That is a good point about the accessibility of vanagon stuff. I shudder to
think about working on some of the cars I see.

Speaking of inaccessibility, ever try changing a master cylinder on a
Renault Dauphine (of course you haven't, you wouldn't be stupid enough to
own one). Well I am not proud to admit it, but I figured out where it was
located and cut an access hole with a cold chisel and did the job from
inside the "boot."

Merdre! C'est la guerre.

Jim

On Fri, Apr 26, 2013 at 11:21 AM, Stuart MacMillan <stuartmacm@gmail.com>wrote:

> Been a bad month for my cars.  First the fuel pump died on my '03 Ranger.
>  I
> had plenty of warning for about a year, but you know how it goes.  Since
> it's been cold and wet here I had AAA tow it to one of their recommended
> shops figuring maybe a $200-$300 repair.  Next day I get an estimate of
> $900
> for a new fuel pump!!!  Paid them $105 to tell me what I already knew and
> had AAA tow it home where it sat for a couple of weeks while I waited for
> the weather to improve, and that's when the new Vanagon heat valve started
> leaking.  So, the breakdown was fortuitous, since I likely would have been
> on a trip when it leaked later.
>
>
>
> The truck conked out in the Lowe's parking lot about a mile from home too,
> so I guess I still have pretty good "Carma."  Oh yeah, I killed the trucks
> original 10 year old battery trying to start the car (beat another dead
> horse), so there's another $100.  I've got to get over this compulsion to
> wait until something breaks before I fix it.
>
>
>
> Went to NAPA and bought a Bosch replacement pump for $98 (Rock Auto had the
> same pump for $64 but I was in a hurry).  I opted to remove the bed with my
> engine hoist to replace the pump since the tank had a lot of gas in it, and
> dropping the tank would be difficult without a lift in any case.  About two
> hours later I torqued down the bed bolts and patted myself on the back for
> saving $700.  Of course, if I had just towed it home and ordered the pump
> from Rock Auto I'd have saved $835.  As I was putting my tools away I
> noticed a hose clamp on the ground and quickly realized I had forgotten to
> hook the filler pipe back up, the last step in installing the bed!  I'd
> have
> figured that out sooner or later, and hopefully not while wearing my dress
> shoes.
>
>
>
> Turns out the fuel pump is in an assembly bigger than a shoe box with the
> sender, back pressure valve, venting, etc. and Ford only sells the whole
> thing for $350. Tax to get to $900 is $82, so the labor on that repair was
> $468 at an independent shop.  Yikes.
>
>
>
> The Vanagon fuel pump takes about 15 minutes to replace!  Inaccessible
> in-tank pumps are a really dumb idea.  The assembly did have
> quick-disconnect connectors for the hoses though, which was the only easy
> part of the job.
>
>
>
> BTW, I live in a DIYer's paradise!  Both Lowes and HD one mile, NAPA 2
> miles, O'Rielly 1 mile, Sears tools 2 miles (on the way to NAPA), Harbor
> Freight, 5 miles.  I got to buy a new tool for my collection too, a Torx
> T-50 bit for the bed, and only NAPA had one.  Life is good in the big city,
> but I still order 95% of my parts online.
>
>
>
> Have a great weekend, and I won't be under my cars (I hope)!
>
>
>
> Stuart
>
> Seattle
>