> The AFM eventually fails on virtually all Vanagons, from what I can tell.
>
> Yes, the part is expensive.  Some folks try to eke out use of
> the bad one by fiddling with the gate.  From what I can tell, the fix
> is not worth one's effort -- just frustrating as results are usually poor.

Well, I'm happy to report that the part just got a whole lot cheaper!
$369.95 for a brand new one . This puts it within consideration as an
alternative to a rebuild (or fiddling around with a bad one).

http://busdepot.com/details.jsp?partnumber=0280202079

This price reflects a temporary reduction, as I had to buy a lot of them to
get the deal I wanted and bring them down to an affordable price. (It seemed
worth doing, since I don't know if/when we'll ever see new ones again.) Once
I have thinned my inventory a bit, quite frankly I will raise the price to a
more sustainable profit margin.

- Ron Salmon
  The Bus Depot, Inc.
  www.busdepot.com
  (215)  234-VWVW

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