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djkeev
Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32988
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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 Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2025 10:11 am Post subject: No, I'm not dead.......and THANK YOU ALL!!!!! |
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First things first........
THANK YOU ALL FOR THE MOST GENEROUS AND THOUGHTFUL GIFT!
I was deeply touched by your love, warmth and compassion towards me,
I was quite simply stunned when Eric, Dave and Carl handed it to me at the campsite North of Durango.
Let me say that the purpose of the trip was accomplished.
I spread my departed Wife's Ashes at sunset on a beautiful evening into the surf of the Pacific at Sunset.
I stayed at Irelands rustic lodge in Gold Beach Oregon and lived some memories of over five decades spent together.
My trip took over two months and I covered 10,192 miles upon return to my driveway.
I'll write much more detail of our travels as time goes by.
I left Reading Pa with my dog Beau about 3pm on May 6 2025.
Now, to address some basics..... many wonder...... how was the trip?
Did the Van break down?
Was I ever stranded along the journey?
Overall, if you discount the overwhelming sadness that prompted my journey, I had an absolutely marvelous trip!
I saw friends, I made new friends, I saw family and I saw lands I've never seen before.
Did my Van break down?
Short answer is no.
I did have some malfunctions......
#1 Window crank - carry spares folks! My crank broke early in the journey, in Pennsylvania if I recall.
I ordered one shipped to my Brothers home in Crescent City Ca. but shortly after leaving there, the other crank Broke somewhere in British Columbia.
I traveled the rest of the way home with just one crank.
#2 Ignition Coil. Shortly after leaving and while in Western Pennsylvania I had a high speed miss develop. The engine would buck anything above 3000 rpm.
I stopped at a church along the way (churches are great places to stop BTW, often empty, nice lawns, trees, shade, etc.) and rested for over an hour letting Beau stretch his legs and play. The engine had been missing badly when I stopped but once I hit the road again, the the first 20 miles after hitting the road again I had no misfiring!
Heat sunk coil popped into my mind!
I made it through West Virginia and into Ohio where I had an amazing rain storm.
I stopped and spent the night and the next morning I hung the new Bosch coil I carried as a spare temporarily to see if it really was a bad coil.
All that day, no miss at all.
I permanently installed it and all was good! ...... but not forever.......
#3 Brakes. As I left Mt Lassen in Northern California my brakes began making a most horrible grinding noise.
I dismissed it as red sand for I almost got mired in soft red sand not far from the Glen Canyon Recreation Area, the Dam for Lake Powell in Arizona.
I had picked up my travel companion there.
Anyway the entire Van was covered inside and out with Red Sand!
I installed new front pads in Ashland Oregon at my Brothers home only to discover on my way to Crescent City that it was my rear shoes making that horrific noise!
Once in Crescent City I ordered shoes from O'Rielly and installed them, but not without issue! Do NOT buy brake shoes from them!
#4 ignition Coil. Up around Banff National Park In Alberta, a miss developed, a high speed miss but near 4000 rpm.
I thought ignition coil again, but mine was new, a new Bosch never the less!
When I got to Great Falls Mt I ordered a new coil from NAPA to carry just in case the coil was bad.
Outside of Valentine Nebraska the miss became so bad that I pulled over and installed the new NAPA coil only to discover that the engine will not run except at an idle with the new coil!
I installed the old one and limped into Valentine Nebraska.
It was hellishly hot (106°F) so we rented a hotel room with A/C..... turned out the last hotel room in town!
I ordered a coil from O'Rielly and also from an independent part store for morning delivery.
O'Riellys came in first so I installed and my miss is gone!
I also picked up the second coil to carry as a new spare. I should probably install it and verify its operation.
#5 A/C blew a fuse on the dash fuse panel for the A/C blower fan..... twice.
And that is it!
10,000 + miles of motoring bliss.
Dave
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Ghia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473
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http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537
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https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert
Last edited by djkeev on Fri Jul 18, 2025 1:42 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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jlrftype7
Samba Member
Joined: July 24, 2018
Posts: 4551
Location: Chicago
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| Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2025 10:33 am Post subject: Re: At the No, I'm not dead! |
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Congratulations on your epic trip. You might have to start a new thread with Did You MAKE it 10,000 miles, kicking the old 1,000 mile thread a bit... 
Contact Mark Ward about that coil failure issue, makes me wonder if it's really similar to what he went through with a Customer's vehicle... 
Or dig up his thread and see his thoughts at the time. With the later Digifant ECUs running the coil, coil failures seem to be getting more common.
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'68 Westy- my first VW and vehicle/Bus- long gone.- sold it to a traveling Swiss couple....
'67 Type 3 Fastback, my 2nd car- gone
'69 Semi-Auto Stick Shift Beetle-gone
2017 MINI Coopers, our current DDs
‘84 Tin Top - Hilga....Auto |
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dobryan
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Joined: March 24, 2006
Posts: 17140
Location: Brookeville, MD
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shagginwagon83 
Samba Member
Joined: February 07, 2016
Posts: 4331
Location: SWVA
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| Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2025 10:49 am Post subject: Re: No, I'm not dead....... |
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Sounds incredible!!  
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"Jo Ann" - '83.5 Westfalia EJ22e w/Peloquin
Instagram: @joannthevan |
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Xevin
Samba Member
Joined: January 08, 2014
Posts: 8619
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| Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2025 11:04 am Post subject: Re: No, I'm not dead....... |
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Sounds like an Awesome trip!
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Keep on Busin'
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Alaskaberrys
Samba Member
Joined: June 19, 2016
Posts: 1071
Location: SE Alaska
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| Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2025 11:08 am Post subject: Re: No, I'm not dead....... |
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Wow, that is quite the journey.
Road tripping our van through the countryside and camping about is so carthatic for me. Mixture of enjoying the splendor of the country and driving a vehicle that I know (somewhat embarrassingly) intimately makes for such a satisfying experience. One that I miss often just hours upon returning home.
Glad to hear the trip went well and looking forward to hearing more about it in the future.
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'91 Westfalia, Bordeaux Red Pearl 2.1L 2wd Auto
'91 T3 Syncro Doka, Escorial Green 1.9L TD AAZ “Gremian” (to provoke, irritate, exasperate, vex...) |
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dabaron
Samba Member
Joined: June 21, 2018
Posts: 2716
Location: Philly, mang
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| Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2025 11:12 am Post subject: Re: No, I'm not dead....... |
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Vanagons, hell yeah.
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1991 Vanagon GL Camper
i had no idea i wanted to be a mechanic |
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4Gears4Tires
Samba Member
Joined: October 08, 2018
Posts: 4180
Location: MD
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| Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2025 11:14 am Post subject: Re: No, I'm not dead....... |
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That is quite the journey, for memory and miles! I am glad to hear you successfully made it back home.
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'87 Syncro Ferric Oxyhydroxide Superleggera Edition
'85 Westy Sciuridae Domus Edition |
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GoEverywhere
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Joined: December 13, 2020
Posts: 896
Location: Portland, OR
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| Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2025 12:26 pm Post subject: Re: No, I'm not dead....... |
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| Glad you made it! Reasons aside it sounds like you had a grand adventure. |
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mtnhome
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Joined: July 17, 2010
Posts: 614
Location: Summit County, CO
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RoryGirl
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Joined: October 14, 2016
Posts: 986
Location: WestWorld Nanaimo BC
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| Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2025 1:00 pm Post subject: Re: No, I'm not dead....... |
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Link
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1991 Twin Slider VR6
1985 Audi 4k |
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kamzcab86
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Joined: July 26, 2008
Posts: 8448
Location: Arizona
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plummerdesign
Samba Member
Joined: September 04, 2010
Posts: 547
Location: PNW
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| Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2025 1:13 pm Post subject: Re: No, I'm not dead....... |
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Dave,
Travel can provide a means for us to process challenging experiences. The expansive view through a large windshield allows for varied perspectives during the journey, which may contribute to personal healing. Glad you took the time to follow the road west to Gold Beach.
…
Oh, how this resonated with my own experiences! After replacing three coils, I finally discovered the real issue: the coil wire. More specifically, it was the copper ferrule at the end of the wire, which connects to the coil. It was losing contact randomly because the new coils currently available lack a bushing that grips the ferrule properly inside.
The new coils have a small protrusion that works well with a Digifant distributor cap but is not suitable for the Digijet cap, which is used on 1983.5-1985 Vanagons.
So, what's the solution? Simply pinch the end of the wire ferrule just a bit to ensure a better connection with the nipple inside the coil.
...
Jeffery : )
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It is old and green and it makes me grin.
1984 Westfalia 1.9 |
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djkeev
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Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32988
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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Red Ryder
Samba Member
Joined: June 26, 2021
Posts: 1183
Location: PNW — Washington
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| Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2025 1:50 pm Post subject: Re: No, I'm not dead.......and THANK YOU ALL!!!!! |
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Dave, your journey and life lessons are an inspiration! I always go to your posts when they pop up. As your loss catches up to your soul, be kind to yourself.
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“Most everyone’s mad here. You may have noticed I am not quite all there myself.” — Cheshire Cat, Adventures of Alice in Wonderland
“Scarlett” — 1990 Vanagon Carat Wolfsburg Edition (Tornado Red)
“Nigel” — 1999 Jaguar XK8 convertible (Alpine Green Metallic) |
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Howesight
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Joined: July 02, 2008
Posts: 3404
Location: Vancouver, B.C.
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| Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2025 1:58 pm Post subject: Re: No, I'm not dead.......and THANK YOU ALL!!!!! |
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Great narrative, Dave! We are all looking forward to the full trip report.
On the ignition coil issue, I am new to the parable about over-working the coil, but I am a full convert. We have 4 vehicles that use coil-on-plug (COP) systems (3 Audis and the SVX Westy) with multiple, expensive ignition coils. With long-lived platinum-iridium plugs, I got lazy about spark plug replacement and only recently figured out the connection between $30 CAD spark plugs and $150 CAD ignition coils. If you replace the spark plugs regularly on these COP engines, (2 years seems about right for a daily driver), then the coils will not fail.
On the Vanagon, the lesson is the same, PLUS the need to ensure that the rotor, cap and centre wire are all up to snuff to avoid overdriving the coil.
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'86 Syncro Westy SVX |
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IdahoDoug
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Joined: June 12, 2010
Posts: 10355
Location: N. Idaho
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| Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2025 4:14 pm Post subject: Re: No, I'm not dead.......and THANK YOU ALL!!!!! |
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Dave,
Super glad you had no issues along the way. The only thing you did wrong was not stop to see me if you passed through Idaho on the I-90 - forgiven if you did not pass this way. Thanks for sharing, and looking forward to any updates/photos on your trip!
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1987 2WD Wolfsburg Vanagon Weekender "Mango", two fully locked 80 Series LandCruisers. 2017 Subaru Outback boxer. 1990 Audi 90 Quattro 20V with rear locking differential, 1990 burgundy parts Vanagon. 1984 Porsche 944, 1993 Toyota LandCruiser, 2002 BMW 325iX, 1982 Toyota Sunrader |
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kamzcab86
Samba Moderator
Joined: July 26, 2008
Posts: 8448
Location: Arizona
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| Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2025 8:01 pm Post subject: Re: No, I'm not dead....... |
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| djkeev wrote: |
| ...I thought it best to make a new thread to thank everyone for their generosity! |
I simply meant that your trip report is loooong overdue for a most awesome update. 
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~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 |
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djkeev
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Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32988
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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Abscate
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Joined: October 05, 2014
Posts: 23850
Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
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| Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2025 1:27 am Post subject: Re: No, I'm not dead.......and THANK YOU ALL!!!!! |
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Good to hear from you and hearts on your journey this year thtough life’s tribulations.
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