Welcome to the Camp Westfalia Workshop
This is where busted stuff gets fixed, fixed stuff gets improved, and occasionally, knuckles get busted.
It’s the circle of strife …
You’ll find a growing list of how-to technical articles, helpful lists, and other mechanical tips and tricks to keeping your Vanagon Westfalia Camper working its best.
So, roll up your sleeves, grab your toolbox, and let’s get wrenchin’.
Vanagon Tools
The VW Vanagon will require few special tools, and most work can be performed with conventional tools available to the average home mechanic. Here’s a good list of tools to get you started.
Workshop Manuals
The revered Bentley manual, Haynes, and other workshop books to help you keep your vintage van on the road.
Vanagon Parts
Where the VW dealer may fail you, a variety of very supportive aftermarket suppliers has filled the niche. Here are several which specialize in Vanagon parts and accessories.
Workshop Articles
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Evolution of the Vanagon/Transporter
A summary of VW’s third generation of vans, spanning 1980 through 1991, with all of its models and variations. Within the decade-long run of the…
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Tracking Down Engine and Other Fluid Leaks
How to find and identify leaking oil, coolant, fuel, and other automotive fluids. We’ve all been there. You move your van to a new spot…
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What’s Your Van Plan for This Year?
The New Year is a great time for a fresh start. Never mind the resolutions to spend more time at the gym and less time…
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Replacing the Vanagon Engine Cover Insulation
Remove the old rotted and crumbling insulation beneath your engine cover and replace with this slick modern upgrade. The Vanagon’s engine, as you undoubtedly know,…
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Vanagon Cooling System Overview
New owners often find themselves mystified by the cooling system of the Vanagon. Which is understandable, considering that it’s kind of an oddball setup. A…
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Making Custom Rigid Hydraulic Brake Lines
Replace the old, rusty, unsafe steel brake lines on your Vanagon (or any other vehicle, for that matter). After 30 or 40 years, the original…
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Cleaning and Waterproofing your Westfalia Canvas Tent
How to clean and waterproof your Westy canvas tent to keep you warm, dry, and comfortable! Westfalia Canvas Tent Overview The canvas tent walls are…
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Fire Extinguishers for Your Camper Van
How to Choose (and Hopefully Never Use) a Fire Extinguisher in Your Camper Van NOTE: SAFETY RECALL “Kidde Recalls Fire Extinguishers with Plastic Handles Due…
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Replacing the Vanagon Rear Hatch Struts
Here’s how to fix your van’s rear hatch if it won’t stay up or is difficult to open If you (or more correctly, your van)…
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Diesel Vanagon Coolant Expansion Tank Bracket
The mounting bracket for the stock coolant expansion tank on a 1983 diesel Vanagon is prone to forming stress cracks and leaks in the plastic…
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Your Emergency On-Board Vanagon Tool Kit
How to put together a complete emergency tool kit for your Vanagon, Transporter, or Bus Every tool is a hammer, except for a screwdriver, which…
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Winterize Your Westfalia for Storage
How to put your Vanagon Westfalia Camper Van to bed for the winter or off-season You’ve hopefully just completed a long happy summer of road…
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Replace the Vanagon Cigarette Lighter with a USB Port
Update your loose lighter socket (and optional DIN socket) with modern 12-volt power and USB ports Many early-1980s Vanagon dashboard cigarette lighter sockets are slightly…
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Replacing the Westfalia Tent Window Screen
How to replace the torn or tattered window screen in your Volkswagen Westfalia Camper popup tent After many miles and many years of camping, the…
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Preparing Your Vanagon Westfalia for Summer
How to get your Vanagon Westfalia Camper Van ready for summer road-tripping and camping “Spring has sprung. The grass is riz. I wonder where dem…
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Vanagon Clutch Slave Cylinder Replacement
Related Topics: Hydraulic Clutch System OverviewClutch Master Cylinder ReplacementBleeding the Clutch Hydraulic System The clutch slave cylinder, actuated by hydraulic fluid compressed by the master…
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Essential Vanagon Tools
“Usually, the only tool you need is the one you don’t have.”Andrew A. Libby, Samba member Basic Tools The VW Vanagon will require few special…
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Recommended Vanagon Workshop Manuals
“If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is…
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Westfalia Pop-Up Roof Refurbishment
Westfalia Camper Roof Overview Of all the clever German engineering features employed in the Volkswagen Westfalia Camper, the distinctive raised fiberglass roof is perhaps one…
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Bleeding the Vanagon Clutch Hydraulic System
Related Topics: Hydraulic Clutch System OverviewClutch Master Cylinder ReplacementClutch Slave Cylinder Replacement Hydraulic fluid for the entire clutch system is supplied by the same reservoir…
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Vanagon Clutch Master Cylinder Replacement
Related Topics: Hydraulic Clutch System OverviewClutch Slave Cylinder ReplacementBleeding the Clutch Hydraulic System The clutch master cylinder pushes hydraulic fluid from the reservoir inside the…
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Vanagon Hydraulic Clutch System Overview
If your Vanagon has a manual transmission, it has a clutch, to briefly disengage the engine from the transmission as you shift from one gear…
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Using a Vanagon Engine Heater
Here in the Great White North, we know a thing or two about operating cars in cold weather. In fact, my Wisconsin hometown (just a…
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Cabinet Lid Support
The Westfalia center kitchen cabinet with the two top-entry compartments is convenient for storing canned and packaged foods and other groceries. Our only complaint was…
