On Apr 15, 2010, at 10:35 AM, Tom Hargrave wrote:

> None yet but I'm looking for a project.
>
> Does this keep me from contributing to this list?

Evidently not!  LOL!

Mr. BZ-keep it up, & Chris will keep looking for a project for you?
>
> Tom
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On
> Behalf Of
> Jake de Villiers
> Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2010 10:37 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Now Preventative Maintenance, Was Do U carry spare ECU?
>
> 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