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Messages - phil

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106
Modifications and Alterations /
« on: March 22, 2007, 03:15:07 PM »
Update - I drove it all around today on this nice warm day. No more squealing belt and everything is holding together just fine.



 :D  :lol:

107
Modifications and Alterations / Screw it!...I fixed it... I think
« on: March 21, 2007, 01:29:01 AM »
I have an '84 Westy. There is a little bracket that mounts to the engine block.  The alternator then mounts on this little bracket. Well, there are 2 bolts that hold the bracket to the engine block. Both of those bolts had broken off inside the engine block. However, the van was still running OK. The adjusting bar for tightening the alternator belt was enough to hold the alternator in place. But, not tightly. When I start the van and idle it squeals like a stuck pig. You know the sound a loose or worn fan belt makes. Very annoying.

So, today I fixed it.. hopefully. I used my new left handed twist drills to try and remove the broken off screws. But, it didn't work. The screws didn't come out. But, I did manage to drill holes there. I had some really good hardened steel self-tapping screws that I could insert in the holes and tighten down. It worked beautifully. Nice and tight.

OK, so now I mount the bracket and go to tighten it down. But, there is no way in hell I could get a wrench on those screws. Not from the top, the bottom, or the sides. It pissed me off. I seen this before when working on things on that engine, bolts that are impossible to get wrenches on.  But today I wasn't going to be defeated.  I took the bracket, put it in a vise, and between using a drill and my reciprocating saw made a slot in the bracket so I could get a wrench on the screw head. Well, it worked. I got a wrench on the screw head and bolted that bracket to the engine. I then put the alternator back on. All is nice and tight. But the test is going to be if the bracket is rigid enough after I compromised it by adding the slots.  I think it will be OK but the test of time will tell.

108
Technical Concerns /
« on: March 06, 2007, 08:33:20 AM »
Whoa, I WAS getting a black sooty exhaust! I remember driving through the adirondacks and climbing hills and looking in the rear view mirror and seeing black sooty exhaust coming from the van.

I still don't remember where the wire connected, but I am pretty sure it was a red wire.

109
Technical Concerns /
« on: March 04, 2007, 11:39:43 PM »
I know this might not help much but my '84 Westy was using a lot of gas and running a little funny. One day I was looking at the engine and found this loose wire hanging there. I connected it where it looked like it should go. Viola! the van ran great and my milegage went back to normal.  Sorry, but I don't remember what wire it was and where it connected to except that it was in the engine compartment and actually connected somewhere on the engine. So my suggestion is, give the engine a good look, see if any wires are broken or not connected solidly. It made a big difference for me.

110
Where do you like to go Camping? /
« on: March 04, 2007, 11:24:13 PM »
Jim, here is something to note. On August 12 there is the Syracuse VW show combined with a campout at Oneida Shores Park. It is not far from the Adirondacks at all.



Adirondacks camping: A favorite of mine is Golden Beach State Park on Racquette Lake. Big woody sites. It is always nice and cool there. No hook-ups though. It is close to Blue Mountain Lake that John mentioned where the Adirondack museum is located.



IF you like water parks there is a big one in Old Forge with lots of camping nearby.

111
Bus Blog /
« on: March 03, 2007, 10:18:34 PM »
That's right Rich. I know you learned how to upload a photo. Here is the instructions on how to post a photo in the Forum

http://http://www.limbobus.org/phpBB4/viewtopic.php?t=260

112
Bus Blog /
« on: February 28, 2007, 11:13:49 PM »
I don't get it either. I struggle to find a reason why anyone would want a monster RV. It costs a fortune. Plus it will cost a fortune to drive given the ever rising fuel costs. Driving it around cities is a pain in  the ass. You miss a turn, you got to find parking lot to turn around.

All for what? To have something that resembles your house except on wheels. Why?

113
Bus Blog /
« on: February 27, 2007, 12:26:48 AM »
The only bad thing about the snow is that it can be relentless at times.  Otherwise, I am along with Jim. I enjoy it too.

114
Bus Blog / Google Sucks
« on: February 20, 2007, 12:39:47 AM »
Over the last month I have noticed a serious decline in the quality of Google searches. I noticed that when I did some searches I was directed to pages that were heavily advertising google or wanted me to buy something. My searches were mostly for technical stuff and yet I'd ended up on some marginally related topic. It was never that way before. The real proof for me was looking at the web statistics for the limbo site. Google used to index our site 3 times more than the nearest search engine competitor. Now, today, they are number 2 BEHIND Yahoo indexing our site. What does that tell me? Google sold out and can no longer be trusted as a good search engine. Their aim now is money, not quality.

So, my advice is to look around for different search engines to use. I'm trying out www.webcrawler.com , there is www.dogpile.com  , www.askjeeves.com  www.lycos.com and others.

I'm telling you this because if you are searching for information out there on the web you now have to do it with another search engine or a few search engines to get reliable data. That was the way it was before Google. So, take note, Google sucks!



Phil



PS A friend says it is because Google stock went public and now only the $$$$$ matters.

115
Bus Blog / THIS is how cold it is where I are
« on: February 17, 2007, 09:25:32 PM »
My Indulgence. This is the result of the Valentines Day snow storm



Me. Not snow-blowing for a change.



Glad I bought the 10HP snowblower and spent the extra bucks.



Path for mailman.





You should have seen the backdoor the next day. One step off the stoop and you were hip deep in snow.

116
Bus Blog /
« on: February 16, 2007, 12:37:34 PM »
It's the desert heat, makes 'em nuts out there.

117
Technical Concerns / Re: HELP - 1971 Camper
« on: May 26, 2006, 12:15:43 AM »
Good for you.. don't quit!<br><br>I don't know much about 71's, but spark plugs can tell a big story. After you run it for a while, pull a spark plug or two. Smell it. Do you have a strong smell of gas, or almost no smell at all? Are they wet or dry looking? Gassy smell means your getting fuel in the cylinders. Dry means you are not. <br>I'm betting that you are not getting fuel, or it is restricted. An engine can run for a little while on just Ether you spray in. <br><br>P.S. I recently re-learned a major spark plug lesson when troubleshooting an engine. Comparing the look and smell of two spark plugs I could tell on cylinder was firing and other wasn't.<br>Good Luck

118
Technical Concerns / Re: interchangable
« on: November 18, 2006, 10:02:25 AM »
I notified Jim D on this post. He is a VW parts man.

119
Technical Concerns / Re: Trouble Starting 86 Vanagon
« on: August 21, 2006, 08:41:43 AM »
I am far from an expert on this, but after reading through your posts it does seem like a electrical ground problem. It is well known that the ignition system is sensitive when it comes to electrical grounding. I had an instance where my van wouldn't start one day and then start on another day. I took it to an expert VW mechanic and the first thing he suggested was cleaning the grounds, especially at the starter. It was late in the season that year and I took the van home. AFter winter had passed the van failed to start. I had looked at the ground and they looked OK, but that didn't matter. I took them off at the starter and cleaned them anyway. I polished them with emery cloth and made all the mating surfaces bright and clean. Sure enough, the van started consistently, and still does. Advice? clean all the grounds no matter what they look like. AT least if you do that you can eliminate that as a source of the problem.

120
Technical Concerns / Re: New(?) Vanagon......milage?
« on: April 16, 2006, 10:25:58 AM »
I have a '84 water cooled. I truly never did a calculation to get miles per gallon, but, the rule of thumb I use is 300 miles per tank of gas.

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