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Date:         Thu, 18 May 2000 10:12:44 -0700
Reply-To:     David Raistrick <keen@LENTI.TYPE2.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         David Raistrick <keen@LENTI.TYPE2.COM>
Subject:      Pt2: So what went wrong with Sharkey's "Todd Hill" tranny? (fwd)
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

(can we say, bad fingers?)

<part 2, to getaround gerry's size limits>

> >>Anyway, I called him up that night and we discussed a possible solution: > >>get some gasket paper (1/32") and make another nosecone-to-gear carrier > >>gasket to create the necessary "clearance" to prevent the nosecone from > >>pressing on the large flanged bearing. It worked, or at least I thought it > >>did. > > > >Bozo thinking again, but it sounds like it 'couda been hopin'. Boob still > adding value.

Yup. To be honest, I didn't think that the extra space provided by the gasket would cause any damage. According to my current builder, it wouldn't. The problem was that Todd should have never made the suggestion in the first place, and that the tranny should have come apart again. Not knowing ACVW trannies, I could not question his solution.

Todd already had my money and there was little point getting mad at him. Shortly after this incident we ceased discussing anything about my tranny. Again, this is normal. We weren't friends; we were 'customer' and 'tranny builder'. I didn't start to experience problems until after I managed to put 1,000 miles on the car. By that time, Todd was no longer answering my emails and more irate Todd Hill customers began appearing.

> >>I installed the tranny, but by this time it was October (of '98) and I > >>still hadn't finished building my motor yet. The car sat for eight months > >>before the engine went in and I was able to drive the car. > > > >Time for project completion not an issue to Bozo.

That's right. I was in no hurry to get the car on the road. What's it to you? Why does this simple fact require a tagged-on insult?

> >>Immediately, I noticed a slight gear whine in third gear and a slightly > >>louder one in 4th. After all the trouble I've had in the last eight > >>months, coupled with the fact that I had *finally* been able to drive my > >>car after five long years of construction, I decided that it wasn't worth > >>tearing everything apart to solve what I thought was simply a noisy bearing > >>in the tranny. I wanted to drive my car... > > > >Bozo accepts his work by assuption. If it goes wrong, he can always blame > the boob.

I had to. Everybody does. When you buy a new TV, you *assume* that it will continue to provide good service at least during the time of its warranty period. If something goes wrong, you blame the company that made it. Simple. I don't see how my situation is any different.

And please don't insult me by insinuating that you wouldn't do the same with a salesman you've never met. Oh wait, that's right. You're a genuine asshole. You probably can't deal with salesmen directly without getting kicked out of the store.

> >>The car drove fine after that, up until January of this year. Then that > >>whine I mentioned grew into a very quiet ticking sound. Ticking led to > >>clicking, which led to clacking. Clacking eventually let way to clanking, > >>with the occasional clunking sound. This all occurred over a period of > >>less than 30 miles of actual driving. Then it started experiencing severe > >>shifting problems. > > > >Bozo accepts mounting evident of failure and continues to drive to make > sure.

I continued to drive it *because I had no choice*. I also knew that something had probably seriously gone wrong inside my tranny and that any further driving probably wouldn't make the damage that was already done go away. IOW, I already *knew* I was in for some major repair bills.

> How do you blame the boob for this if he can't reach your pedal to > hit the brake?

Huh? It was a very slight ticking sound. What did you expect me to do? Tear the motor and tranny out just because of a slight ticking noise? On the middle of a bridge during rush hour?

I'd *sure* like to be your mechanic... I'd make a fortune off of you. Do you really have your car serviced at the *very* first sign of trouble? I bet you replace all the belts and hoses on your car every two years just like the manufacturer recommends, huh? Yeah right, thought so.

> > During that final drive home it sounded like I was grinding > >>gravel inside my tranny. It would even stall out sometimes while waiting > >>at traffic lights and it would crank over very slowly. Yikes! > > > >The Bozo creed: If some is good then more is better and too much is just > enough. (Pellow, HPC Research, but he called Bozos turkey necks.)

This speaks volumes regarding your own "Bozo Creed": "Keep insulting someone you don't know until *everyone* around you can see you for what you truly are." (mission accomplished)

> >>Bad weather, laziness, and a lack of funds ended up causing a four month > >>hiatus. The tranny finally came out about six weeks ago, but a good used > >>3.88:1 ring & pinion was three weeks away via UPS. The builder had the > >>tranny for two weeks and I just installed it last weekend. He discovered a > >>whole bunch of problems with my tranny that could only be blamed on the > >>incompetence of Todd Hill. > > > >Suggest that all the problems rest with the Bozo who accepted the work > with obvious problems, several times.

Obvious to who? Hindsight is 20/20. Obvious <> serious. Tell me, are you an ACVW transaxle expert that can tell when a genuine transaxle tech is feeding you bull? Even if you are, please try to understand that most people aren't.

> >"the tranny was stiff, but that it would break in over time". > >>Furthermore, no qualified ACVW transaxle rebuilder would suggest making up > >>a thicker gasket to compensate for the protruding flanged bearing. At > >>least no honest one would. > > > >Boob provided much boobness in work. Bozo noted non spec evidence (too > tight, obviously) and accepted work with assurance of boob. If boob is a > rip off, why did he put so much extra effort into the tranny after he had > the Bozo's money? If just doesn't make sence to this ape.

It didn't to me either (and this little fact still confuses me). That's why I tended to trust him. If all he wanted was my money, he could have taken my deposit and ignored me from then on. But he didn't. What would you have done? Honestly. Alas, there is no point in asking an asshole for an honest opinion.

> >>I corresponded with Todd once or twice between the moment I installed the > >>tranny back in October '98 and June of '99. Shortly after that, however, > >>he told me he was moving back east to Cincinnati, Ohio to be closer to his > >>father in-law. > > > >Boob is still not hiding? If he's a rip off, he's not a very smart one.

Oh yes, he certainly IS hiding. Perhaps you can't see beyond the end of your nose to read what I wrote immediately after that last statement. I gave him over three months to reply to my initial concerns and he ignored me during that entire time. His email account was with AOL, and they don't keep email addresses active unless the owner is still paying for it. So Todd *was* receiving my emails. Fourteen weeks is more than enough warning, I would think.

> > When I presented him > >>with my final ultimatum on May 9 regarding what I believe he owes me for > >>crappy workmanship, I *finally* got a bounce back from his email account. > >>Sometime between Feb 1 and May 9 his AOL account was closed. > > > >After several inspections and compromises by Bozo, he finally claims foul, > serves ultimatum showing sins of the boob, and their value, and accepts > there is nothing he could have done to mitigate the damages. Sorry, this > ape ain't buying it.

Please don't insult genuine apes by claiming that you are one of them. What are you going to do next, fling your own shit at me?

As for you not "buying it", I couldn't care less. I *know* now that Todd Hill does shitty work and I couldn't care less if people like *you* don't believe me. I also understand that he has ripped other people off, which is just more evidence that he is both an incompetent mechanic *and* a crook. Exactly "what" aren't you buying, BTW?

It seems to me that you are assuming that *I* broke my own tranny because of something *I* did directly to abuse it. I can assure you that this is not true. However, your opinion is your own and I can't change it. What I do know, however, is that many of the people on VintagVW have been reading my posts for five years now. I'll let them decide whether they think I'm telling the truth or making this all up. Their opinion will support my statements, hopefully preventing other newbies in the future from dealing with Todd Hill.

> >>So that's it. Todd Hill owes me $225 Cdn (plus taxes) for a "good used" > >>replacement ring & pinion gear set. He also owes me $200 Cdn for labour to > >>rebuilt my tranny, and $50 Cdn in miscellaneous parts (like new 1st and 2nd > >>gear hubs, synchros, and a few bearings). > > > >Only if the Bozo can both prove it in court before a MukMuk ape, and > collect the judgement.

Oh I could. I have a witness or two, you see. Cross examine Todd Hill using a genuine certified ACVW transaxle specialist and it would be open-and-shut.

What's a "MukMuk"?

> >>That's the story. Not much to update on my website because of this > >>setback. > > > >Be sure to add some damages for all setbacks suffered due to boob? You > won't have to prove it till you ask the MukMuk and can claim anything you > want till then.

Sorry, but I don't share the typical American mentality when it comes to suing other people for ridiculously outrageous sums. $500 Cdn plus an extra $500 for my wasted time would be more than fair. Fat chance I would ever see it, however.

> > The moral? DON'T BUY ANY TRANSAXLE FROM TODD HILL. > > > >Revisited: Don't buy any transaxles from boobs, more especially if you are > a Bozo.

Turn around and let's see if we can't remove that anal probe, shall we?

> >>James W. Lindsay > > > >Don't know if James wrote this and David passed it on or vice versa but > your both Bozo's, and Mr. Hill is a boob.

My God, you can't even follow a simple email posting before diving in making yourself look like an asshole. Unbelievable. You better not go out in public. I have a feeling your life expectancy would be measured in minutes after hearing you talk. FWIW, *I* wrote the initial post. I am unaware of David's part in all this.

I also can't see what David might have done to deserve being called a Bozo. How old are you anyway? Recess is over. Now go play with your blocks.

> I am 3/4 Bozo and 1/4 boob. > That's how I know how to tell them apart.

What percentage of you is asshole?

> Accept that all of us are apes. > It will loosen your sphincter and all the shit will fall out and you will > feel much better, refreshed.

Words of wisdom from a guy whose ancestors throw shit at each other. You sure have a fixation on assholes, sphincters, or anything else involving fecal matter.

> Have you ever considered the concept of Zen?

Have you? You obviously have *zero* self-discipline-- a primary goal in Zen. Careful what you say. There are others out there in the universe that are a *lot* more educated than you pretend to be.

> When you cast flames in public you are gonna' get wet.

What flames?

> There are apes out > here like me surely within range of your shotgun approach. Your Bozo's > throwing flames at a boob. > And I'm just a fellow ape with a firehose.

A child with a box of matches, more likely.

> >There's no boobfraud here I can see, no malice aforethought to get a > windfall off a stupid Bozo.

You'd make a pretty bad lawyer.

> When a boob gives so much value added gratis, > there's no more time/money left for the work, to do it right everytime, and > certainly nothin' left as a windfall taken with malice. The boob was just > too kind with giving his time away, consequently, the business needs for > earned profit were not met. So the boob is a business bust.

Ok, let me get this straight. By your very own logic, the longer you talk to a salesman, the less the product is actually worth!?! If you talk for a half hour with the service writer at a body shop about a 5.0 hour repair to your car, does this mean that you only get 4.5 hours worth of work? Do you actually think that all the time a salesman spends talking to you should be billed to you whether or not you buy what he is selling? This is assinine thinking, even for an asshole.

> And you bought > what you inspected and paid for. And it was wrong on it's face, and was > junk, that's why your a Bozo.

I guess you're right. Obviously, *you* know so much about everything that nothing anybody else says would convince you otherwise. You've never bought a shoddy product in your life since you are so much smarter than all those salesmen and corporate advertisers.

You wouldn't happen to be a smoker, would you?

> Climb on the bus with the rest of us Bozos.

Please don't lump me in with the likes of you. I am *nothing* like you.

> >Learn from your mistakes or repeat them as you will. That's the way me and > every ape I know do it. We learned it from our ancestors the Neanderthals. > It's a long lived tradition.

So's complaining. And so is trying to warn others away from someone like Todd Hill. It too is a long lived tradition.

Let me make this as simple for you as possible:

1) Todd Hill corresponded with me for many months regarding my tranny needs. 2) He brought up a tranny that he said was "stiff". I had no reason not to believe him because he had given me *no* reason (I also wasn't an ACVW transaxle expert). 3) I experienced problems. Todd either fixed them or offered suggestions that made sense at the time. 4) My tranny literally went from "working fine" to "gravel muncher" in less than 30 miles. 5) Todd stopped answering my emails (since Feb 1, 2000) 6) When the weather finally cooperated, I took the tranny out and had a local guy (whom I didn't know about two and a half years ago) inspect it. He points out a number of "odd" things that no self respecting ACVW transaxle rebuilder would let slip by unintentionally. 7) Equipped with this undeniable evidence, yesterday I announced my findings to various internet mailing lists.

Understand that my initial dealings with Todd were many months before I started hearing rumours about his shoddy business practices. Based on the evidence I had at that time (up to about step #3), I still had no reason to think that Todd had ripped me off or built me a shitty tranny. It was very possible that Todd was once an honest, hard working tranny builder up until shortly after I had my dealings with him (as I understand it, his family life started to go down hill shortly after step #3). By the time I had heard the rumours it was too late. What was I supposed to do then? Spend a couple of days taking my motor and tranny out of my car and have the tranny torn apart and inspected just to see if Todd's craftsmanship was up to par or not? I would have had to have been mad.

Also understand that I couldn't cry foul any earlier than this week because I didn't have any hard evidence. If I had, I might have come across looking like an asshole. But I see that you are *much* better at that than I am. I bow to the master.

---------------------------------------------------------------- James W. Lindsay Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Website: http://members.home.net/jlindsay ICQ: #7521644 ---------------------------------------------------------------- I M a tru beleever in hour edukashun sistum. ----------------------------------------------------------------

-- David Raistrick '66 SO-44 Westy keen@type2.com in Guyton Ga


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