Probably the most uninspiring question of the week from a fairly new owner, but should the clearance for the spare tire storage underneath in the front be so tight as to make closing it up very difficult?  Mine is, and I am concerned I may be partially pinching closed my radiator hoses.  While closing it meets resistance with still about 2 inches to go.  I can push it on up and latch it but only with great difficulty.  Have tried flipping the spare, but no difference.  The spare is 185 R 14 which came on the vehicle.

Also, most of my cooling system hoses are probably 13 years old.  A mechanic has replaced 5 or 6 but others look pretty bad, especially upper and lower radiator and the ones to the front heater.  I've studied the diagrams in Bentley, Vanagon.com, Bus Depot, and Vanagain, but can't find those latter ones.  All I can find is what looks like ones to REAR heater core.  Finally, are the long hoses front to back that connect to the radiator hoses plastic and likely to need replacement?  I'm finding some moisture on what appears to be a thick insulating coating of some type, but not enough to id it as green coolant.

Thanks,
Jim Creech
87 Westy GL

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