Are YOU taking care of you van mechanically? Not kidding.

[djkeev]

Oh Ben.....
If neglect and ignorance were only limited to Vanagons.....

We live in a society where many have become clueless about maintenance for almost any product. Nor do people seem to care..... Just get a new one.
Something simple like checking tire pressure? People don't..... So They dumbed it down with Tire Pressure Sensor Monitors.
Check your oil? People don't so they installed oil level monitors..... Which have evolved into oil cleanliness monitors.

we can even leave the realm of Automobiles..... Family example... Wife's Sister East of Indianapolis....... She and her husband buy the family farmhouse 25 years ago. Old complex, house from the 1800's, barn of same era, WWII era Quonset hut, and the prize? A 1930's era Three car garage...... With attached workshop!
When they moved in I said "the garage needs a roof, it's leaking."
Yeah yeah yeah..... No new roof, they eventually stopped parking in the garage because the roof leaked, soon it was full of large holes, then the beams rotted and collapsed...... Last Summer my BIL made a party out of tearing down the garage and having a huge bonfire! "Look! POS garage is gone!
Say What? By your benign neglect you ruined a huge asset!
The Barn, the Quonset hut, and yes, even the house aren't far behind the garage.
He just hasn't a clue about or even seems to care about anything he owns..... Except.... His Art supplies and his musical instruments.
He lives in a crap house surrounded by crap out buildings and drives crap cars.
I Doubt they have anything nice in their home for they turn it into crap in short order. I could write a book about their life but just think that TV show "The Middle"...... Bingo! That is their life almost exactly! Crap house, crap cars, crap jobs and yes, Even the three disfunctional children!
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Stop Dead Photo Links how to post photos

Ghia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473

Vanagon
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537

Beetle
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert

[vw4life]

Unfortunately we live in a society where we assume things are guaranteed for life or somebody else will clean up our mess. If I screw up my insurance will cover it right?

You could spend hundreds of thousands of dollars replacing every wire/connector/bolt/gasket but parts fail at random. Where do people draw the line? Some buy old VW's as toys, others to relive dreams and some actually make it a dream.

I spent the last 12 months going through my 84 westy. Havent touched the coolant system and at 4 am I am starting to be alarmed. There are stainless pipes and the hoses look good. The water pump could go any time. But you really have to determine what is safe (brakes/suspension/fuel) and kinda roll the dice with the rest!

My 86 Turbo Diesel had 300k+ miles on it. It was a mess when I got it to and went through it but I didn't hesitate to drive anywhere! I knew it inside and out. It probably still had original brake lines on it. Did I worry? Nope. Its all about paying attention to fluid levels, warning lights etc.

The customers you have are simply out of touch with reality and $1.99 pint of brake fluid might do the trick every 30 days in their mind.

Be safe out there!

[Dave Wood]

I get this a lot. Since I like to tinker with automobiles and have learned over the last 40 years how to fix and maintain most anything, and what I don't know how to fix I try to learn and fix myself. Because of this many people ask me to help with their cars and I don't mind really. But what I tend to see is most people just get in and drive them, and they think if they have the oil changed occasionally they are being a responsible owner.

People see my Westy and have no idea that I spend more time tinkering, adjusting, and tuning than I do driving it. I've changed fuel lines on at least 5 vanagons. I'm not complaining about working on my westy because its therapeutic for me to get away from the desk at work and get my hands dirty.

Enough rambling, I don't think my post added any value to this topic but I wanted to chime in
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Dave
87 Vanagon GL

[vanagonjr]

And I'll add - how about those "I just bought a van far away, I have had no inspection done, I may, or may not be, mechanically inclined, it may have not have been used much lately ( hence the sale) - should I have it shipped or go and drive it home?"

And easily 1/2 here will yell "Drive it home, it's an adventure!"
Yeah - thanks, who cares if the brakes work or the fuel lines are about to burst. "Everyone Out Of My Way, I Am On An Adventure!!!!"
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John - 86 Wolfsburg Westfalia "Weekender"
Flint reversed 1.8T W/Passat 5-Speed
LiMBO (late model bus club) www.limbobus.org
LiMBO is on Facebook too! https://www.facebook.com/groups/
FAQ thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=525798

[ftp2leta]

Remove your spare tire, check the brake line, pull them out of those little plastic clip.

Change the brake master, new oil, new flex line at each wheel = no need for any big brake kit.

The rear brake cylinder are what, 20-25$ each.

4 speed, change the master and slave clutch cylinder.

Automatic, check for oil contamination / mix.

Original fuel tank, garbage. Same for all the line.

Steering system is pretty reliable and in many case won't leave you stranded.

Stock engine, new fuel pump, regulator and line.

But hey, you guys do what ever you want.

Ben
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Working with rust, grease, dirt and dust is a sad truth.
------------------------------------------------------
FI part for sale: http://www.benplace.com/parts_sale1.htm
My site: http://www.benplace.com/vw2.htm
Subi conversion: http://www.benplace.com/vanaru_eng.htm
Youtube http://www.youtube.com/user/ftp2leta

[dhaavers]

Pleased to say, I'm on track having worked through all of Ben's points above...

Can I please get some "cred" for still running stock wheels, crooked bumpers, mild seam rust and the stereo it came with...???

Current favorite bumper sticker: "VW - turning owners into mechanics for over 50 years"

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

[BavarianWrench]

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=616081

[danfromsyr]

priorities Yo!

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[Gauche1968]

HEY, I thought big alloy wheels were a safety issue: More stability or something--at least that is what GoWesty says.
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1984 Vanagon GL
1984 Vanagon Westy

[GreenG]

We bought our 88 Westy about a month ago because the wife always wanted one, and I wanted a race support vehicle. I get as much enjoyment out of working on the van as I do using it. If it just belonged to my wife, I have no doubt she'd be driving it around (with two kids in the back) in the condition we got it - which means no new fuel lines, leaky rear main, leaky trans, bad front left wheel bearing, coolant leak, 1 bad tire (also on the front), exhaust leak, etc. Scary!!!!

Of course she'd also never know there's a rust hole behind the sink - I wish I didn't know that.

[Abscate]

[Merian]

[kalispell365]

dj keev beat me to the punch...you see this type of mentality in things MUCH more valuable and required in life. Vanagons should be way down the list.

I often find myself shocked by the level of abuse and neglect on something (your home), that you will take 30 YEARS to just get paid for!
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1983 Diesel Vanagon Westfalia chassis with Subaru 2.2l

[Gauche1968]

Is seam rust dangerous?
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1984 Vanagon GL
1984 Vanagon Westy

[Gauche1968]

[SCM]

[Gruppe B]

Not everyone is mechanically inclined (including a good number of professional mechanics).

Where I live most garages won't even service a Vanagon since it is well outside of their comfort zone.

Would you trust a generic garage to replace a leaking water gasket??

These vans (and any old cars in general) are really only for the realm of the home mechanic or where good help is available (like Ben).

[djkeev]

[a2d2]

[Syncro Jael]

I too have learned to turn a wrench over the years working on my vehicles. It probably started early when Dad got us into motorcycles and we would tear them down when they quit running. My brother is much better at mechanical things because he wasn't scared to tear things completely apart and rebuild them. I was and still am looking for others with schooling and knowledge to do major repairs, engine/transaxle rebuilds where I still lack the expertise, correct tools, and know how. But as far as most any other work I just always tell my kids "the other guy has two hands and so do I" I can learn and turn a wrench then if I do have issues I know what is going on and don't rely on the nearest shop fee's.

I have tried to teach my son and son in laws to do basic things to their vans. My son has recently had some on road repairs in Canada headed for Alaska. He isn't scared to dive in and try to repair stuff. Otherwise he probably couldn't afford to own a Syncro Westy.

As far as maintenance I am really very anal about keeping track of when things got replaced/mileages. I go through each system since I know these vehicles are getting along in years. Yes it does cost money to do complete replacements, but I never have believed the saying "if it is not broke don't fix it" that many seem to do. Once I had transaxle issues I rebuilt the entire drivetrain system completely. Transaxle, front diff, axles, cv's, boots, bearings, stub axles, everything. Then I inspect and keep all the old parts for backups if I do have a failure. My son usually uses my stash for parts.

This is one reason I love the Samba. I get to learn from others and increase my wrench turning skills. Other than a rebuilt transaxle and soon to install a rebuilt short block all the components on the van have been touched by my hands and I have been lucky to acquire the knowledge to make repairs.

This sure makes you sleep better at night when you are hundreds of miles away from the nearest town camped in the desert or high mountains. And one day to be able to go on extended overland adventures.

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1987 Syncro Westfalia Hightop - NAHT
Subaru EJ25 Forged Frankenmotor, Triple Knob.
Jael = (Mountain Goat)