On Wed, 26 Jul 95 11:46:33 CDT John Brown said:
>Has anybody developed a list of tools that should be carried in a Vanagon
>like the lists that are in the idiot guides for air-cooled bricks?  Would
>you include any additional tools for Westys?

ok. lemme see here now, ... semi-vanagon-specific tools???

- sears has a little Torx screwdriver set that is needed to remove the front
  vent windows. it's a screwdriver body with six (?) points stored in the
  handle. only one of the points fits, but that's the way things are. about
  $20. :(

- a "gotcha stick". this is a little flexible thing that has claw-fingers on
  one end, and a button-thingie on the other end. when you push on the button,
  the claw-fingers expand. it allows you to reach into small spaces where you
  cannot get your hand, and retrieve little parts that you carelessly dropped.
  especially if those parts are NOT metal <see next tool>. when ever would you
  need this? like when you drop your oil spout cap down behind those plastic
  bumpers!!

- a magnetic pickup stick. this is an extendable (some models are flexible)
  "pointer" stick, with a magnet on the tip. useful for retrieving nuts, bolts,
  and washers from various stupid places, wherein they have come to rest
  according to Murphy's law ("any part dropped will fall into the most
  inaccessible location, or will damage some other part as it makes its way
  to this most inaccessible location, or will be eaten by the neighbor's dog")

- one foot section of small golf-club "tube" ... those plastic "tubes" that
  rich yuppies have in their golf bags to protect their golf clubs from being
  scratched. this is exactly the diameter of the vw anti-freeze bottles (but
  beware: there are LARGE tubes on the market as well) and it allows me to
  make a long "nozzle" on the bottle ... so i can pour premix coolant into the
  expansion tank.

- BIG MUTHA SCREWDRIVER. about two feet long. used for prying up on the
  alternator when tightening the v-belt.

- large hex allen wrenches. like 8mm. maybe 10mm. used for loosening and
  tightening the bolts that hold the air conditioner compressor ... when you
  want to tighten the v-belt.

- a 17mm bolt with two nuts. the head of the bolt must be the 17mm. this is
  used to remove the transmission drain plug (cause the exhaust pipe is too
  damn close, and you can't get a regular sized hex-head socket in there and
  the big mutha 17mm hex allen wrench also won't fit). you put the bolt head
  into the drain plug, and use a box end wrench to turn the bolt via the two
  nuts (that are snugged against each other). it's better is the bolt and
  nuts are welded together, but that's extra money.

- safety pin. a straight pin will do, but i kept sticking myself with it.
  small size. used for adjusting those damned little squirter nozzles on the
  windshield squirter. :)

- small funnel. used for filling the windshield squirter via the hold under
  the driver's left foot.

other than that, you pretty much need the same stuff as the other buses ...
metric sockets & wrenches, screwdrivers, pliers (especially some long-nosed
needle-nosed pliers, for removing the little clips that hold the injector
connectors on), spark plug socket, extensions, ratchet (get two: the short
one about 10" long, and the long flex-head one about 18" long).

and if your cv-joints have the c-clips on them, you'll need a pair of
circlip pliers (they work "backward": as you squeeze the handles together,
the tips get farther apart).

special sizes: i think the steering wheel nut (not the driver, the one that
holds the steering wheel onto the steering column) is 27mm.
the front shock absorber bottom bolts are 21mm.
the wheel lug nuts/bolts are 19mm, as are the bottom rear shock absorber bolts.
most everything else is 10mm, 11mm, 13mm, 15mm, or 17mm. some small stuff is
like 6mm or 8mm, and for that you'll need the Sears small socket set (1/4"
drive size).

also get some metal coat hangers (the old kind). you can make special tools
from these ... i've fashioned several J-shaped "hooks" with a handle for my
fingers. these are handy for "fishing" things through holes, or pulling stuff
up to where you can get it with your fingers.

hope this helps.
joel