Since its no longer legal for tire stores to plug tires, I doubt its too
smart to do your own that way except in extreme emergencies.

On Sun, Aug 24, 2008 at 1:27 PM, Roger Whittaker <rogerwhitt1@gmail.com>wrote:

> dear alll with tires
> carry a small compressor and a radial tire  plug kit
> as well as a pair of strong needle nose pliers to remove object -
> most tire repairs can be done on a tubeless radial right on the spot
> small compressor to pump up and back on the road again
> yours
>
> On Sat, Aug 23, 2008 at 4:28 PM, Michael Diehr <md03@xochi.com> wrote:
>
> > Update for the archives --
> >
> > Overall it was a nice trip -- san diego up 395 to oregon to visit
> > relatives, then back again, staying at lots of nice sierra campsites.
> > About 2000 miles.
> >
> > The good:
> >
> > * none of the things I fixed before the trip broke!
> > * having the AAA with premium tow package was reassuring
> > * the relaxed driving schedule was nice (but needed, sadly)
> >
> > The bad (but lucky)
> >
> > * on day 2, the fuel pump started making a constant buzzing noise when
> > the air temperature was over 90 degrees.  in hindsight I realize it's
> > always made this noise ever since I bought the van, but would only do
> > so very rarely, so I never diagnosed it.   Decided to play it safe and
> > stop until we'd dealt with it -- major hassle with this one was trying
> > to find a new part on the road, in small towns, in ultra hot weather
> > -- finally found a FLAPS replacement part which I bought but didn't
> > install.    The old fuel pump made it home just fine, so now I'll get
> > a proper Bosch replacement.
> >
> > * on day 6, one front tire separated internally, and took us a few
> > hundred miles to diagnose.  If you've never had a separated tire
> > before, it's pretty strange -- the tire looks fine externally, and
> > drives fine at speed, but around 5-10mph it introduces a horrible
> > wobble.   It can wax & wane as the tire heat & cools -- making
> > diagnosis tricky.   It finally got bad enough that we could see the
> > tire was out of round.   Les Schwab had some LT tires in stock, so we
> > decided to just replace all 4 (on the theory that the tires on the van
> > were 10+ years old, even if they had tread left).
> >
> > The bizarre:
> >
> > * about 100 miles after buying the new tires, we ran over a nail and
> > got a flat.  Luckily found a tire shop that patched it and we were on
> > the road again in 15 minutes.
> >
> > Lessons:
> >
> > In hindsight, perhaps I should have payed more attention to missed
> > cues, and done more preventive maintenance -- driving with 10+ year
> > old tires in ultra hot weather was asking for trouble...
> >
> > -mike
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Jul 22, 2008, at 8:51 AM, Michael Diehr wrote:
> >
> >  My travel partner is, to put it mildly, skeptical of our vanagon's
> >> ability to make a planned 1500 mile road trip this summer.   This is
> >> not without cause :  in the 6 prior trips, three were problematic:
> >> once the engine blew up, once it overheated in rather extreme heat
> >> and we had to pull over for an hour, and once the alternator died
> >> (**) and we couldn't run A/C and lights at the same time.   That
> >> time I had a friend bring a new alternator and replaced it at the
> >> campground.   I thought this was kinda fun but I guess definitions
> >> of "fun" differ? :-)    Other 3 trips it was fine.
> >>
> >> Negotiations with said partner have focused on strategies for
> >> increasing chances of next trip to be a winner, and reducing anxiety.
> >>
> >> Ideas included:
> >> * getting known issues fixed ahead of time by an actual mechanic
> >> * not driving up southern california mountain passes I-5 or I-15 in
> >> traffic + 110 degree heat
> >> * a relaxed driving schedule so we feel no need to press on in
> >> adverse conditions
> >> * getting AAA plus (100 mile) or premium (200 mile) tow package
> >> * having a list of vanagon friendly mechanics along the route
> >>
> >> The van has a new engine (about 10k miles), ecu, afm, battery,
> >> starter, alternator**, alternator wiring, fuel hose, injectors
> >> (professionally cleaned), and radiator. (**) the alternator was
> >> probably fine, it was the bad wiring.
> >>
> >> Known issues :   minor exhaust leak, automatic transmission leaks a
> >> bit but works fine.   The transmission is my only major worry, as
> >> it's more or less the only major trip-ending failure I can imagine.
> >>
> >> Any recommendations?  This is as much an emotional as technical
> >> issue, methinks.
> >>
> >>
>
>
> --
> roger w
> There are two kinds of jobs in the world:
> Picking up garbage and telling people things.
> Successful people do both, with the same good attitude. (riw)
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--
Jake
1984 Vanagon GL
1986 Westy Weekender "Dixie"
Crescent Beach, BC
www.crescentbeachguitar.com
http://subyjake.googlepages.com/mydixiedarlin%27