Dear Malcolm, Matthew and others,

My goodness we are "protective" of our Vanagons. Remember, everyone I am
still a newcomer to self-care of these vanagons.  I try to strike a balance
between doing it myself and getting a pro to do it while I learn how to.

To me replacing coolant seems like an awesome task and it seems
intimidating.

Some say everything in life is a matter of balance. I can certainly afford
to hire it all out but I love to learn to be self sufficient. Even though I
am lucky to have a local great mechanic at hand I really do not trust others
that much to do what "they say" they can do. I often know more than the
people I hire (especially the younger hungry ones.)

Soon I will be as competent as the rest of you who are used to doing it all
yourself. Thanks to a few local Vanagon friends  (and some not so local via
this list) I am learning quickly. One of my hopes is to learn to remove and
replace a whole engine as I know I will one day have to do this.

Be patient with my naive questions you all. Remember you too were once at
the beginning of your learning curve as I am now.

By the way, thanks to Terry Kay in Chicago, I am installing my own Air Lift
suspension balloons in my rear springs as soon as they arrive. I have even
set up a wholesale account using my resale number so I can provide anyone
with a discounted set if you also decide to install them. (Why a wholesale
account you might ask? Well, I got so frustrated with retail dealers that I
called the company directly to get products I wanted. So I decided to set up
an account as a dealer so I can mail order the product to any Vanagon owner
who wants this improvement.)

And thanks to others on this list I am wrapping my exhaust pipes this week
with exhaust wrap as soon as I get the clamps and Silicone coating they
recommend.

Loving learning with you all,
William P.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Malcolm Stebbins" <MSTEBBIN@MSVU1.MSVU.CA>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, December 18, 2001 10:37 AM
Subject: Re: Replacing coolant

> William:  For many of us the van is a HOBBY and I'd no
> more hire out its care than I'd send my wife to a gigolo for
> "servicing".  Yes the gigolo has the proper "tools" and
> guarantees his work and doesn't cost much more, but
> this is a life-style issue.  Malcolm
>
> On 17 Dec 2001, at 22:40, developtrust wrote:
>
> > As a newcomer to this list I ache a question for those more
> > experienced. If replacing coolant is such a problem why do
> > people attempt to do it themselves rather than go to a VW
> > dealer where work is guaranteed and they have the proper
> > tools. Does it really cost that much at the dealer?
> >
> > William Polowniak
> > Vanagon site
> > http://members.home.net/holisticdream/vanagon1989.htm