Hello all-

Advanced warning:  I'm essentially an automotive  novice, learning all I can
about Vanagon issues as they come up.  Van in question is a manual 1987 GL
Westy (stock 2.1l), in generally excellent condition with no other major
issues aside from what is below.

I've noticed recently that my "stage 1" cooling fan operation doesn't seem
to work while driving.  What does happen is that when stuck in traffic, the
"stage 2" fan will come on, extremely loudly, as the temp needle is about
3/4 high (in previous 2 years I'd never seen it go above halfway, and never
heard this very loud fan stage except for a few very steep mountain passes).

Today I verified, however, that the "stage 1" (normal, not so loud) fan did
come on when the van is turned off.  It came on about 1 minutes after
parking and shutting off the engine.  So it seems my fan does work, but
something is wrong with the temp sensing system?

I found this article:

http://www.vanagain.com/How2fan.htm

Which seems pretty straightforward.  I have a couple questions, and would
like to solicit general advice.

1) I assume that the steps in that article should be done with engine off,
but battery still connected.  Is this correct?  Pretty simple, I know, but
want to make sure.

2) Is there a part I should order in advance based on my symptoms (the
"radiator fan sending unit" or "resistor"?  I'd rather fix it all at once.

3) Any other guidance or elaboration on the above article I should know
about?

thanks,
rob in Long Beach, CA