This is kind of falls in line with the recent discussion on preventative
maintenance philosophies.  I'm working to get my van in shape for a drive
from VA to CA in a couple of months.  As I've been going over things I
started to think that it would be great to know when to expect trouble with
certain systems and components, particularly the kind that can strand you.
This would allow you to either use the odds for early replacements, or
carry a more intelligent box of spare parts.  I'm thinking specifically of
things like when the average transmission rebuild occurs, when the water
pump, clutch or brake cylinders, etc.  go bad.  Of course there would be a
whole range of factors affecting these things especially maintenance
habits, but I think there would be a useful range to look at.
Statistically it would simply be a matter of looking at the mean miles at
replacement/rebuild plus or minus a standard deviation.

So, I'm wondering if people think this is information worth gathering.  If
so, is there anybody out there who would be willing to host the survey on
their web-page?  I'd be more than happy to work with the numbers, but I
have zero experience with web pages.  Karl Bloss and Steven Schwenk have
done more than their share with the head-gasket survey, so I'm looking for
somebody else.  If this sounds good, and you might be interested in
hosting, please get in touch with me.  Thanks

Mark
'89 Wolfsburg

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Mark Schrope
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
PO Box 1346
Route 1208, Greate Road
Gloucester Point, VA 23062
(804)684-7220 [office]   (804)684-7675 or 7007    [labs]
(804)684-7250 [fax]
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