Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2000 11:48:56 -0800
Reply-To: vince_pappalardo@HP.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "Vince P." <vince_pappalardo@HP.COM>
Subject: Re: Mailorder rebuilders? AVP, Bost Eng, Fast Germ..?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
I have had a number of emails requesting to know who built the motor that I
had to spend $700+ dollars on to repair in the first 1000 miles. I am a little
hesitant to say because I believe the rebuilder that built the motor is a
competent rebuilder and should not be avoided because of my single experience.
I simple feel I got a lemon. Nobody is perfect and no engine is fully tested
with water and oil in it before it leaves a rebuilder. However, what I was
trying to communicate is if you have problems with a mail order motor you are
likely to run into difficulties getting a resolution of the problems with out
spending money or time out of your own pocket like I did. It is very difficult
to prove it was a defect in the engine and not a problem with the installation.
Here is the full story.
I bought an engine from a mail order house that has been mentioned favorable
several times on the Vanagon list. I did not have time to install the motor
myself. So, I paid a mechanic that does side jobs at his house to do the
install. This mechanic used to work for the local independent VW shop and is
familiar with Vanagons.
At 300 miles after the install of the motor the drivers side head gasket fails
catastrophically. I contact the engine rebuilder and they say this type of
failure can only be caused by an improper bleeding procedure. I asked the
mechanic if he bled the system according to Bentley and he said, "yes". The
engine rebuilder sends me a set of gaskets to replace both sides at my request.
The mechanic, very reluctantly, replaces the drivers side head gasket only for
free with the stipulation I do not bring any future problems with THIS
particular motor back to him. I help with the bleeding of the engine this time
to confirm the correct procedure was used. I pay $35 dollars for coolant and
oil.
The lifter noise I was hoping would go away after break in does not. It does
not go away after 10 miles of driving either and is very audible from the
drivers seat. My old engine did not have ANY lifter noise. I bring it to the
local independent VW shop and they say one of the lifters is soft. I have them
replace the soft lifter and the noise now is quieter and goes away after 10
miles of driving. I pay $160 for the new lifter install. I also have them look
into why the oil plug leaks oil. They determine the threaded insert that came
with the rebuilt motor was installed not perpendicular to the block (Looking at
various crushed washer I have used since to in an effort to solve the problem
have confirmed this). I now also use Rislone oil treatment (at $5/oil change)
to make the lifter noise less obvious.
At 500 miles the passengers side head gasket fails catastrophically. I
contact the engine rebuilder and they say this type of failure can only be
caused by an improper bleeding procedure. They are unwilling to do anything
more than give me a set of head gasket which they had already provided when the
first head failed. I have the local independent VW shop repair this head
gasket. I pay $600 to have the gasket replaced. They say they have never heard
of an improper bleed causing the head gasket to fail but they do bleed the
systems to remove the majority of the air so it does not overheat on the
customer after they drive it for a while. They also say to watch the coolant
level in the expansion tank as 100% of the air is never gone on the first bleed
and will bleed out overtime on its own if you don't let the expansion tank run
dry.
I talked to yet another well mentioned Vanagon list independent VW shop in
California when I had surging problems with the van when on vacation in
California. I met probably the best Vanagon mechanic I have ever seen(he solved
a multiple cause problem and pointed out other unrelated issues with the van in
less than an hour). He also has not heard of the improper bleeding causing
gasket failure.
After trying copper, aluminum, and fiber washers to overcome the oil leak at
the drain plug, I RTV'ed the drain plug area at the suggestion of the engine
rebuilder. This works better than just washers alone but it still seeps oil
onto the bottom of the engine. I am going to try one more time this approach
and them give up. I have spent $20 in oil and Rislone and about 3 hours in an
effort to fix this problem.
So, to date I have spent about $2500 on the original engine install and $815
to fix problems with this rebuilt engine and it still leaks oil. Next time -- I
have the local independent shop rebuild the motor for $3000 and have them deal
with any problems that arise in the first 1000 miles out of their pocket.
Vince.
'85 Westy--sort of scared to drive out of range of a tow truck and my local VW
shop.
PS: If you really have to know who rebuilt the engine contact me. However, they
already change their gasket install procedure to make them more robust to this
type of head gasket failure.
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