I had a similar experience this past Friday with a non-list member.  Dave,
just a nice guy in the right place at the right time.  I was taking my wife
and son on our first long distance ride to Penn State University from the
New Jersey Shore, about a 300 mile ride each way.
Having just installed a new 1.9l NA motor in my 82 Diesel Westy, I of course
was concerned about overheating or mechanical failure.  2 test drives to
work was all the break-in time I got, about 180 miles total.  All seemed
fine, brakes felt a little funny as they did before the 1.6l motor died.
Since my Vanagon had been sitting since last X-mas, the driver side front
ATE caliper pistons were not retracting and after about 2 hours of driving,
were really heating things up to the point I had to pull of Rt. 33 North
Bound in the middle of no where, about 20 miles above Easton, PA.
I pull the wheel off and thinks look OK, but are WAY too hot, so the
dragging was getting worse with the heat.
I figure it is either wheel bearing or caliper pistons.  A guy is in his
yard next to the parking lot I am in, so I put the wheel back on and drive
over to ask if he knows of any VW garages near by.  He did know of a place
up the road a mile or two that works on Vanagons.  We called and they said
"sure, we will fix it, Monday"  It was about 5:45pm Friday night.  I had
thoughts of trying to call Chris Turner, as I know he lived about 45 minutes
away.
Dave says he would be glad to help me re-pak the wheel bearing.  After
pulling the bearing cap off, things looked good in there, still factory
grease after 20 years.  We ended up just working the pistons a bit and
sprayed WD-40 in there.  It did free things up and I was able to complete my
trip to PSU for the football game and camping with friends.
If it were not for that guy, it would have been a very BAD weekend.  THANK
YOU Dave.  You should own a VW too.

Bryan Belman       Pt. Pleasant, NJ
1990 Audi 200 Turbo (Money Pit)
1982 Westy 1.9l NA (Swap is done)
1970 Type1 Std. Beetle (This one is done)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Golen" <rgolen@UMASSD.EDU>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2001 5:29 PM
Subject: The Power of the List - Thank you Alan Bosch!!

> Hi All,
>
> Ordinarily I'd send this directly to Alan, but I felt this had to be done
> via the list....
>
> My oldest son Erik is at RIT in Rochester, NY (about 420 miles from
> home)....and of course he drives a VW, specifically an 84 Vanagon (his
> other car were my old GTI and a 78 bus which caught fire). Last week he
> called to tell me that the front brakes were grinding, and that he went to
> Monroe Brakes to get an estimate. Well, they told him that he needed a
> complete brake job - $800+.
>
> I suggested that he take out his Bentley manual and do it himself.
> Unfortunately, Erik hasn't quite the same mechanical genes as his father.
> So I suggested that he contact Alan Bosch.
>
> We met Alan Bosch a couple of years ago for breakfast in Rochester (along
> with Joel Cort). It was one of those "is there any one on the list in (you
> name the city)" type of get togethers. From time to time we've run into
> Alan....after I bought my 87 Westy, I found out that Alan had his sights
on
> the very same Westy...we bumped into eachother at Transporters by the
> Tunnel this summer...so I felt comfortable in sending Erik off to find
Alan.
>
> Erik emailed Alan, and Alan volunteered to help out....I told Erik to
> contact Bus Depot for the parts...which arrived on time (contrary to some
> of the postings on the list).
>
> Erik just called....he and Alan spent about five hours doing the front
pads
> and rear shoes. Erik is extremely happy to have new brakes and a new
> friend. (Interestingly enough it appears that Monroe only checked out one
> wheel when they did the "complete estimate")
>
> I'm of course extremely happy that he can safely drive his van around town
> again! I guess the bottom line is that this list is a wonderful resource,
> and its members are always there to lend a hand. Its folks like Alan who
> make it work!
>
> Alan, thank you for taking time out this weekend to help my son, I really
> appreciate your time and help!
>
>
> Ric

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