Hey Tom, please remind us - what kind of Vanagon do you drive?

On Thu, Apr 15, 2010 at 5:25 AM, Tom Hargrave <thargrav@hiwaay.net> wrote:

> I quit carrying spares & tool boxes over 20 years ago. I decided I was
> "failing to plan" which kind of leads to "planning to fail". Also, I've
> driven 40,000 - 55,000 miles / year over the past 10 years, most of these
> miles in what most would consider old cars.
>
> But there is a method to my madness. I'm under the hood of my cars a lot.
> Also, I replace items like belts & hoses & coolant & brake fluid & brakes &
> tires when they should be serviced & not when they fail. Then I throw these
> old parts out because there is no need for a old spare unless the one on the
> car is about to fail. One other note - I replace belts & hoses with good
> parts, not the cheap $4.00 crap from the local McParts store. I believe the
> last Gates Green Stripe V belt I bought cost me $18.00 from NAPA while the
> "supposedly" identical belt from a AutoZone or Advance Auto was in the $4.00
> range.
>
> I also inspect starters & alternators for brush wear. And I replace or
> inspect other accessory items when they rack up a lot of miles.
>
> Your ECU should fall in the inspect & repair / replace category.
> Disassemble it once every 10K miles & look at the wear stripe in the carbon.
> If it shows a lot of wear then relocate the wiper BEFORE IT FAILS. If you
> don't do this then you are "planning to fail" like I used to do 20 something
> years ago.
>
> This may seem like a lot of work but it's nice to know that you can take
> off on a long trip in a vehicle with over 200,000 miles on the clock and
> expect to arrive at the other end with no issues.
>
> I have had some road failures but with one exception, none were in my
> control and none could be fixed on the side of the road or with tools you'd
> usually carry in a toolbox. The one exception was the alternator in my 87
> Mercedes 300SDL - the rear bearing locked up. But even with the alternator,
> I borrowed what I needed from AutoZone.
>
>
> Tom
> www.kegkits.com
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf Of
> miguel pacheco
> Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2010 6:35 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Do U carry spare ECU?
>
> Jim, in your case, not having the part you needed in a breakdown, would
> make a far more interesting story. How about it, has it ever happened?
> You carry far more than I do, and I'm pretty well equipped.
> Miguel
>
> I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.
>  - Thomas A. Edison
>
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 14, 2010 at 10:50 PM, Old Volks Home <oldvolkshome@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > Yep,spare 1.9 ECU (replaced one in Adrian, TX off I-40 several years
> > ago coming back from Tennessee to SoCal). Plus a starter (replaced
> > that on another trip coming back from Tennessee to So Cal 3 yrs ago),
> > extra hard start relay (I have this installed on all VWs I own and
> > just installed one on the 914 this past week), alternator (replaced
> > that about 8 years ago in Turlock, CA rest stop - only 20 minutes to
> > do that!), two distributors, water pump, thermostat w/O-Ring, AFM,
> > master cylinder, accel cable, ignition switch (electrical part [gave
> > one away to Bev at the Buses By The Bridge event a few years ago] and
> > lock cylinder), fuel pump (replaced that a couple of years ago on a
> > Jerome Jamboree trip in the middle of 100+ degree heat under an
> > overpass on I-10 about 25 miles east of Quartzsite, AZ), fuel filters
> > (both square pre filter and cannister filter), fuel pressure
> > regulator, plugs, rotor, cap, hall unit, ICU,  spark plug wire set,
> > coolant ECU sensor, assorted FI connectors w/pigtails, 2 meters of 7mm
> > fuel hose, 2 meters of 3.5mm vacuum hose, lotsa appropriate clamps,
> > assorted bulbs and the list goes on and on and on....Very well
> > equipped multi-drawer toolbox that would normally go on top of a
> roll-away - this sits on the floor directly behind the passenger seat.
> > When you live full time in a Westy, it's best to be prepared for most
> > contingencies :)
> > --
> > Jim Thompson
> > 84 GL 1.9 "Gloria"
> > 84 Westfalia 2.1 "Ole Putt"
> > 72 411 Station Wagon "Pug"
> > 75 914 1.8 (No Name Yet)
> > Full Timing Since March 1999
> > oldvolkshome@gmail.com
> > http://www.oldvolkshome.com
> > ***********************************
> > On Tue, Apr 13, 2010 at 8:59 AM, mark drillock <mdrillock@cox.net>
> wrote:
> >
> >> On the weekend I got a call from a friend in trouble. He had taken a
> >> group of people up to a lake a few hours from home, using his 86 GL
> >> as a tour bus. Everything went fine and they made it up the 5000'
> >> mountain without incident. After unloading he decided to park in a
> >> different spot and the van would crank fine but not start.
> >>
> >> He checked for spark, ouch, a-ok.
> >> He had just filled the tank, so plenty of gas, bad fuel?
> >> He bought some starting fluid and it fired right up and quickly died,
> >> each time he sprayed.
> >> He changed the fuel filter, no joy.
> >> He pulled the injectors from one side, no fuel spraying, aha!
> >> Pulled a fuel line loose, cranked, plenty of flow.
> >> He pinched the return line shut, cranked, still no spray at injectors
> >> but a new leak showed in a line.
> >> Bought an injector noid light, noid light blinked during cranking.
> >> I told him the ECU could still be at fault, strong enough injector
> >> pulses to blink the noid light but not enough juice to fire the
> injectors?
> >> AAA called, made it home by tow truck.
> >> Installed his spare ECU from his Westy under bench storage, fired right
> up!
> >>
> >> Mark
> >>
> >
>

--
Jake

1984 Vanagon GL 1.9 WBX 'The Grey Van'
1986 Westy Weekender/2.5 SOHC Suby 'Dixie'

Crescent Beach, BC

www.thebassspa.com
www.crescentbeachguitar.com
http://subyjake.googlepages.com/mydixiedarlin%27