Date: Thu, 4 May 2000 03:01:20 -0700
Reply-To: John Clemens <jbclem@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: John Clemens <jbclem@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject: Re: AutoSpiel Update (Victoria, BC)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Shawn: If you haven't taken to the Vanagon to AutoSpiel yet ,you might want
to drain the transmission again, and with a good flashlight look up into the
drain hole and check the ring gear. You can move it back and forth and
around by playing with the rear wheels. If you look carefully you might see
the source of the metal flakes...look at the outer portions of the "teeth".
If that is the problem it might only be on one or two of the "teeth", and
you might have to look for a while to spot it. That sort of problem will
give you a nice differential howl when you are driving. The ring and pinion
is also about the most expensive part(set) inside the transmission,
available only from the dealer. If I remember correctly, the US dealer
price is at least $300.00 for a matched set.
John Clemens
----- Original Message -----
From: "Shawn Wright" <swright@SLS.BC.CA>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, May 03, 2000 1:33 PM
Subject: AutoSpiel Update (Victoria, BC)
> For the benefit of those local to Victoria, and to be fair to AutoSpiel, I
thought
> I should post an update on my failed trans story:
>
> Yesterday AutoSpiel agreed that he would pull the trans and inspect for
the
> cause of the noise at no cost to me. If the cause was related to his
> workmanship or parts, he would cover the entire labour bill to fix it, but
I would
> pay parts. If the cause was not related to his work (which I think is
unlikely),
> then I will foot the bill, or choose to abandon the trans at that point.
Since he
> has agreed to cover the cost of R&R to fix an oil leak, I can use this as
a sort
> of "credit" toward any costs that I may have to incur.
>
> I think this is reasonable, but I am still disturbed by the time it took
to get this
> out of him, and his reluctance to even admit the possibility of him making
a
> mistake. Maybe mistakes are very rare - they probably are given his good
> reputation. But his reluctance, and the fact that he still clings to his
belief that
> Redline MTL may be the cause really bothers me. I spent a lot of time
> reading up on API GL codes last night, and have no doubt that MTL meets
> the factory GL-4 80W spec to a tee. Russell at Autospiel seems hung up on
> the fact that "Hypoid" is not stated on the Redline bottle, but this is
irrelevant,
> as the very basis of the GL-4 spec is that it is designed to meet the EP
> requirements of Hypoid gears (so is GL-5).
> What's more, by installing Pennzoil GL-5, he is not following factory
> guidelines and subjecting his customers to increased syncro wear. Redline,
> Mobil and Amsoil all make mention of this fact on their websites.
>
> I'm amazed that he hasn't had complaints - I put Castrol GL-5 75W90 in
last
> night, and the trans now shifts very poorly compared to MTL, and it even
> seems to sap some power from engine!
>
> ps: Yes, I drained the MTL and found quite a lot of metal on the plug,
some of
> it flakes 1-2mm in length... :-( I should know next week how bad it is.
>
> Thanks to everyone who has responded, I appreciate it.
>
>
> ========================
> Shawn Wright
> Computer Systems Manager
> Shawnigan Lake School
> http://www.sls.bc.ca
> swright@sls.bc.ca
>
|