What about using the metal Ts available at aquarium supply shops for the air
hoses used in aquariums? I actually stole one from my brother's aquarium outfit
to fix  my old bug a long time ago. Aquarium Ts have barbs to hold the hoses and
are often (ooooooh) chrome plated.
I think this only works for the 1/4" hoses though.

Todd
'88 Westy

Karl Wolz wrote:

> Hi there,
>
> This part can be replaced by being a bit creative among the brass fittings
> at Home Depot.
>
>  I looked for the same part at Camelback VW, which is not far from my home,
> and after a while of searching, we found it on their fiche.  Bad news was
> that the stupid little piece of plastic was over $20.  Figured if I had to I
> would, but went and checked the brass tubing fittings area at Home Depot
> and, sure enough, found parts to work.
>
> The larger hose is 12 mm (1/2 inch) and the smaller is, I believe, about 6mm
> (1/4 inch).  You'll want to bring both with you so you can actually try the
> fit (in other words, don't trust my memory on this!).
>
> I found a fitting which was 1/2" on one end and somewhat smaller than I
> needed on the other, so I bought (or actually they gave me) a 1 inch length
> of clear plastic hose to fit over the small end.  One end or the other, or
> maybe both are threaded, but that doesn't seem to matter.
>
> This was a slip fit and worked pretty well, but there were no barbs  to hold
> the assembly in place so I used a hose clamp on each end.  This has been
> working for over 200K miles.
>
> If you need a photo of this, let me know, but it will take a little while.
>
> Good luck,
>
> Karl Wolz
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Donald Baxter <donald.baxter@TRANSCORE.COM>
> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 1999 6:56 AM
> Subject: Need Vacuum hose connector part
>
> > Hey folks,
> >
> > I discovered why my van wouldn't idle with the AC running--a step down
> > connector for a vacuum hose has broken.  While I tried to super glue it
> back
> > together (it worked for a day), I need to find a replacement.  VW (dealer
> > Jim Ellis, Chamblee, Georgia, and one of the banes of my existence) so far
> > has been NO help--they don't even show the part in their diagrams.  This
> is
> > odd since Bentley show the part very clearly in their diagram of the
> vacuum
> > system.
> >
> > If any of you have this part on a used bus (it would have to be one with
> AC
> > and power steering) and would sell me one i would be forever grateful.
> This
> > part is for an '85 model.  There are two white switches against the back
> of
> > the passenger side of the van behind the air box--mounted on the firewall.
> > These switches boost the idle when the AC is on or the power steering is
> > turned fully to lock.  There is a "Y" hose that connects those two
> switches
> > to a larger vacuum hose and there is a connector (plastic/nylon) that
> > attaches that "Y" hose to a larger vacuum hose.  The connector is what i
> > need.  This is diagrammed on page 24.24b of the Bentley manual for the
> > Vanagon.
> >
> > Jim Ellis VW says they'll run a search for this part for me--but if my
> > experience is ANY indication with them; I'll not hear from them again.  I
> > think they're too busy hawking New Beetles to sell parts on 15 year old
> VWs.
> >
> >
> > ___________________________________________________
> >
> > Donald Baxter                   TransCore
> > dbax@mindspring.com             (home) 404 872 0351
> > donald.baxter@transcore.com     (work) 770 246 6261
> >
> >                                 www.mindspring.com/~dbax
> >