hi Sturt ..
I wouldn't say spraying 'on' the spiral sheathing will work on vanagon
cables.
it's like a solid plastic cover.

but I do agree about the WD-40 for very sticky things..
followed up by a nice synthetic spray lube .
lots and lots while moving the inner cable in and out of the outer part.

motorcycle shops have good lubes intended just for cables..
cable-eze ..something like that.
scott

On 11/15/2012 8:50 PM, Stuart MacMillan wrote:
> I'll second that.  My MGBs and lots of other early European cars use these
> cable systems for heater and vent control.  They are very sturdy, never wear
> out, and were lubricated at the factory.  But after 20 to 40 years the lube
> dries out and is more like glue.  The easiest way to lube them is with WD-40
> or your favorite penetrating oil spayed on the spiral sheathing and other
> moving parts.  The oil will penetrate and lubricate again.
>
> Stuart
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> Scott Daniel - Turbovans
> Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2012 1:56 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: busdepot
>
> fwiw,
> the cables themselves are usually just fine ..
> they last really really well ( they just never get lubed ) At least 95 % of
> theheater control cables I have dealt with were just
> fine- - - with sometimes a little careful straigtening, and lotsof lubing,
> and proper adjusting of course.
>
>
> On 11/15/2012 1:13 PM, The Bus Depot wrote:
>>> Hey Ron, can you tell me how to find the cable that operates the
>>> footwell
>> air flaps
>>> on an '84? I took a look today and wasn't able to drill down to a
>>> specific
>> part.
>>> And by "tell me how," I mean describe the most effective steps to
>>> take to
>> find this
>>> item? Because it wasn't clear to me.*
>> The reason you couldn't find it is that we don't have it, I'm afraid.
>>
>> The best way to find a specific part is to click on the SEARCH tab,
>> then choose your vehicle and enter a keyword. (Like any search, try a
>> couple of different keywords if necessary.)  If you get too many hits,
>> you can use the left-hand navigation pane to narrow the results down
>> by department or category. You can also search by part number if you
>> know what it is, but I'm partial to a keyword search just in case the
>> part number has been superseded.
>>
>> I'm working on a small page that will briefly explain the site
>> navigation at a glance, and will post the link here when I'm done.
>>
>> - Ron Salmon
>>     The Bus Depot, Inc.
>>     www.busdepot.com
>>     (215)  234-VWVW
>>
>> _____________________________________________
>> Toll-Free for Orders by PART # :  1-866-BUS-DEPOT
>>