At 18:44 03/08/96 -0700, you wrote:
>Spongesicle!....   ; )

... ergh ...

>Hey, where ya been hiding?

I wasn't aware I *was* hiding!  :)

>It's been awfully quiet
>around these parts without hearing from the diesel
>T4 contingent...

Hey, kiddo, let's take over the list!  We could convert all these
inefficient polluting bus-brains to the wonders of low-cost
ecologically-efficient volkswageneng ...  :)

>bring us up to date, tell us more 
>about what's shakin' off the continent...

You asked for it ...

The old blue thing (my original T4 about which I bitched incessantly) blew
up in August '95.  The block cracked on the 1.9L diesel engine.  This was
caused solely by the wonderful faulty coolant gauge.  Damn gauges *never*
worked properly.  The engine was probably overheated by my ... er ...
*enthusiastic* driving style and popped with a humongeous puff of white smoke.  

"Habemus Papem."

So, I toddled along to all the local VW outlets, seeking a replacement.  The
only T4 available was in a garage 60 kilometres away.  No prob.  I did the
deal over the phone and drove the poppin' fartin' jumpin' ol' blue thing
that distance with the cap off the coolant tank.  When I arrived, the owner
of the garage said I could trade in the van, and give him an additional
IRP2,000 (about $3,300) for the little gem on the forecourt.

My replacement van was a 1991, light blue, 1.9L diesel, T4 panel van, with
the same county plates.  Heh!  I went from 91 CE 1420 to 91 CE 2091!  After
we put the bull-bar on, nobody noticed that I had a different machine under
my butt!

This new blue thing had only 92,000 miles on the clock when I got it last
year and now it's hitting 112,000.  The coolant and fuel gauges both work
and the machine has been totally fault free, bar an oil cooler which was
replaced under warranty after a month.

I haven't serviced the poor ol' thing since passing 100,000 miles, so you
can lay bets as to how long it'll last before going *pop*.   :)

--- The Bushrat.