Hey Ben,
This reminds me....
I didn't know about the recall.  I notice wetness on the carpet on both
sides in the rear (over the engine compartment) after a long A/C run.  Do
you happen to know if this is related to the recall?
tx,
bmc  :)
"Faith will move mountains, but you'd better bring a shovel...."

> From: Ben T <BenTbtstr8@AOL.COM>
> Reply-To: BenTbtstr8@AOL.COM
> Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2001 19:20:05 EST
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Intro again
>
> Blaine,
>
> They came in the 86 to 91 US spec Vanagons. They came in two colors, beige and
> gray.
>
> There is a recall on the midtubes. No time limit on that recall. They had a
> tendency to fall down when no reinforced.
>
> The evaporator/blower is in the rear of the vehicle. These are damage prone
> w/o the addditional bracing a tthe bottom corners. The units are very heavy
> and thus break when not reinforced. I believe the recall takes care of that
> too. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.
>
> The unit up front is just a control panel with vents just like the center
> tunnel ducts. They are prone to stress fractures on the corners closest
> towards the rear of the vehicle. Otherwsie, there isn't much to beak in there.
> The sunvisors actually attache to this unit rather than to the van in regular
> vans w/o AC.
>
> I've had this type of AC in three of my vans. I like the "airline" styling as
> much as my kids do. Gives the interior a contemporary look IMHO.
>
> The downside of these things is they take a lot of freon to fill. That means
> it is quite expensive to recharge unlike other vehicles. It does take some
> time to cool down a vehciel which has been sittign in the sun as the blowers
> are not very powerful. BUt it beats the other style of overhead AC which has
> the blower over the driver's ear, no blowers all the way in the back, and
> looks like they were an afterthought. Even worse is the Westy rear AC which
> does not come stock with a way to get air to the front passengers. I almost
> forgot, there was also an aftermarket AC made by Behr which takes the place of
> the glove box. But that's another story.
>
> BenT
>