)
1989 Syncro Tristar Triple knob "Swedish"
2013 Jetta Hybrid a true "Zwitter"
Samba member # 14980
Call anytime number 650 722 4914 .
Keep Your van running and upkept tastefully for the love of the hobby.
Don't let your van end up in an "abortions" thread.

[levi]

I imagine there's plenty-o-ways to rectify the issue.

When mine spit out 15 or so years ago I roughed up the plastic, applied a raised bead all the way around with jb or some other product, I don't really remember what, ran my new marine hose over it and double clamped it, before and after the bead.

At the time I was concerned about the possibility of pieces of that bead breaking off and working its way into the coolant system, but several examinations through the years showed it content to remain intact.

Not a drip so far, though you never know I 'spose....
_________________
One of these days I'm gonna settle down,
but till I do I won't be hangin round.
Going down that long lonesome highway,
gonna see life my way

https://youtu.be/cSrL0BXsO40

[campism]

Well, I finally get to play in this thread. On my way home from an appointment this afternoon I coasted to the shoulder barely a mile into the drive. Cranked over fine but no fire. Tried to hear over the roar of the traffic and could not hear the fuel pump cycling so the problem is likely either that or the relay. Troubleshooting tomorrow. I actually have a spare pump in the van but my tools and all the camping gear were transferred to the garage months ago.

This is how it ended.

This is how it looked at the (non-re)start.

Took these guys a while to show up.

This is how it looked riding home. V10 power is a treat, sort of.

If you must pass time in, say, a doctor's waiting room or a vehicle awaiting a tow, you could do a lot worse than to have this book along. Recommended.

_________________
'87 Westy in Wolfram Grey Metallic

[dhaavers]

Took me 15 years, but finally here’s my first tow…last August:

No notice, no warning, just suddenly no shift linkage connection when trying to leave a stoplight.

I s’pose I could have driven home (130 miles) in 2nd, but glad I didn’t. AAA Premium finally pays back!

Turned out to be stripped teeth in the shift lever at the tranny, wouldn’t stay indexed to the shaft. Got home,
pulled it apart, diagnosed, ordered & replaced the lever ($15 part) & I was back on the road in a couple days.

Took me on a nice 2500 mile Utah eclipse trip just about a month and a half later…no issues, all good.

Love this rig!

- Dave
_________________
86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS>

[danfromsyr]

I have also been plagued with a shift linkage lever issue at times.
the Ball on the later 83-91 models can pop off/loose too..
it's not a bad item to toss a spare under the seat.
also a reason we carry a spare starter on our Automatic trans'd vans.
they don't always give fair warning. and are no longer a 1day acquisition item
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[dhaavers]

[vanis13]

[dhaavers]