It keeps you from having any relevant Vanagon driving/travelling/breakdown
experience, yes.

What we take in our new Subaru Wagon on a trip to Seattle has NO relevance
to what we take to drive Dixie to Nelson in a blizzard and consequently I
wouldn't bring it up on the Vanagon List.

On Thu, Apr 15, 2010 at 9:35 AM, Tom Hargrave <thargrav@hiwaay.net> wrote:

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

--
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