Date: Fri, 5 Jan 2007 23:15:26 -0500
Reply-To: Mike Collum <collum@VERIZON.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Mike Collum <collum@VERIZON.NET>
Subject: Re: Roadside Troubles while on Vacationing
In-Reply-To: <C1C43103.2A9E%npoole@telus.net>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
First, let me say that I've made many more long trips in my Vanagons
without problems than I have with problems but the ones I'm listing here
were all experienced far from home. These either happened to my '84 7
passenger or my '85 Westy. They cover a 16 year period. Some minor
annoyances are not listed.
I'm listing the problems by number then, for those interested, putting
explanations below. Note that none of the problems kept me from driving
home and at no time was a repair shop involved as I did all work myself.
FWIW, I never start out on a trip with crossed fingers or any
apprehension but I do carry some spares and lots of tools.
1. Small coolant hose on pipe from passenger side head to waterpump burst.
2. Right front brakes dragged badly which slowed the vehicle and caused
much heat.
3. Bad CV joint(s).
4. Failed fuel pressure regulator.
5. Failed waterpump (never leaked from weep hole).
6. Failed ECU.
7. Catastrophic failure of coolant head gaskets.
8. Failed alternator.
9. Failed starter (on my 4 speed).
The rest of the story:
1. I was driving at freeway speed when I noticed a cloud of steam in
the rearview mirror at about the same time as I got a flashing coolant
light. I immediately shut off the engine and coasted to the side of the
road. Cooling system was empty. I determined that the small hose that
joins the pipes that go from the passenger side head to the waterpump
had ruptured. Tugging at the remaining rubber caused it to tear like
wet cardboard. No spare onboard. I found that I had a length of
plastic tubing, that had been trimmed off a bathroom sink drain, under
the seat. It slid snugly over the two pipes and I used worm drive hose
clamps, directly over the ridges in the pipes, to get a good seal. I
was in the 7 passenger so no extra water was onhand. I gathered
anything and everything that would hold water and made 2 trips to a
river that was about a quarter of a mile away to get enough(it was
winter and the water was clear) to refill the system. Cutting to the
chase, I put about 4,000 miles on that plastic coupling before replacing
it with hose and it never did leak. I did have to cut it off, though,
as the hard plastic had taken a set to those ridges.
2. While in Virginia, and luckily near a town, the right front brake
started dragging so badly as to slow the van and the wheel was, of
course, extremely hot. After letting it cool I drove on and took the
next exit. My thinking (at the time) was that the caliper pistons had
worked until the pads wore to their present thickness (they weren't all
that old) so, in that I didn't have much time, I bought new pads for
both sides. In that I had to use C-clamps and sockets to retract the
pistons, that action alone probably caused the problem to go away.
Anyway, I put in the new pads and continued on without further incident.
3. Without any indication that the CVs would be a problem before
leaving home (though I had never serviced them and the boots were good)
one or more started knocking really bad. I found that I could crawl
under and grab each axle, like a javelin, and thrust it back and forth
between the transaxle and the wheel a few times then drive on for quite
a distance without knocking. I did this several times during the trip
but drove over 2,000 miles before servicing the joints at home.
4. The engine started running rough and really rich so we pulled into a
motel in Springfield, MA (it was after midnight). If I shut off the
engine and restarted it immediately, it would start but if I waited 10
minutes ... I had to wait a couple of hours. I knew immediately it was
the fuel pressure regulator. I had had that problem on a different
vanagon but not far from home. Replacement of the regulator did the trick.
5. While on the freeway in New Jersey, the van started to lurch and
lose power. I pulled over and opened the engine hatch to see where
coolant was literally spraying out of the waterpump around the shaft ...
none from the weep hole. The only thing I could figure from the poor
running was the Temp II sender was soaked. I topped up (had extra
coolant onboard this time) dried the Temp II sender and got underway for
the next exit where, within a few miles, I found a NAPA store. Paying
them $100 for the pump was cheaper than ordering one for $49 and paying
for a motel room (was in the 7 pass) while waiting for it to come in.
Anyway, I replaced the waterpump in NAPA's parking lot using the braces
from a gear puller clamped to the hoses with C-clamps so as not to lose
too much coolant.
6. I was over 1,000 miles from home and had the wife, a daughter and
her husband, a small grandson, and a dog onboard. We were making a
routine exit to a rest stop when the engine quit and I coasted into a
parking slot. That sucker wouldn't restart. To make the story short, I
just "Happened" to have an extra ECU under the rear seat as I never
considered that it would fail (I had saved it from a parts van ... just
because). I put it in and ... zoom zoom. Total down time less than a
half hour (troubleshooting). I retried the old one when I got home and
it is indeed bad.
7. When I bought my '85 Westy, it was in Richmond, VA. I was in Maine.
My wife was visiting in Abingdon, VA (with her sick mother) so I
decided that I would pick up the Westy and drive on down to where she
was before heading back up north. Well, after 280 of the 300 miles the
big head gaskets went without warning. I had the van flatbedded that
last 20 miles (the only time in 16 years that I required a tow) where I
proceeded to remove the heads (wheels down). I ordered a gasket kit,
among other parts, from Ken at VanAgain, and made the repairs. I had to
dig shallow trenches below each head in order to swing the torque
wrench. That was 38,000 miles ago and they're doing fine.
8. The alternator had always performed flawlessly but while driving
down the highway the OXY and alternator lights came on steady. No
flashing or showing dim or anything. We took the next exit and found a
NAPA place. We were in a hurry, so I bought the only alternator they
had which has the lifetime warranty (expensive). I replaced it in their
parking lot and was back on the road in short order.
9. The original starter failed on my Westy while not far from home. A
push start and I got it going. I ordered a rebuilt from a popular list
vendor and all seemed well until winter temperatures really dropped (I
had put the rebuilt on by digging out a place in the snow in order to
crawl under). When temperatures went minus Fahrenheit, the solenoid
would stick. In the spring, I mentioned the problem to the vendor and
he had the rebuilder send me a replacement, but its solenoid was sticky
at any temperature. I put the first rebuilt back on. Then, on the way
to Maine's Buses By The Buoy, the starter failed completely. There is a
story in itself about that trip as relates to the starter. Anyway,
after returning home, I opened up the "Original" starter, cleaned it up,
swapped the brushes from the rebuilt to the original and it's now
working like a champ. I should've just ordered brushes to start with.
Mike
Houlton, Maine
'84 GL 7 pass
'85 GL Westy
