Drive Line Warranty Related Information
Mar 31st 2022
This driveshaft is manufactured by a driveshaft specialist that has a state of the art facility. They make these exclusively for Van Cafe. Every shaft is balanced and goes through a quality control inspection. Let's all admit that no one is perfect, but these guys are pretty great at what they do.
Here is the tricky part, Vanagons are well...Vanagons. They are old, quirky, and often have a variety of other issues that can contribute to dri
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Vanagon Lowering
Mar 31st 2022
Although I am neither a fan nor an expert on lowering Vanagons, I do have some observations to pass along. The lowest stock Vanagon production springs were on the Carat models, so some Vanagon owners seek used Carat springs to lower their vehicles. As a rule, Vanagons are 30+ years old and often with 150k or more miles, so you can't expect to find springs that aren't suffering from fatigue. This leaves us with H&R springs and Weitec springs.
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Shoebox Electronix Vanagon ECU Diagnostic Tool
Mar 31st 2022
In case you are considering purchasing an Electrical Diagnostic Tool in an attempt to troubleshoot a running issue, we have included a copy of the Tool's manual in PDF form. The file will provide an overview of the running system, the role of the individual components, the installation instructions for the tool, and interpretation of the readings. View and download here. Back to the Vanagon Knowledge Base
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Vanagon Running Problems
Mar 31st 2022
One of the most common themes of our website questions relate to running problems. There is version A, "Where I live they have never seen a Vanagon and although I trust my mechanic, I don't think he knows what he is doing" or version B, "Where I live they have never seen a Vanagon and although I think the mechanic knows what he is doing, I don't trust him". Then we are usually asked if we think that a diagnostic tool will help them. Surprisingly,
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Early Big Brake Kit
Mar 31st 2022
The kit for the 80-thru-85 vans was sold with used uprights until we ran out of used ones. We then sold the kit without the uprights and made the customer search for a set.The reason why you had to switch the uprights was the bolt spacing for the caliper on the early upright was too close together and wouldn't fit the more modern caliper. On 2wd vans, the hub is part of the brake rotor, and the bearings press into it. This kit used a hub like a S
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