After a week and a half of turning wrenches, reading manuals, spraying high temperature paint, cleaning parts, asking questions online, removing gunk from my hair and getting all the doorknobs in the house covered with dirty grease (yuk!), our 1986 Westy camper runs just fine.This vehicle sat in our Errorzona RV storage lot next to out 27 foot motor home for about a year and a half. The mice moved in and left their calling cards everywhere. They didn't chew on the wires (that I know of) and when I discovered their presence, I left them a couple of box lunches (MousePruf). The bait was all gone when I returned 2 weeks later and the boxes themselves chewed up. So I left a couple more. I found their little mummified bodies curled up next to each other in a cabinet filled with shredded insulation (awwww...) when I cleaned out the van.
The 1st Mate and I jumped into the Westy and took off for Algodones Beach for a test drive. The van passed with flying colors (except maybe the temp gauge showed it warming up to 2/3 of the way, but it's 100 degrees today) and my joy has no bounds, 1st Mate grinned until her face hurt and I owe it all to my higher power and the guys and girls on the Vanagon and Westy discussion group (click on the title above to go there) on the internet... and to the 1st Mate who allowed me to turn our carport into a mechanic's workshop.I had decided to clean and paint all the parts I could as I dismantled the motor, (like I had done with the diesel on BLISS, our Morgan 33 sailboat) and I'm glad I did. It makes things easier to see and work on when it's not all that same dirty grease covered with dust color. I'm pleased with the way it came out, but the proof will be in how long it runs before it breaks.
Now I have the "garage" to clean, and put away all the tools, and get out to the GREEN FLASH with my machete and a weed eater. The boat is living in a jungle after all the monsoon rains. You know, a sailor's work is never done. Thank God.
