Your most enjoyable repair and your worst nightmare repair

[bucko]

I'm interested in getting a collection of opinions from Vanagon folks as to your most enjoyable repair YOU have done to your Vanagon (not custom work such as cabinet, wood floor, etc), but rather a body/engine/suspension repair you have done yourself, and not by a mechanic, as well as the repair that started out as seeming easy, but ended up becoming "the repair from hell".

My most enjoyable (read easy) was the engine coolant flush, as all the stories I read here along with the do/don't do's made it a cakewalk.

My worst was replacing the @#$%! shocks. I had to grind the front upper tower shock nuts off with a dremmel tool, as I could not even use my best pair of vice grips from keeping the shaft from spinning. I guess 23 years of "original shock" rust just could not come off even with PB Blaster. No, I don't have a torch, as that would have made these come off much easier.
Then loosening and removing the lower bolt and nut. Darn near impossible to get the half inch socket/drive on the front, as the lower stablizer bar is in the path. A universal joint helped.

The rears took a ton of breaking effort too. What I thought was to be a couple of hours tops, turned into a good full day to get all four changed.

I gotta buy a torch.

So, what are your easiest and worst?
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Current VW drives: 1984 Westfalia

Past VW drives: 1967 Beetle, 1973 Beetle, 1977 Bus, 1971 Military Type 181

[90Doka_Guy]

Well my vanagon had the problem with air getting in the coolant system during sustained highway driving so it was only good for driving around town. My parents said if i could fix it I could have it. Being as awesome of a car it is, i couldnt turn it down.

I soon asked my uncle, a mechanic, if i could borrow a lift while he was not working to do a head gasket job. The tricky part was that i only had a weekend to do it and could only work when he wasnt. (i am currently a full time engineering student at Rutgers and decided to come home for the weekend to do the repair) Even though this was the first time doing such heavy work on a car, i felt confident as ever due to the massive ammounts of reading i have done about the job.

So i started disassembling starting with the passangers side head (i had a hitch that it was the offending head) and soon enough i was ready to take off the head bolts. Thinking i was ahead of the game, i started pulling the head off. Well to my dismay both jugs were stuck and would not budge no matter what i did. Several hours later, i just said $*&% it and pulled the jugs off. The sound of the rings pinging gave me shivers down my spine. I didnt feel too good about not replacing the seals between the jugs and the block anyway. Well the pistons wouldnt come off of the connecting rods and i wanted to avoid heating the pistons at all costs. Much time and cursing later i finally got them off and started to clean everything up and get it ready for assembly. At this point, i didnt have time for the other head so i hoped to god i got it right. After assembly i had the plugs reversed which scared the crap out of me, but once i figured it out it started right up and sounded beautifully.

Well two months and a 1600 mile road trip to Michigan later, it works like a charm and to my surprise i correctly guessed the bad gasket. It also got 23MPG @65-70MPH which made me happier than you wouldnt believe. I must say the job was more traumatic and nerve wracking than i could have ever imagined but damn was it worth it. Now im a proud owner of a 1990 vanagon

[usedcarr]

For some reason I recall changing the starter in my 87 Syncro sucked. It was one of those deals where I had to disassemble the whole car to get at one nut and I think I broke the ground strap end off or somthing. It's been a while. I always liked installing stereos.
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10'0" Lance Carson
6'3" Hamisch Fish
Schwinn Beach Cruiser
Sold the westy, never even drove it

[Dogpilot]

I liked fixing my rear brakes. When I finally got the drums, shoes and pistons working correctly, I had a firm pedal which pleased me no end every time I stepped on the brake. The small thing about woking on the brakes is your not upside down under the car.

My worst nightmare is a toss up. It is either that stupid spark plug wire that caused me to make all kinds of test equipment and go through nearly every part of the fuel system and ECU to find it. Or the leaking main seal. Which had me take out the transmission three times. As a result, I'm really good at removing Syncro trannies. You are upside down under the car doing this.
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Geology with a Syncro rocks!
86 Syncro Westy AKA "The Bughunter"
98 Disco I
08 Range Rover SC
08 VW Rabbit S
1951 O-1G

[EricD]

Haven't done too much myself yet...just started doing my own maintenance in April - the first car I have ever worked on myself, even oil changes!

So far I'd say the best repair was replacing the fuel filter and fuel lines. It just went real smooth, starting at the tank and working all the way back through all the connections in the engine. There was the hard to reach back side of that plastic union in the fire wall and a few stubborn hoses. But overall the job went surprisingly smooth (to me at least). Oh and the peace of mind is sooooo worth it. Between the gas I saw dripping on the engine block that prompted me to order the kit, the horror stories of burning vanagons I've read here and elsewhere, and the many cracked hose ends I saw upon removal of the old lines - I am so happy I did this job. I guess the tune-up I did was really easy too, almost too easy to count.

The worst job so far was replacing the coolant pipes. The job took me twice as long as I expected. I had coolant pour unexpectedly on my face many times - each time after I thought I'd finally drained it all. I had to fight hard to get the new split SS pipes routed over the gas tank. Every hose connection was a bitch. It just was a really humbling experience. It's done though...and I should never have to do this again. Two of the four ends on the plastic pipes I removed looked scary...more peace of mind.

[Surfalia]

How about changing a fuel filter on a Syncro. I haven't done it yet, but understand it is a real piece of work. I took one look and instantly went into procrastination mode

[Dogpilot]

The Syncro fuel filter isn't that bad, but you may want to borrow a set of Snap on offset wrenches.
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Geology with a Syncro rocks!
86 Syncro Westy AKA "The Bughunter"
98 Disco I
08 Range Rover SC
08 VW Rabbit S
1951 O-1G

[TSR53]

I just installed Bilsteins all around this morning. Easy. PB Blaster'ed the nuts last night and viola off with the crusty KYBs, original Boge fronts and on with the new Bilsteins. Tested on the Nurburgring! Of course, it helps to have a full lift to work on

Next up was the Volks-Café headlight wiring/relay upgrade. This went well too.

Last item was to install an adjustable rheostat on the $8.98 occilating fan I picked up at wallyworld. It bugged me to have it full on WFO all the time! I carved up a new location for the switch and located the rheostat in a location too. Works like a top.

I'm sure that more projects will get me cranky down the line.

[streamr]

Well, not a Vanagon fix, so I hope it qualifies. It was the summer of 1970, my now wife and I drove down to Florida in my '66 transporter. The starter went out so we made sure we always parked on a hill of some sort. I found this guy in the woods "Steve's VW" who had a used starter (poor art student at the time so could not afford new). I new my traveling companion was the girl for me when she had no problem helping me install the used starter. We married 11 years later and still laugh about Stevie's. This, obviously, was one of my favorite fixes.

[levi]

Couple years back I had to replace the water pump on my 1.9 (pre-subarood days). Only thing that made it REALLY unpleasant, was having to do it in a parking place in downtown Seattle. Way too much stress and pressure to get it done. Enjoyable repairs may not exist for me. ....maybe the 2.2 conversion... even though it took a little while, I had so much space and time for that. I guess you could call that "repairing" an underpowered engine?

[captainpartytime]

Mine would have to be the exact opposite of dogpilot's. I thought taking the tranny out and replacing the main seal was awesome because it stopped a pretty major oil leak that made my engine bay pretty messy. However, since I teach at a high school, I had the advantage of using a lift and any tool at my disposal (It also helped that the shop teacher used to work on VW for a living). So I guess that cancels out since I was not upside down... I am 6'4" though so I had to duck a lot!!!
My worst was my brakes. I started by replacing my master cylinder, then bleeding the brakes. Firmness of the pedal didn't change so I decided to replace my resevior because it was filled with black sludge, bled the brakes agian....still no change. At this point I installed a caliper rebuild kit and stainless flex lines, bled the system yet again...still no change! Then I replaced the brake hardware in the rear brakes (springs, and lube), bled the brakes...still no change. Then I replaced the brake shoes, surely this would solve my problem...nope still no change. I then took my van to my trusty VW mechanic to have him adjust the rear brakes and bleed the system just for my own peace of mind...still no change! Finally, I replaced the rear drums, bled the system...viola!!! Finally a firm pedal! I was an emotional wreck thoughout this process. My wife new something was seriously wrong when I told her on multiple occassions that I wanted to sell that 'piece of garbage'. Well, after about $70.00 in brake fluid and 3 weeks of ordering parts on line, I guess I can say I'm really good at bleeding my brakes now!
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-Kerry

1982 turbo diesel Westfalia

[captainpartytime]

After reading everyone's post I remembered another horror. I once had the auto shop students at my high school install my new rear axles (boy did I learn the hard way on this one). About three weeks later my wife, 8 month old daughter, and I were driving down the grapevine on our way back from Yosemite. Suddenly my wife asks, "what's that noise"? Something didn't feel right...I tried to downshift (auto) and nothing happened. While going 70 mph down a 7 mile stretch, I could move through every gear I put it in (including reverse) and nothing happened!!! Once I pulled over and looked under the car I saw that all six of the axle bolts that mount to each wheel had been sheared off (the kids forgot to tighten the bolts!!!). I ended up having to buy a dremel, an inverter, and an extension cord to cut off the studs that had bent inside the CV joint and then re-tap all the threaded holes (12) on the wheel because some had broken off in the wheel itself. All while my wife and daughter sat in the van on the side of the grapevine in 100 degree heat!
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-Kerry

1982 turbo diesel Westfalia

[scruffyboy]

Installing 2 (yep count-em TWO!) rebuilt engines in my 82 Westy.
The first one was a piece-of-fecal-matter from an internet rip-off artist. THAT was a horror!
The second install was an engine from Boston Engine that just seemed to want to slip right in there!
Doing my own work has been very satisfying, I now have the confidence to do just about anything on my Westy. So far I've installed a secondary battery, solar panel and charge controller, demand water pump, LED lighting, a simple and inexpensive shade structure...And the list goes on.
One thing...I NEVER would have attempted ANY of it without the Bentley manual.

[Captain Pike]

Is there a difference?
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LEARN TO SELF RESCUE
59 Panel bus, 1966 Single cab. 73' 181. 73 Westy. 91' H6 Vanagon 3.3L.
.....................All Current.......................

[K58]

[lovedavdubs]

The most fun I've ever had working on any of my cars was when I revamped my gauges. My exhaust rebuild runs a close second.

On the flip side, I had a bear of a time with my clutch master and slave cylinders. GOD what a PITA! I hate those things.
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82 Air-cooled Westy (Lola)...My other vehicle is a subway.

[Van-go108]

All of my repairs are a joy.

Accually, I had an expirience with a CV that really caught me off guard. There I was at a Mexican toll booth at 2:00 am out side of Monterrey. Threw my money in and stepped on the gas. BOINK.... The axle bolts had backed out. I had to push Her out of the way. I had a handful of tools. (and not the right ones) I had to talk to the toll attendant for some assistance and of course the "Green Angels" dont play that early in the morning. So, He said, "I have a brother in law". He came out of the darkness with sandals and a toolbox on his head. He didn't have the right tools either. He took an allen set I had and went home to cut and weld it to one of my sockets. I had broken and bent axle bolts and he had a pile of some that where all different. Together we came up with a repair before sun up.

I love to do CV repairs now.(With the correct tools and parts)

This guy charged me $30. I gave him $75

This story was also part of how I came up with my user name. This guy said I had a "Nova" motor in my van. I said, "Nova" motor? No-Va meaning, No Go. Thus Van-Go was born.
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"Okay, so there's 6 beers and 5 of us. You know what this means don't you? 4 of you are going to have to leave."


1973 Thing
1957 Continental Mark II Click to view image

[tencentlife]

No-Va-n-Go.

Pero cuando no va, se puede adentro vivir.

[psych-illogical]

Most satisfying; Going through the entire fuel injection system (that had been gone through by a 'professional' mechanic just prior to my purchasing the van) and figuring out each and every component, replacing most and having this thing run as good as the day it left the factory Makes me wonder if the so-called professionals have ever heard of Bentley?

Biggest PITA; Installing an aux oil cooler. It took an awful lot of trial and error to get the sandwich adaptor with the AN fittings to fit in the limited available space. It was one of the projects that fought me every step of the way.
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83 1/2 Westy waterboxer
'57 Beetle-sold
Coupla '81 BMW motorcycles (R80G/S; R100RS)
'96 BMW R1100GS

[bacwmi]

My favorite repair although not mechanical, was replacing the crappy tent with a new 3 window one during the summer monsoon. I didn't remove the top to do it and there were 2 different thunderstorms making noise in the distance and suppling me with the perfect cool breeze on an otherwise hot day. both storms missed me and I never felt the need to ask God to damn any van part or tool to hell
The worst repair was after repairing the steering I had to get that steering rack boot on while I was on my back in my gravel driveway and no-see-ums were biting me and then I took it to a mechanic to get an alignment and he just poked a hole in the new boot because he was lazy

thanks