It is aome experience to live in a climate where it is so cold that the
tires keep their flat spot for the first 5 miles when you start off in
the morning.

I moved from Wrangell, in SE AK in 1969 up to Fairbanks. I had a new
Volvo with a new set of Michelin Radials, which I had gotten from Sears
and Sawbuck. Sears required that in order to get the waranty on the
tires, I had to buy their special tubes for the tires. No Tubeless
Michelins back then. My first really cold spell came in Fairbanks and
when I went out to get into the car I found all four tires flat. I
thought someone had vandalized me. But when I get the tires to the
garage to get the flats fixed, the tire man said looka st this. He
shoved a tube down in the water tank and 9 zillion tiny bubbles came up.
It seems that the Michelin Sears tubes were butyl rubber, which will
crack in super cold weather. Cost me $100 to buy four new tubes made
from natural rubber. That cold can do weird things.

But you get used to it.

Regards,

John Rodgers
88 GL Driver

Mark Tuovinen wrote:

>Al,
>
>My apologies for the cold weather front that we inadvertently sent your direction, it was supposed to stay in Alaska a little longer.  Now you have our sub-zero weather and we have warmed up significantly, its about 40F outside right now.  All of our beautiful snow is melting.  We will try to steer the warm front your direction when we are done with it, how would the month of May sound? :>)
>
>Mark in AK  - basking in T-shirt weather
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Al and Sue Brase <albeeee@MCHSI.COM>
>Date: Friday, December 9, 2005 8:47 am
>Subject: cold weather shifting, was: Re: Tom's genital defect
>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>
>
>
>>A bit brisk here in NE Iowa, too. -22�F Wednesday nite. ( A good
>>time to
>>be self employed!)
>>the very good fix for the stiff tranny in cold weather is
>>synthetic gear
>>oil.  About $15 worth if I remember right!  Any gear oil should be
>>changed about every 25,000 miles or so. When you do it, take out the
>>FILL plug first. (They tend to be in there pretty tight and you don't
>>want to find yourself with a stuck fill plug and an empty tranny.)
>>Al Brase
>>
>>bueses wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>>>>Doughnut go Gentile into that good Knight.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>--
>>>>>BenT
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>Actually in Utah I am a Gentile- which to the predominant
>>>
>>>
>>religion is one
>>
>>
>>>who is NOT one of them.
>>>
>>>Vanagon content-very cold here in SLC, but the westy has been
>>>
>>>
>>running like a
>>
>>
>>>top, except for a little stiff shifting.  Heats up nice & toasty
>>>
>>>
>>for the 5
>>
>>
>>>mile drive to work.
>>>
>>>Tom-SA style grille lights look great, but lights not hooked up
>>>
>>>
>>yet-waiting
>>
>>
>>>for more research on relays, etc.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>
>
>
>