I bought a 1973 Volkswagen bus? What do you think? Yes, you stole it at that price, I know a lot of VW people that would've given twice that much for it. I had four VW buses and know people who would give their left nut for one. I loved them, but without a really good VW mechanic they can be a bit frustrating. The type four engine installed from 1972 on was prone to leaks, had 2 temper mental carbs until they were fuel injected in '75. I had a single weber carb on one of mine, (a '73) and it performed lousy in cold weather. But I loved them. If the van is really rust free, you got a great deal on it. The Westy campers are the most fun with the pop top, sink, stove, beds, curtains. Camping was a joy. Death trap on wheels if you hit anything. You stole it you thief you! Now get ready to take care of it O.K.? Go Get the Bentely Manual that covers that year and a decent set of hand tools.
100. They can be frustrating but they can also be a lot of fun to drive and very versatile. Mechanics come in all stripes and abilities, be certain about who you turn your van over to for repairs. They're also not the safest vehicles on the road and you certainly want to avoid any front end collisions. 70's era VW's don't have a lot of the safety feature we take for granted in the newer cars so learn to drive it well before you head out on any long trips. I would get in the habit of keeping the phone OFF whenever you're driving and avoid distractions. They handle reasonably well for their size but only after you've gotten a good "feel" for them. The driving position has you over the front wheels and there's not a lot of sheet metal between you and anything else out there. They are also woefully underpowered and this requires a totally different driving technique then what you might be used to. Have fun wit yer bus!
Jetta TDI alternator question? I have a 1999.5 Jetta TDI. I purchased the car about 4 months ago, and the previous owner told me he just had the alternator replaced. Well, it's bad again. Shouldn't TDI's have 120 AMP? Would using an undersized alternator cause the repeat problem? What should I replace this one with? 90 amp is undersized? seems adequate to me unless you have a high output stereo or lights. No the amount of current put out by the alternator does not cause an alternator to go bad. You either have a bad alternator or bad wiring. Go with a 120 amp. It's a Diesel, and it needs it to charge the battery. On the alh engine, the 120 amp alternator is better suited to handle the electrical loads, especially on the short around the block trips in freezing weather. Using the 90 amp you could see another failer or battery charging/starting issues depending on your operating conditions (Freq.
The 90 amp will do the trick but it is not "on top of its work" if you have aircon you really need the bigger capacity unit. Does your alternator have the "clutch type" pulley ? If the pulley fails it will not charge the battery and it can be a mistaken opinion that the alternator is defective. Pretty much what everyone else here has said. My finger indicator on Sierra years ago stuck on half full where I ran out of petrol on the motorway. By filling the tank to the brim with petrol seemed to solve the problem. Stuck float or pressure switch so if you don't want to repair it just use the trip recorder by zeroing when you fill it u and know how many miles to a tank off gas. The you know when to fill up again. I think you will find that once the warmer weather comes back the light will go out. All fuel tanks if run low will suffer from condensation within the tank. The condensation (water) will in this weather freeze within the tank and particularly on the float which indicates your fuel level.
