Bob Stevens wrote

snip
> I'm obviously a slow learner but think I'm learning to use both
information,
> freely given me by my van, and my intuition.

I�d say that you�ve pinpointed one of the essentials there !
With a vehicle this old there is no gain in overdoing things !
Othervise the result could be what my father is suffering from right now
( well, OK - always :) ) he bought a new workshop manual for his Opel - a
weird looking European GM car , the bigger models branded as Cadillac - and
read that you could take this and that apart and use gauges to see if things
are OK .
The thing is though that it said COULD not SHOULD but he started listening
for weird noices and now the car is picked into little pieces all over the
garage floor for me and my brother to try to assemble !
Cause the old man is 73 years old with little - leaning towards none -
technical skills !

snip
> Anyway, maintenance and attention are absolutely necessary, I think.
>

I�ll second that too, changing oil, filters, tyres, plugs and wires and
having an open mind to when things start ratteling too much is absolutely
neccesary when traveling in any vehicle - more so the older it gets !

My point is: Fix problems when they come but don�t create them out of
manuals for mechanics - not amateurs !

Calle
-88 Vanagon
Mullhyttan, Sweden