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Re: [T3] PA safety inspection


On 9 Sep 2005 at 6:28, Eric Helton wrote:

> 2) Wipers don't work - They actually did on the
>    the way to the shop (it was a dewy morning).

Ignition off?

> 4) Upper and lower ball joints - I don't know about
>    this.  I do have a weird front end rattle on
>    high speed turns, but I had the car checked by
>    a shop in Wisconsin this Spring when I moved to
>    PA and my fiance was driving the VW.  They said
>    ball joints looked fine and the only problem
>    they could guess at was play in the steering box.

Could be steering box, but my best bet is a loose swap bar connection at the LU 
trailing arm, a common problem.

> 5) Steering dampner bad - I'm not sure if the 
>    shop in WI looked at this.  I replaced it in
>    '99 or '00.  I don't know the life of these,
>    especially given the front end rattle mentioned
>    above...

Or maybe just the bushing that it fits in, in the Pittman arm.

> 7) Speedometer - fluctuates a lot at low speeds, but
>    is fine over about 30 with no fluctuations.  This
>    might be a marginal item if it were the only 
>    problem.
> 8) Odometer - known problem, however, not grounds
>    for failing if the car is >25 years old.

I fix these regularly. Cost is $55, including return shipping. The fluctuations 
might be a cable problem, but in the process of fixing the odometer, I would 
also make sure that there were no tight spots in the speedometer train.

> 9) Drums oversized - I think he means they had been
>    turned too much.  I will have to pull them and
>    measure them to find out.

There IS a wear limit on these. If you really do need replacements, don't buy 
new ones as they are generally junk. I have some good used ones. I could 
measure them before I sold them to you.

> 10) Rear brake cylinders siezed - This might be
>    true.  The WI shop mentioned this and said they
>    had some tool to fix it.  Evidently, it didn't
>    fix it for long. :)

Could be sticky, could be rear soft lines clogged and not allowing return of 
fluid, a common problem.

> 11) Rear brake shoes heat cracking - I haven't
>    looked, but it's possible

Possible, if the brakes have been dragging. I've never seen a problem as a 
result of this, however, as long as the shoes are bonded rather than riveted.

> 12) Something about the rear part of the frame being
>    rusted and breaking loose.  I haven't a clue
>    what this means, so I will go back and talk to
>    them about it tonight after work.

Yeah, gotta wonder what they meant here. Maybe the body is rusted out where the 
rear bumper mounts. That's not "frame" but the PA law may still require that 
the bumpers be securely attached. That could be difficult to fix, depending on 
how "secure" they require it to be.

-- 
Jim Adney
jadney@vwtype3.org
Madison, WI 53711-3054
USA

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