An enjoyable read Don. Reminds me of the last time I drove through WA & OR
 in a rented '84 Adventurewagen except for the going fast uphill part ;-)
Thanks for the post.

John Meeks
'91 Vanagon MV
Northern Michigan

Vanagon Rescue Squad
www.vanagonauts.com

On Mon, Jun 13, 2011 at 10:17 AM, Don Hanson <dhanson928@gmail.com> wrote:

>  Just took the 84 low top westie interior 2.0 liter inline motored 5sp for
> a
> ~500mile drive in the North central part of Oregon.  I had a bike race near
> Salem, so I went via the interstates to make my start time at ~9am.  I-84
> west through the Columbia River Gorge, then 1-5 south to Salem in the
> Willamette valley to the west of the Cascade mountains.  I left home at
> daybreak (~5am) and putting the speedo at 70, had a easy cruise to the Time
> trial.  That leg of the drive I got 22mpg.
>
>  To return home, I decided to take Santiam Pass (hwy 20) across the
> Cascades to near Bend, then cut north behind all the volcano peaks to my
> home base near The Dalles, Or..in the Columbia Gorge.  I'd not been over
> Santiam Pass for many years and the last time was on a fast sportbike.
> That route is beautiful.  The pavement had some big slumps and there is
> still a lot of snow in the high country..  Lots of Harleys and once I
> joined
> up with the 22 on the east slope of the Cascades, many returning
> recreators,
> heading home Sunday afternoon,  to the central valley and Greater Portland.
>
>  It was fun to drive the Vanagon.  Oregon and Washington have 'slow vehicle
> turnouts' on most two lane roads.  It was me, waiting for these to pass
> other vehicles, even climbing this winding 5000' climb.  There were some
> switch-back corners marked "15mph" which my van handled quite well, though
> I
> did bang the bumpstops on a few sections where the pavement had 'slumped'
> due to all the rain and snow over the winter.  When I stopped near Sisters,
> Or. after the mountains, I noticed I'd been cornering hard enough to cause
> the water tank to slop out of my filler..
>
>  Since I was pushing the vanagon quite a bit harder than I normally do, I
> was closely watching my gauges.  I have not done a "blitz-trip" since I
> installed my 'new' 93 Jetta ABA block and got it all sorted out.  I've done
> plenty of long easy miles but this time I was driving for pure enjoyment of
> the drive and pretty empty of load, so I was pushing it, just to see....
>
> The coolant temp gauge stayed where it has always read...right above the
> "cold" range bracket near the bottom of the scale.  Longer sustained climbs
> would see it rise a little to just below the LED blinker.  My oil
> temperature ran right at 208f climbing to about 225-30f on one very
> significant grade that I pushed up at ~ 70mph just to see if I could.  My
> oil pressure at speed is around 60-70psi, running 20-50 Penn at about
> 3700rpm and 65mph in 5th.
>
>  Just had one minor alert.  I have recently seen my mixture go rich on hot
> start for a few seconds.  I am thinking I have a faulty connection on
> either
> my O2 sensor or perhaps my Temp II sensor is acting up.  I didn't get a
> chance to chase this down before this drive.  So I was carefully monitoring
> all my instruments as I drove the van hard!   There's a long steep grade
> that normally brings my speed down in most vehicles I've driven up
> it...This
> vanagon in the past, I take up that climb at about 60 mph with a backshift
> to 4th and holding my rpms to about 4000...But I had a clear road so I
> decided to go for it and I hit the hill with a good run at it...about
> 75mph...I was holding that speed in 5th, foot on the floor, watching my oil
> and water temp...the oil was climbing a bit at a few miles into the climb
> and I then saw some smoke in my mirrors...."Uh oh" I think...."There goes
> my
> Rescue tape water hose patch"  I backed-off the throttle and went on 'full
> alert' but everything seemed really normal...Oil temp was not excessive
> (just under 230f ) water was normal, oil pressure was right at 65psi, no
> missing no strange sounds...just some smoke in my mirrors.  I finished that
> hill at my normal pace...65mph and ~4000 rpms in 4th...the smoke stopped.
>  I
> pulled over to check things out but nothing.  Good coolant level, proper
> oil
> level, no strange smells no oil spots or drips...  I surmise now, after
> some
> thought, that perhaps my mixture went 'full rich' for a few seconds again.
>
>  Anyway, I wasn't too worried after getting out to check the hose (I carry
> a spare/replacemtent for that one) and with the feedback I had from my
> gauges....and if for some really wierd reason that motor blew....I have
> towing and they are only ~$300 to replace....So I slapped down the pedal
> and
> finished an enjoyable Sunday outing.  I'll be checking my O2 sensor this
> morning and sticking in my spare Temp II sensor and checking all those
> plugs
> and wires...
>
>  What fun things Vanagons are...as Scott often says.
>  too long post sorry  Don Hanson
>