From your tale of woe, it is hard to know if the
van was mis-treated by the previous owner (PO)
or if maybe you, possibly, neglected to keep an
eye on things that needed to be replaced as needed.
How much did you pay for it?  Did you pay a low
price expecting it to behave as a reliable gem?
Or did you pay a medium to exorbitant price and
get screwed by your "reputable source"?

These are not vehicles that you can just get in
to and expect to drive trouble free.  They need
regular attention and if they have excessive miles
as yours does, they will most likely have expensive
issues to deal with.  I have an '86 as well that
needed attention fairly soon after purchasing.
Unfortunately, it was the auto-transmission that
went out.  $1,322 later it has been fairly coopertive
for the price I paid.  I've had to replace a coil
and a couple of coolant hoses, and the fuel lines.
But it has done fairly well so far.

The more knowledge you gain about the van, the more
likely you can anticipate problems and prevent them.
It's up to you whether it's worth the time/money to
invest in this van or to move on and spend money/time
on something else...

Good Luck!

Steven
--- Locke Johnston <ljohnston@FROGCOMMISSARY.COM>
wrote:
> I am new to the list and need some advice. I bought
> a 1986 vanagon last
> August. It had 186,000 miles on it with a

> bought it from a reputable source and it keeps
> leaving me stranded. I love
> the van but worry it's going to continue to let me
> down. Any ideas?

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