Hello Volks,

I am now back from a 5500km trip through  southern and northern B.C. and
Alberta. My 87 Syncro performed really well with full load, through logging
roads, wind, heat etc. sustaining a speed of 120 km for extended periods on
the straight prairie roads. Gas used on average was about 12.8 l/100km. This
is on a regular waterboxer with now 255000 kms on the original engine which
has not been opened yet.

The only mechanical glitch was a broken V-belt. Actually it was a bit
frazzled and came off. I noticed the red alternator light and just witnessed
the temperature to rise when I stopped. So I just caught it in time. I
feared the worst when I saw a trail of coolant, but all hoses were okay. I
had another belt with me and the repair was quickly done after the baggage
was removed. I heard the bubbling of the coolant in the engine for a couple
of moments, but there seem to have been no lasting effects. I refilled the
coolant and on I went. I just wonder where the coolant came from. It seemed
to have sprayed around the rear of the engine when it was overheating. The
overflow reservoir was empty.

Well back now, recovering from a major computer failure and from a death of
a dog yesterday. (Some of you may remember my story earlier this year when I
had to spend $800 because one of my dogs had swallowed rocks; he swallowed
something else and died this time). 

Back to the grind and to the list, I will respond to all who have sent
individual messages in the next two days.

Bj�rn Ratjen

Mill Bay, B.C. 

1987 Syncro Est Alia (self camperized)
1995 Passat TD
(1982 Vanagon Diesel)
1979 VW Bus (self- camperized)