HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: rgolen@UMASSD.EDU
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
Subject: [A] Saga of the 56 Beetle continues
Date: 29 Dec 92 02:41:26 GMT
Reply-To: rgolen@UMASSD.EDU
Organization: UMASS DARTMOUTH, NO. DARTMOUTH, MA.

This past weekend I did a little parts shopping, got a battery, etc.
I guess 6 volt batteries don't sell like they used to, the one
I bought had a bit of dust, etc on it, and needed a charge.

Tonight I loaded the spare motor on  a friend's Rabbit P/U and
took it down to the car wash and cleaned it up, and then went
home. We both looked at the engine that was in the car, and
thought the clunking in the crankshaft may have been due to
the gland nut being loose on the flywheel.

He left, but I decided what the hell, jacked up the car,
unscrewed all of the connections (no male/female stuff
here folks), then dropped the motor. Had it out in 15
minutes! Not bad, considering I haven't pulled an
aircooled motor in over 12 years.

I had one surprise, it seems I put in an early Porsche 356
diaphram pressure plate and disk back when I rebuilt the
motor in 75. It was still in great shape. The bad news
is that while holding the flywheel steady, I can rock
the crank pully back and forth about 1/4"..clunk..clunk.

Oh well, as soon as I can find a 36 hp rebuild gasket 
kit, I'll tear it apart.

Tomorrow, I have to replace the fuel lines...put some gas in the
tank this morning, and tonight had a small puddle under the
car. Nice to have a fuel shut off! While the car is up in the
air, I'm going to bleed the brakes, and see if the brake system
is still good. I thought that the master died, but later found
the reservoir was empty, but the master still could be roached.

Also tomorrow I'm going to put on the new muffler, adj the valves,
put in new tune-up parts and generally get the spare motor
ready to be put back in the bug. I hope to have the motor
in and running by Wednesday and have the old bug on the
road after New Years Day.

Time for a beer!

Ric
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
From: mgm@royko.Chicago.COM (Marty Masters)
Subject: Re: 72 Bus starting problems
Organization: Chicago Software Works
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 16:36:26 GMT


When I had a bus, I also had the old intermittant starter problem
too.  My solution, rather than carrying a mallet to smack the starter
with or big screwdriver/wrench to arc across the starter leads was a
piece of heavy guage wire.  My solenoid had two blade terminals
on it, both of which activated the starter when contact was made
between either of them and the heavy lead from the battery, So I
attached the wire to the unused starter blade terminal, and fed the 
wire into the engine compartment and left it tucked in next to the 
battery.  Whenever the vehicle didn't want to start, I switched on the
ignition, went the back of the car, and touched the bare end of the
wire to the positive terminal of the battery.  Worked every time, and
kept my clothes and hands clean too.

I would *<HIGHLY>* recommend that you:

	 *<DO NOT PUSH START ANY AIR COOLED VW IN REVERSE!!!>*

This is a very good way to screw up your transmission...  I lost 
reverse in two transmissions by trying to do this.

YMMV...

...Marty
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
From: eliot@stalfos.engr.washington.edu (eliot)
Subject: Re: [W] Snow tires vs. All-season radials
Organization: clearer than blir
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 21:56:25 GMT

In article <1992Dec22.153314.12308@mks.com> rich@mks.com (Rich Jones) writes:
>I was quite surprised to find out that my 92 Jetta came with summer
>(not all-season) radials.

>I was planning on trading in my summer radials (Continential
>185/60R14's) for all-season radials.  The guy in service at my
>dealership tells me that they don't sell all-season radials because
>they don't believe in them.  Something about European cars having
>different suspensions and therefore, different tire requirements than
>domestics. 

> Can anyone clarify this fairly ambiguous statement?  

a bunch of bull.  all audis have all-season tires available as no-cost
options.  in fact in 1990 they were putting them in place of summer
tires.  a friend bought a 80Q and was surprised to find skinny
el-cheapo 175/70TR14 all seasons on them.  he managed to get them
changed to the regular 195/60HR14s.

i recently drove a 92 golf that had continental all-seasons.  even
drove it in the snow.  it was quite good, but it is no snow tire.  i
still prefer to have separate sets of snows and summer tires because i
think that all-seasons are too much of a compromise.


eliot
From: xkong@usc.edu (Xianli Kong)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
Subject: Help wanted for 87 VW JETTA
Date: 31 Dec 1992 15:55:41 -0800
Organization: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: aludra.usc.edu



I'm glad to be a new member of VW family. I just got a 87 VW JETTA.
It was OK when I drove home and the following few days. Then I went
somewhere for vacation and put the JETTA in garage for a week. This 
morning I find that it can't be started. When I turn the key clockwise,
there is nothing happen, just like the power wire was disconnected.
the bettery looks ok because I can use light and radio. Any JETTA
owner overthere can give me a hand to solve this problem? or I may
take it to a mechanic and get a couple hundred $$$ bill as my new
years gift.|-)


Please respond to this account. Thanx in advance.

Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
From: m17108@mwunix (Jason Douglas)
Subject: Re: [W] Vanagon tires
Organization: MITRE Corporation, McLean VA
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 20:30:43 GMT

In article <jgladu-221292121844@128.249.27.63> jgladu@bcm.tmc.edu (grungy (John F. Gladu)) writes:
>Time to put new tires on my wife's '90 Vanagon and it currently has
>Michelin MXL P205/70R14's on it.  The local tire dealers tell us that these
>are no longer being made and we should switch to EPX's or XH4's.  I've also
>read somewhere in this group something about the load rating necessary for
>use on Vanagons.
>
>I've had no real complaints with the MXL's, except for an affinity for
>steel-belt-edge punctures.  Never had a traction problem.
>
>Please email any suggestions for tires.  Thanks!
>
>bcnu - grungy (John Gladu)
>Systems Support Center -- Baylor College of Medicine
>INTERNET: jgladu@bcm.tmc.edu  | VOICE: (713)798-7370
> US MAIL:  One Baylor Plaza, Houston, Texas  77030

   Its worth a long posting about Vanagon tires because finding the proper tires
requires a smart dealer or some digging.  Hopefully, no netter shoebox 
(vanagon) driver will end up with a "dangerous" tire application.
One should be cautious about replacing tires as the
Vanagon requires light truck or reinforced tires because of its weight and 
the tire pressure differential recommended between the front and back (39 and
48 psi on my 87).  "Normal" car tires have maximum inflation pressures of 
35 psi.  If you run all your tires at 35 psi, then the handling will be affected (presumably you'll have a lot of oversteer) and, according to a Michelin
engineer, become "dangerous."
     The problem is that there are few light truck tires made in the Vanagon's
size.  What you have to look for is the rating for "Load range C."  Reassure
yourself further by checking the max load and max inflation pressures molded
onto the sidewall.
     I had not heard that the MXLs were unvailable (but this sounds strange
because they are usually backordered -- that is they sell).  There are some
alternatives which I found while looking for an all season solution.  These
tires are all 195 75 14 and should fit on the steel wheels.  Does anyone know
if they fit on the alloy?  The other annoyance is that LT tires are not graded
with wear and traction ratings.  Oh well, if you wanted a normal vehicle you'd
be driving something else, right?
     The best alternatives are the Michelin XCH4 LT (LT version only), an 
all season tire, and the Bridgestone 603V, a summer tire.  There may also
be a Conti thats suitable, but I don't know.  Around here, prices for the above
are $85+ (US) plus mounting, balancing, valves, tax, etc etc.
     BTW, the referenced posting had a "[w]" but isn't this subject also
applicable to air cooled Vanagons (pre 83)?

Jason Douglas (jdouglas@mitre.org)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
From: kirstein@bohemia.metronet.org (Dale Kirstein)
Subject: Re: '91 Passat Front End Problem
Organization: Bohemia BBS System
Date: Sat, 26 Dec 1992 17:10:44 GMT

wolfsond@cse.fau.edu (Dan MC^2 Wolfson) writes:

>In article <jhughes.4@rosebud.ub.com> jhughes@rosebud.ub.com (Jeff Hughes) writes:
>>I have a question for any Passat owners.  I have a 1991 Passat and my 
>>steering column seems to make a "clunking noise" when I back out of a 
>>driveway or turn slowly through a parking lot.  I have had the car to 2 
>>different dealerships at least 5 times and they can't find the problem.  Has 
>>anyone had a similar problem?  If so, what was the resolution?  The car 
>>seems to work fine otherwise.
You might check out the antisway bar bushings. sometimes when they wear out, they
make noise at odd times. Also, I assume you've checke the front strut/shocks?


Good luck!



Dale Kirstein
.sig pending
From: keys@starchild.ncsl.nist.gov (Lawrence B. Keys)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
Subject: Re: 1992 Golfs seem too high revving!  Why?
Date: 28 Dec 92 17:35:51 GMT
Organization: National Institute of Standards & Technology

In article <BzyLto.Eqn@news.udel.edu> pyrros@ravel.udel.edu (Christos T Pyrros) writes:
>
>Two friends of mine have purchased 1992 Golfs this year.  One purchased a
>1992 8-Valve GTI, and the other purchased a regular 1992 Golf.  Both have
>the standard 1.8 liter four and 5 speed stick.
>>On both Golfs, when running at about 60 MPH, the engine is doing about 3,000
>RPMs.  This seems very high when compared to my 1987 VW Fox GL (4-speed)
>which does about  2,250 RPMs at the same speed.
>This difference is even more pronounced at high speed.  At 80 MPH, my Fox does
>3,200 RPMs, while the Golfs do over 4,000 RPMs.
>Why is this?  Has anyone "solved" the "problem" by changing the final drive
>ratio or using a different gearbox?  Are the 16-Valves also geared this short?
>What's the deal?
>
>Any wisdom would be appreicated.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Chris
>~


You're absolutely right Cris.  We have a 1990 Fox and a 1990 Jetta GLI,
and the RPM's at a given speed are lower on the Fox than on our Jetta.

I'm curious to know why this is the case.
                                                  .  
                                                 /                
Larry                            __/    _______/_                 
keys@csmes.ncsl.nist.gov       /                  \               
                          _____     __     _____    \------- ===
            ----------- / ____/   /  /   /__  __/              \
         /     ___    /  / ___   /  /      / /    ____          |
        |    /      \/ /__ /  | /  /__  __/ /__ /       \      / 
        /___         \_______/ /_____/ /______/            ====OO
            \       /                           \       /         
                -                                   -
       ---------------- FAHRVERGNUGEN FOREVER! --------------------            
            The fact that I need to explain it to you indicates
            that you probably wouldn't understand anyway!
       ------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
From: rgolen@UMASSD.EDU
Subject: Vintage VW Club
Reply-To: rgolen@UMASSD.EDU
Organization: UMASS DARTMOUTH, NO. DARTMOUTH, MA.
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 21:23:05 GMT

Does anyone out there have the phone number and/or name and
address of the Vintage VW Club of America?

Post it here or e-mail me.

Thanks,
Ric
From: map@violet.berkeley.edu (Pollen Lab;103 ESB;38108;;NZ29)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
Subject: Re: '72 vw beetle info needed...
Date: 30 Dec 1992 23:13:53 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
NNTP-Posting-Host: violet.berkeley.edu
Summary: how to tell if the rear window defroster is "on"

In article <1992Dec24.005802.158@midway.uchicago.edu> newark@befvax.uchicago.edu writes:
>
>2) the car seems to have a rear window defroster, but I can't seem to find 
>   the switch for it... does anyone know anthing about these?  Is it an 
>   aftermarket product or were they an option and does anyone know how 
>   to use it?
>
I've been impressed by the variety of locations suggested for the switch
to this thing!  Mine is close to the steering column under the dash area
('69 bug).

Living in coastal California, I'd kind of forgotten about the rear defroster,
until a friend asked me what the green light on her speedometer panel meant.
Naturally, my first thought was "oil", so I put on a sad expression when
she said it stayed on continuously!  Luckily, it wasn't *that* light.

In my car, the green light (higher on the panel than the oil light) is the
only way to tell if the rear defrost is turned on--it's never melted frost....

Eric Edlund
U.C.Berkeley Geography
eric@pollen1.berkeley.edu
From: dheckman@novell.com (Diane Heckman)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
Subject: Re: Help needed with my 72 camper van
Date: 30 Dec 92 17:32:04 GMT
Organization: Novell Inc., San Jose, Califonia

In article <1992Dec30.065133.23113@samba.oit.unc.edu> Mike.Oniffrey@launchpad.unc.edu (Mike Oniffrey) writes:
>In article <9212290103.AA28559@hood.pcx.ncd.com> jcb@hood (Jim Becker) writes:
>
>	Subject: Help needed with my 72 camper van
>
>[Quoting article from Diane]
>
>	...Anyway, we pull  up  to  a  gas  station, fill  up  (5  minutes  max,
>	everything turned off), get in, and the car doesn't  start.   The  oil
>	and   gen  lights  come  on,  but  the  starter  motor  doesn't  turn.
>	Doesn't  click  or  cluck  or anything.  Complete silence...
>	Back home, we successfully restarted the  car  10  minutes  after
>	stopping it.   What happened here?  Any hints?
>
>[Jim writes]
>
>	...when you are on a long trip the engine/transmission/starter get
>	hot to the point where the starter will not function until it cools
>	down.
>
>	the solution is a new starter!
>
>
>In Muir's <Idiot> repair guide, he mentions that as starters age, they
>will build up internal corrosion which make them progressively less
>cooperative, when voltage is applied, to turning over an engine.  One
>short-term solution is to crawl under the vehicle with a BEEG mallet and
>give the starter housing a good whack.  This will shake loose a lot of the
>corrosion, and will buy you another 200-300 miles.  Muir goes on to say
>that if you are too lazy or broke to do a starter swap, you can get away
>with this technique for quite a while. 
>
>I coaxed thousands of extra miles out of the starters on my 77 bus and 80
>Vanagon with this method...
>
>onif
>
>Onif of UNC-TV, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA, can be reached at:
>mike.oniffrey@launchpad.unc.edu


Well, the net.concensus seems to be that my starter is dying.  I 
looked through the old receipts and saw that the previous owner had
the starter replaced 12,000 miles (3 years) ago.  Seems like a very short
life span.  Is this normal?  There was no mention of a new solenoid
on the repair bill ($140!!!).  Should I assume that they would have 
also replaced the solenoid, or that the 20 year old one is still there?

Someone else out there said that the wiring to the ignition switch may
have built up enough resistance to not fire up the solenoid.  Is
this a possibility?  I'm sure the wiring is 20 years old....


Thanks to everyone for the help.

Happy Trails,
Diane
From: jgladu@bcm.tmc.edu (grungy (John F. Gladu))
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
Subject: Re: Help needed with my 72 camper van
Followup-To: rec.autos.vw
Date: 31 Dec 1992 19:27:14 GMT
Organization: Systems Support Center, BCM
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: j.ssctr.bcm.tmc.edu

In article <1992Dec30.173204.11789@novell.com>, dheckman@novell.com (Diane
Heckman) wrote:

> Someone else out there said that the wiring to the ignition switch may
> have built up enough resistance to not fire up the solenoid.  Is
> this a possibility?  I'm sure the wiring is 20 years old....

Yes, it's a possibility.  That's what happened to mine.  Several times now
I've had the symptoms that you stated and I have yet to get a new starter -
just made the switch work better.  My wiring is 31 years old...

I used the "bigger hammer" method too - until it no longer worked...

Like I said before, if the starting problem comes back, and if you can get
the starter to turn over by "hot wiring" it [touching the wire that goes to
the solenoid from the ignition switch to some source of 12V power] then the
problem is in you wiring/ignition switch.  If that DOESN'T work, then it's
probably your starter.
(I really don't have any idea what the wiring situation is in a stock '72
Van, mine is a crazy patchwork and "hot wiring" is easy)

The solenoid should come with the starter - every one I've every had came
with it.

Good luck!

bcnu - grungy (John Gladu) '61 Panel, '68,'69 bugs
Systems Support Center -- Baylor College of Medicine
INTERNET: jgladu@bcm.tmc.edu  | VOICE: (713)798-7370
 US MAIL:  One Baylor Plaza, Houston, Texas  77030
From: map@violet.berkeley.edu (Pollen Lab;103 ESB;38108;;NZ29)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
Subject: Re: '72 vw beetle info needed...
Date: 30 Dec 1992 23:35:17 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
NNTP-Posting-Host: violet.berkeley.edu

In article <1992Dec24.005802.158@midway.uchicago.edu> newark@befvax.uchicago.edu writes:
>
>I just acquired (by accident) a '72 vw bug (along with my '64 corvair convert, 
>this means I'll never have to buy anti-freeze again) and I had a few questions
...
>Also, any info on winter driving would be appreciated...how well do these
>things plough through snowy weather?
>

This is a _great_ snow car!  I drove my bug a lot in Colorado before moving
to California, and had only minor problems:

a. below-zero temps + weak battery + heavy oil = very hard to start--make
sure your battery's in decent shape.

b. lack of heat and defrost isn't all that bad--you have to wear all those
heavy clothes when you get out of the car anyway, right?  More than once
I have used my scraper on the inside of the windshield.

c. light front end ==> you can high-center this car in deep snow (where
front-engine cars would probably slip and stop before becoming high-centered).
But you have great clearance compared to most passenger cars, and the car is
very responsive in slippery conditions.

Be careful, but don't let that stop you from having fun.

Eric Edlund
U.C.Berkeley Geography
eric@pollen1.berkeley.edu
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
From: garrett@Ingres.COM (WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS)
Subject: Brake question
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.4-b1  
Keywords: 71' super beetle
Organization: ASK Computer Systems, Ingres Product Division
Date: 31 Dec 92 01:22:32 GMT

	I have what should be a simple question <heh>. What exactly
does it mean when you have to pump your brakes twice to get them to work
properly? BTW, this question is in reference to drum brakes. 

-Garrett@Ingres.com
From: wpc@po.CWRU.Edu (William P. Claspy)
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
Subject: CR auto lemon law article
Date: 30 Dec 1992 15:30:32 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
NNTP-Posting-Host: thor.ins.cwru.edu


Hey now, all!
I know how some of you feel about Consumer Reports, but this article has
some interesting notes for those of you who are pissed off about your late
model, water cooled volksies.  Reprinted without permission.

...owners of cars with safety defects such as bad brakes or faulty steering
generally got a refund.  (Many states allow the dealer just one attempt to
fix a safety-related defect before the lemon law can be invoked.)  Refunds
were also frequent for owners of autos that stalled or didn't start
consistently.  But complaints of water leaks, noises, bad paint, jumpy
suspensions, and premature wear of tires were almost always rejected...

[the previous was based on data collected by CR in Florida]

Most interesting was a graph by make of car, based on data from six states,
on which Volkswagen was second to last!  [blurb above graph reprinted here:]

The graph below compares the number of 1991 lemon law cases each carmaker
lost in six state-run arbitration programs to its market share in those
states.  We can't say from the data whether the carmakers at the bottom
of the list built more lemons or simply failed to resolve the cars'
problems prior to arbitration [compare with net.owners frequent complaints
about VW dealers! -B]  A score of 1 means the company lost about as many
cases as its market share would predict. A score of 2 means it lost twice
as many; and so on.  

I won't try to recreate the graph, but at the top of the list, Honda and
Toyota, even with their sizable market share, had a score of less than 0.5.
In the "average" range, Subaru, Mazda, Mitsubishi and Volvo had scores of 1
or less.  At the bottom of the list were Hyundai and VW with about 3.2, better
than only Isuzu which had 3.6.  The six states used were Connecticut,
Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, and Washington.

Food for thought.
Bill
-- 
William Claspy			Case Western Reserve University
Internet- wpc@po.cwru.edu
MaBellnet- (216) 368-3595
Newsgroups: rec.autos.vw
From: zowie@daedalus.stanford.edu (Craig "Powderkeg" DeForest)
Subject: Re: Camper .vs Bus
Organization: Stanford Center for Space Science and Astrophysics
Date: 23 Dec 92 12:28:59

In article <foo> BARANSKI@veamf1.nusc.navy.mil (Jim Baranski) writes:

   What are the Differences the different types of VW busses, Vans &
   Campers?  I'm particularly interested in the older air cooled types.

   Has anyone ever actually been camping in a VW Camper?  How usefull are 
   they for camping?  I'm trying to decide if I'd rather have a Camper, or a 
   Bus, or a plain Van.  I definitely want to go camping with it, but I would 
   also like to use it for other uses.  

Well, the `buses' are the old kind with the overhead ventilator and the
flat windshields; the `vans' are anything later.  I learned to drive in 
a vanilla van, and own a camper now.  There are a several different 
styles of camper, ranging from a van with a single rear seat/bed, large open
center bay, and closet -- through mine, with the rear seat/bed,
closet, cubby in the back, rearward facing bucket seat, central fold-out
table, pop-up roof, fridge, and kitchen sink!

Some of the pop-up roofs have a single cot on top (forward swivel type);
others have the full double bed (rear or Westphalia type).  By shopping
around, it seems you can get pretty much any combination of the 
fixtures.

My model is pretty cramped inside, with all the fixtures -- there are two
large cabinets (one for the seat/water tank and one for the fridge/sink) 
in the center bay, which doesn't leave a whole lot of room for spreading
out there.

You can get models with a single integrated sink/tank unit, which leaves
more of the center bay empty.  Feels more spacious.  

Yes, I've been camping in mine.  I like it so much, I'm going to live in
it next quarter!

See my previous posting though about the fold-down central beds.  Unless
you reinforce 'em, they're for sleeping *only*. ;-)

The stuff is all removable, with a modicum of effort.  It's bolted down.
--
DON'T DRINK SOAP! DILUTE DILUTE! OK!