It's always nice to have a productive couple of weekends. Oly was up
on jack stands for most of the day a couple of Saturdays ago while I
sorted out my starting problem and replaced the rear shocks. This past
Saturday saw the replacement of the front.

I began the ignition issue repair by following the common advice I got
from list: replace the ignition switch. Unfortunately, the problem
didn't reside there, and I began contemplating the necessity of
getting a new starter. Before I went down that road, however, I
followed Mike Collum's advice (thanks Mike!) to clean all the grounds.
Duh. Basic VW troubleshooting 101. In fact, while I was mucking about
under the van, I took the liberty of cleaning not only the grounds,
but all the connections on the starter/solenoid. Tried it again, and
voila! The van comes to life happily now.

The replacement of the ignition switch was not a futile exercise,
however. First of all, I discovered how much easier it is to work on
the dash area with the steering wheel removed. Good to know for future
reference. Secondly, I discovered that my turn signal, wiper switch,
and cruise controls were all horribly corroded. I dismantled these and
cleaned them out.

Now when I say dismantled, I mean it. These switches are pressed
together, so I had to drill some of the plastic to take them apart. If
you ever do this, watch out for springs and ball bearings. Reassembly
was a nightmare (but not impossible). The result is that my washer
fluid works well enough to spray the car behind me (had to adjust
those). And I thought I'd have to replace the pump! Turns out it was a
corroded electrical terminal issue.  Duh. Basic VW troubleshooting
101.  My cruise control still doesn't work, but I wasn't expecting it
to. Probably a relay or something. That will require more
investigation later.

The best part of the weekend however was replacing the shocks. Removal
and reinstallation was straightforward, and now Oly has shiny new
Bilsteins all around. Oh man, what a difference! It felt like I was
driving a new car.  The sway and bounce were gone, and the handling
before and after was like night and day. The wind (and big trucks)
didn't push me all over the road.  Even the wife (who only experiences
the van from the passenger seat) said it felt much more riding in her
Jetta (only higher).  I HIGHLY recommend the Bilstein Touring Shocks
(Rear: BNE2007; Front: BNE2019).

I also changed the oil, things were going so well. It's nice to have a
productive couple of weekends.

Jarrett
'89 Camper GL, Oly