Those of you who are familiar with Westy’s probably know that Los Osos is the home of GoWesty – the icon for Westfalia campers. I needed a few things done and figured since I was coming up here, I may as well let the pros handle it. I needed a headlight relay switch since my upgraded headlights don’t have a high beam, I have an oil leak from my oil cooler and it needs a gasket, I had my XM radio installed and I’m having them just give it a general going over. Everyone there is very nice and I like that I met the guy who was working on my Westy. Usually, you just drop your car off and rarely know who is tinkering with it. I like this better. Tammy, Courtney, Bruno and I are once again lolly-gagging up the coast. We had a great stay in Santa Barbara – roller blading, walking, visiting the Sunday crafts show, wonderful farmer’s market, watching NFL in the local sports bars and enjoying my new favorite treat – Yogurtland! After GoWesty drains my bank account a bit (this is with my blessings) we are headed to Rotta Winery and a few others in Templeton. We will be on the road for few weeks and loving every minute.

Yup. Westy, Tammy, Bruno, Courtney and I are hitting the road again. This time for the holiday. We will be staying at Pismo State Beach for a good part of our stay, revisiting some of the places we went last month on our trip over Thanksgiving. The wineries in San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles and that entire central California coast area is just amazing. We especially love Rotta and Pipestone. Rotta charges $3 for their tasting and they give you 11 tastes. Heavy pours too. And Gail, one of the ‘pourers’ is just a hoot. Not only does she know her stuff but she also puts on a one woman stand up comedy routine. And the wine- they were all excellent. Each and every one of them. I’m taking Westy for check up at Gowestyand I’m excited about having the top Westy people in the country take a look at her. I will be updating this post with info on our travels so stay tuned.

Thanks to Pat Castro for sending this to me. I have been big on additives lately in an attempt to save money. I just found out my power steering pump and rack and pinion need to be replaced so I’d rather just dump some Lucas stop leak into wherever it needs to go and drive off into the sunset. But wait. I may have to spend that $400 or more. Bummer. But here is what our guru GoWesty says.

Additives: Why GoWesty Says “Don’t Do It!”
GoWesty frowns upon oil and coolant additives of any kind, and using these products will void the warranty on any GoWesty engine or transmission. There is nothing that you need to add to your transaxle, engine crankscase, or cooling system other than the recommended lubricants or coolant.

When it comes to “stop leak” products, our firm stance is: Do not use any stop leak products at any time, ever! The common philosophy behind these products seems to be, “Why fix an oil leak with an actual trained technician with the proper tools and parts when you can just pop open a can and pour it in?” If this sounds too good to be true… well, you know how the saying goes. Products that make claims like “transaxle conditioner” or “stop your power steering leak now” or “head gasket in a can”—if these products advertised the truth, they’d simply say, “Spend your money on this stop leak, and then spend a whole lot more after your ruin your transaxle!”

The products sold for stopping leaks in an automatic transmission or power steering, for example, contain chemicals that simply cause o-rings and seals to swell temporarily. Then they finally shrink back to their normal, worn-out dimensions: Niagra! Most of these products were developed for used car dealers, which should give you pause enough.

Cooling system stop-leak products are particularly heinous. They work by clogging… Need we say more?

El Capitan in September. Full moon and all.

I received this link from a guy named Joe who found me via a google alert. I wish I knew how that worked!
Anyway, it looks like a fabulous group and I’m going to join. They are going to Bothe Napa State Park in November which has been on my radar for a few months. This part of the country, sports fans, is absolutely one of my favorite areas. Trees with fall colors, wine tastings, magnificent wineries, great places to eat, warm days and cool nights – what more can you ask for??? Here is what they have to say “This is a West Coast California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia group dedicated to connecting people who enjoy camping in their Volkswagen campers. We hope to provide helpful information to locals and visitors to these areas so that they can easily plan camping trips or just meet up camping. All years and types of VW Campers are Welcome: Westfalia, Vanagon, Autovilla, Sundial, Baywindow, Riveria, Eurovan, Sportmobile, Splitwindow, Dormobile, T5 California, and home made campers.

Thanks Pat for sending me this link from GoWesty
Their articles and information is always extremely helpful. I was told to always keep the oil up high on my dip stick but au contraire. Check this out:Break-In Guidelines: All Water Boxer Engines
The importance of properly breaking-in a fresh engine cannot be overstated. This is especially true of high-performance engines that use FORGED pistons instead of CAST pistons, as is the case with all GoWesty Waterboxer engines. How closely these guidelines are adhered to will directly affect the life and performance of the engine, and will minimize any problems especially in the short-term. In general, if an engine is broken in properly and exhibits no problems during the break-in period, it will likely never develop a problem.

During the first 1000 miles of engine life:

1) Allow coolant temperature to come up to normal running temperature before driving.
2) Avoid full throttle application.
3) Do not exceed an engine speed of 4,000 rpm.
4) Do not use cruise control or maintain a constant engine speed for more than 10 minutes at a time.
5) Maximize warm-up cycles; the more times the engine is brought up to full operating temperature and allowed to cool fully, the better.

During the first 10,000 miles:

1) Monitor oil consumption carefully; check oil at EVERY gasoline fill-up.
Note: The distance between the two notches on the dipstick is NOT one quart. Adding a full quart when oil level is at the bottom notch WILL result in over-filling, very high oil consumption, and possible engine damage.
2) Keep the oil level closer to the lower notch than the upper notch.
3) Use 20/50 non-synthetic oil (any brand). Do not switch to synthetic oil until oil consumption has stabilized.

After 10,000 miles and for the life of the engine:

1) Never apply more than ½ throttle before coolant temperature is up to normal, which is about the middle of the gauge.
2) Contrary to popular belief, it is NOT good for the coolant temperature to stay at the low end of the gauge. If you notice your coolant temperature is not coming up to normal it is cause for alarm—get it checked out.
3) Use only the top quality synthetic oil of 15/50-weight.

About oil consumption:
It is normal for an engine to consume oil. Following the guidelines above will have a direct effect on how much oil the engine will consume—forever. The factory specification from VW is that up to one quart per 1000 miles is “normal.” The oil capacity of a water boxer is 5 quarts. These engines have a “wet sump,” and as long as the oil pump pick-up does not starve for oil, oil pressure in the engine will be the same regardless of whether there is one quart of oil present or five; it makes no difference. In general, if no oil has to be added between oil changes, that is what we consider to be “acceptable.” That equates to around ½ quart per 1000 miles. That means that at 3500 miles, the engine will be no more than 2 quarts low.

And thanks to GoWesty – the Guru of Westy’s – here is what they have to say: Do you have to use the (very) expensive OEM coolant in your Vanagon? Well… we work on a lot of Vanagons, and we say “no.” But the naysayer out there will say something like, “Well, of course GoWesty doesn’t want you to use the OEM coolant. That’s just job security for them!” And while that logic is understandable, it’s just not the way we operate around here. We don’t just work on these vehicles. We drive these vehicles. And the techniques we recommend to our customers for vehicle maintenance and longevity are the same techniques we apply to our own vehicles.Coolant type: The color and brand of the coolant does not matter, as long as it is PHOSPHATE-FREE. We simply cannot overstate this. If you don’t run phosphate-free coolant, your engine will suffer.

Water type: It is very important to use only DISTILLED WATER! This detail is probably more important than using phosphate-free coolant, but let’s not tempt the devil—use phosphate-free coolant, too!

Mixture: The coolant to water ratio should be at least 50/50. A mix with more coolant than water may be required depending on ambient temperature. See label on coolant bottle to determine the correct mixture.

And… voilá! The coolant mystery is solved. Glad we could help.

Pat, Lucille and I headed to Buellton to Flying Flags RV park to rally with RVing women, they in their Westy and me in mine. They are an open and warm bunch of gals with Class C rigs and bigger – what I call – big rigs. Too big for my liking. Why schelp all your possessions with you wherever you go? Why get 8 miles per gallon? Why does looking at other RV’s instead of trees and nature float people’s boats?? I have no answers to these life questions. But basically, it’s not my camping style. I love my Westy because I have everything I need right where I need it and when. I don’t need a big fancy rv park and much prefer being surrounded by trees, the ocean, stars. But this is what makes the world go around and I embrace people for their differences.

This is one of my favorite spots on the planet. I spent my birthday there this year and there is no place like it on earth. It’s just plain special. I just heard it’s closing for the winter and hopefully, despite all the cutbacks, it will open again one of these days. But if you do get a chance to go, here are where the prime spots are. Main campground 1-71: Riverside spots and are hard to reserve but well worth it. South campground is excellent as well and most are mountain side spots. South campground 93-115 and 155-161 not that great. Most are in the open…But there is not a bad seat in the house. Let’s envision the state’s coffers overflowing and the state parks can get open and available to us year round, like they should be.

This coming weekend, my friends Pat and Lucille and their Dachshund, how’s name I can’t recall, plus me, myself and I along with my trusty wirehaired Dashshund, are headed up to Buellton to an RV rally with RVing women. We will stay at Seven Flags RV park in Buellton which got mixed reviews. I love the central CA coast, but Buellton and Solvang are just ok. I wanted to join a group of RVing women. I’m disappointed in their choices of places to gather. Bakersfield? Nothing personal gals, but how about Cambria? Big Sur? El Capitan? So stay tuned for the reviews.

If I drive my Westy at 55-60, I enjoy getting about 19 miles per gallon. My patience is tested by going so slowly since my former cars were BMW’s, Porsches, Saabs, Mercedes. All high performance. All designed for going fast. Going slow is not my thing and even when I took driver’s ed way back when in high school, the teacher called me ‘leadfoot’. So here I am, a granny, going retro with my VW camper van, driving 55 miles per hour, people passing me literally left and right and digging every minute. I love my Westy as much as I loved each and every one of my hi-fallutin, head turning autos of yesteryear. However, I just wish I could go 70 and still get 19-20 mpg. I did go that fast on one of my trips up the coast, but I watched the gas guage move like a second hand on a time piece. Suck, suck, suck. And I’m not big on buying into this capitalistic venture that makes the petroleum companies rich and me more poor. I don’t like anyone having me by the short hairs. So if you see an ultra cool Westy going down the road with a curly blonde granny, in the right lane, going 55 please wave. That will be me.