Scott,

I hate to admit it - but I love these cantakerous, crochity old Classics
of ours. Yeah, they are a big PITA at times and little Pita's at other
times - and you can multiply those pita's by the number of vans you have
- but I would not have anything else to drive. I like my big, boxy, high
seated, omnivision windscreen, rough riding, truck suspension -( not
Cadillac) hard to get in and of when dressed in drag(Just KIDDING
Volks), load hauling, touring-camper-travel-lodge, emergency shelter for
six on an avalanche blocked road, emergency delivery room type
vehicle!!!  There's NOTHING out there like a Vanagon. There just isn't.

I'm slowly learning how to take care of mine adequately - though
sometimes it/they stump me. But sooner or later I get through it - and
mark up in the Bentley - "Another lesson learned!"

Really, they are hard to beat. And Jim Felder mentioned to me a feature
about the WBX engine that I had not really thought about much until he
spoke of it - but the WBX is well matched to the van. And the WBX lower
end is actually hell-for-stout. If they weren't - the engine modifiers
into dune buggies would not be cutting them down and building power
engines out for the for the boonies. That - and given the replaceable
steel cylinder barrels they have - makes them an engine for longevity.
The heads may be a weak spot - but I don't think the rest of the engine
is. For a good reliable vehicle - just keep it stock - and keep it well
tunes - and don't mistreat it - it will last a long time before the next
rebuild.

John

On 1/18/2014 10:54 PM, SDF ( Scott Daniel Foss ) wrote:
> lol John..
> Have you heard about relationships that were strained due to shortage of
> Vanagon Reliability issues ?
>
> I have , it happens. All the more reason to understand them very well.
> They really are not that complicated at all.
> About the very worst thing
> they can have is truly ellusive electronic glitches....but those are
> pretty rare actually in my experience.
> the vast majority of the time whatever ails them is very, very fixable.
>
> and why anyone would not have a whole set of known-good spare fuel
> injection parts just for substitute-type testing and self-rescue is just
> beyond me.
> They don't have to be expensive or hard to get.
>
> I just got, for example..at a pick n' pull junkyard that I know pretty
> well...a whole 94 Subaru Legacy wiring harness ( just a bear to get out
> of the car , not easy at all ) .....the whole EFI harness plus the ECU,
> plus an Air Mass Meter hanging on the wires ..
> heck ..
> I would charge 8 to 100 for the ecu ..at least 75 for an AMM and up to
> 150 for the harness..
> I jokingly offered the older guy there 50 bucks..( I would have paid $
> 175 with no complaint at all )
> he said 'fine.'
> I paid them $ 100 ...and it was cheap at that !
>
> about getting parts in junkyard..or from any decent parts store ..or
> your VW dealership ..
> 'Relationship' ...it makes all The Difference in the World if you
> develope a relationship with the people you deal with in those worlds.
> It only took me about 50 years to learn that one really well.
>
> Re the spare known-good parts .....if you don't have another Air Flow
> Meter or distributor or ECU to try when you're having weirdness that you
> can't figure out ..how'r ya gonna get very far on these fine machines
> when they don't behave ??
>
> Many shops are just as lost as many non-professional vanagon owners are
> ..so you gotta figure it out yourself to be assured of Vanagon Success.
>
> well, 'reality' is a 'loaded' word, I don't use it really.
>
> there's only 'Perception' I think..
> it only appears to us that this 'movie we call life' is 'real' ..
> we don't actually actually know that it is. It only looks like it might be.
>
> Earth could be a grain of sand on a beach in another Universe for all we
> actually truly truly know.
>
> I suppose I could say 'the reality of the sitation is that there is a
> blockage or leakage of fluids or electrons going on that is keeping your
> vanagon from running really right'.
>
> I still am reluctant to use the word, even in a reasonable way like that.
>
> I trimmed I trimmed !
> S.
>
> On 1/18/2014 7:53 PM, JRodgers wrote:
>> Scott you are right. Reliability is key!   Nubiles don't like to be kept
>> waiting on the side of the road and get quite disturbed while you are
>> behind, over, or underneath getting black grease on your fenners
>> massaging the bumps on your machine that broke down when you ought to be
>> in the van comforting her and massaging her bumps with your clean
>> fenners!  Nubiles also get quite disturbed when waiting time begins to
>> exceed the period that their perfection remains intact, and reality
>> begins to emerge from underneath the paint and powder as it wears off
>> and fades!
>>
>> Yessiree, good reasons to learn how to maintain reliability in your
>> Vanagon.
>>
>