Thanks for all of those who helped me attempt to troubleshoot my 83
diesel Vanagon no start issue.  As you may remember for the last post (a
few months ago) I traced the problem to low compression in the engine.
Therefore I had to replace the engine.  I looked around and you know it
is difficult to find a known good diesel rabbit engine today.  There
just aren't a lot of rabbits around like there were even 7 years ago.
After checking here and there I thought of calling a friend of mine.  He
bought my brother's old diesel rabbit and then a couple of years ago I
had gone over the engine with a new head gasket, water pump, etc.  The
car always ran excellent.  I bought the car for $500 and proceeded to
swap the engine.

Over the course of the past month and a half we have finally completed
the work.  It was a project that got time only when we were between
other things (that pay).  The van looked great when I bought it and the
person I bought it from (they know who they are) really talked it up.  I
was sold a van that "just wouldn't start".  What I ended up buying was a
van that looked nice on the surface but was really in need of almost a
complete mechanical restoration.  That's life.  Sometimes you're the
windshield sometimes you're the bug.  Anyway it is finally up and
running well now and after replacing almost every hydraulic unit on the
vehicle, the brakes and clutch are working well (yippee!) and after
rebuilding the shifter the 5 speed transmission is working well.  Now it
is ready for the next owner.

Thanks again for all the help.  You folks are a great resource and you
are always there for me when I need you.

Ken Wilford
John 3:16
www.vanagain.com