Hello everyone!

Christa and I went up camping at Skookumchuck hot springs again last 
weekend, and had an... um... eventful time.  Well, the hot springs were 
absolute bliss, even with the rain, bugs, and a few attention-getting 
antics from our beloved camper.

We took the easy route into the springs this time, driving to Pemberton, 
then down the east side of Lillooet Lake and the Lillooet River to the 
spring.  This route has only about 50 km of logging road each way.

We settled in, had dinner, and spent the next few hours floating naked 
under the trees and stars in beautiful hot water.  Ahhh...   We turned 
into bed relaxed, pruned, and a little bug bitten.  Sweet dreams!

In the wee hours, I started having really disturbing dreams.  Death, 
destruction, startlingly realistic, with Christa and I meeting all sorts 
of horrible deaths.  As I rose up into consciousness, one image came to 
be more and more distinct.  The imagery joined with smells, and sleep 
began to fall away.

My eyes opened wide: GAS!  I sniffed around the cabinetry, and convinced 
myself the smell was real.  I jumped out of bed, grabbed a flashlight, 
threw on some clothes, and stepped outside.  I looked in the engine 
compartment: nothing.  Fuel filter, fuel pump: nothing.  As I flashed the 
light on the tranny, I saw it was soaked.  Uh oh.  Under the car, I saw a 
connection on the fuel line was leaking, fast: dripdripdripdripdrip...

"Oh, fudgemonkey!," I thought to myself.  I jumped back in the camper, 
grabbed a vice-grip, and pinched off the fuel line.  I'd deal with the 
problem in the morning, when I could see, and when I wasn't holding the 
only light for miles around (and attracting every mosquito for miles 
around).

In the morning, I stepped outside to take a closer look look at the fuel 
line situation.  I had also developed a flat tire.  Hmmm...  It was raining 
persistently, and the bugs were pretty aggressive.  Let's see: the bugs 
are bad, there's no wind to disperse the bugs, the ground is quite muddy, 
it's raining, and the hot springs are really beautiful.  The fuel line 
could wait.

The next morning, the wind came up, the sun came out, and the dirt dried 
up (a bit).  The bugs went wherever bugs go on windy days.  I changed the 
tire and managed to tighten up the fuel line clamp enough to stop the 
leak.  I've got to install one of those fuel line shut-off valves: It'd 
make situations like this much easier to deal with.

Satisfied, we closed the pop-top, cleaned up other peoples' junk from the 
site (grrrrr!!), and fired up the motor.  Seemed a bit loud...   By the 
time we paved road, the motor was REAL LOUD!  I got under the van and saw 
immediately that the exhaust system on the left side was hanging really 
low, and that the exhaust pipe from the left side (#3, #4) manifold had 
sheared off completely at the flange for the U-bend.  So now I've got a 
completely unmuffled motor.  Well, half muffled at any rate.

Here's what VW told me regarding costs for replacement:
 Left exhaust pipe	$820.10
 Afterburner (U) pipe	$550.00
 Muffler		$283.35
			-------
 TOTAL		       $1653.45  (Prov. and Federal taxes, labour, 
				  misc. parts)

VW claims no aftermarket parts are available (although I can get an 
aftermarket muffler for $195.00).  

I'm hoping I can get the exhaust MIG-welded back together for now.  :(

Anybody have a 2.0L Type IV FI motor with an exhaust system they don't 
want?  ;)   Does anybody know of a cheaper aftermarket source for these 
parts?  My engine # is GD000885 (1976).  My heater boxes are, of course, 
shot, but I don't really care about that since it's not a winter vehicle.

I don't really expect any miracle solutions; I just wanted to cry on your 
collective shoulders.  Keep all your fingers crossed so that MIG-welding 
will work, ok?

Tobin  
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Tobin T. Copley                  Currently              =============  PUTTA!
(604) 689-2660                    Occupationally       /_| |__||__| :| PUTTA!
tobin@freenet.vancouver.bc.ca      Challenged!        O|             | POW!!
                                                       '-()-------()-' 
Circum-continental USA, Mexico, Canada 15,000 miles... '76 VW Camper! (Mango)