At 10:38 AM -0700 9/9/97, Scott Semyan wrote:
>For those who recently have purchased Vanagons (or who may otherwise not
>know):
>
>Ever notice how hard it is to add oil to your van when the oil tube is
>so low behind the license plate? Well, the oil tube has a tube inside it
>that lifts up to facilitate adding oil. Those Germans are so clever. I
>had been using an oil funnel for months.
>
>I hope others can learn from my ignorance :)

DOH!! <|:^O

OK, here's the latest weirdnesses with my 81 Westfalia...

Weirdness #1: the cold-start engine noise. It sounds like baseball cards in
the spokes of your bicycle wheels, for those of us old enough to remember
before baseball cards were "collector's items" and there was no reason not
to casually destroy them. The noise diminishes but does not disappear
completely when the bus is in gear and rolling, louder in neutral. Also
louder when braking or facing downhill (center of gravity shifted forward).
After 5 minutes or so the noise stops and will not recur until I park it
and let the engine get _completely_ cold, like all day or overnight. Even
after sitting for an hour or so -- no noise on restart. It sounds more like
plastic than metal, I've tried sticking my head into the engine compartment
but I can't seem to localize it.

Weirdness #2: the not-hot-start. When the engine is *really* hot, like
after a couple of hours of highway driving in 95-degree weather with the
a/c running, if I stop briefly (like for gas) when I try to start her up
the engine turns over veeeerrrrry slowly and reluctantly, and won't catch.
I have to sit for about 10 more minutes, and then she starts right up. I've
also gotten it push-started by getting it rolling only as fast as I could
push it by myself on a level surface, probably 5 mph max.

If anyone thinks either of these presage any serious (read: $$$$$) trouble
on the horizon I'd appreciate your input. Otherwise I'm perfectly willing
to accept them as, uh, charming eccentricities.

   _===========      Michael D. Landis         mlandis@watervalley.net
  /_| |__||__|]\    '81 Westfalia "MAXBUG" :: Duo 230 "Sinister Mobile"
 |      �       |    Volkswagen & Macintosh: I don't leave home without 'em!
 c-(*)-----(*)-'= oo