Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 12:57:22 -0500
Reply-To: Max/Joyce Wellhouse <maxjoyce@ipa.net>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Max/Joyce Wellhouse <maxjoyce@ipa.net>
Subject: Re: Open Letter to GEX
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
I suggest you read Gene Berg's words on using synthetic oil in air cooled
engines. Something about the oil doesn't carry the heat away from the head
as well as the dino oils resulting in hotter head temps and cooler oil
temps. this likely doesn't give GEX and leverage on your broken rod
problems, but something to think about when you buy the next rebuilt motor.
One of Berg's quotes on their front cover is " Buy the Best and Only Cry
Once". Consider using their stuff next time... another quote I made up is
you either have the time to learn to fix it yourself or the money to pay
someone else to do it.
Dimwitted Moose and Flying Squirrel
-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Smith <chris.smith@aquila.com>
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Date: Friday, August 25, 2000 9:43 AM
Subject: Open Letter to GEX
>Gentlemen,
> I've been the owner of 3 of your engines in the last 2 years. 2
were 1776
>type 1 and one is a 2.0l type 4. The 1st 1776 broke a connecting rod with
>only 50 miles on the engine. It took the threat of several lawyers on the
>Vintage VW list to get you to replace the motor. The replacement broke
>another connecting rod 14 months later. Had I mistreated them, ran cheap
>oil, or neglected a single oil change, I might blame myself. But since
>they were taken well cared for, oil was changed at a maximum of 1643 miles
>once, the rest before 1500, and only Mobil One was used; the tune-ups were
>religious in nature; the revs were limited at 4300; the tin was tight; the
>car was never raced; and overall the engine was treated like a baby, I can
>only blame poor quality control. I make this claim not out of one
>experience with one type of motor, but out of experience with all 3 motors.
> Since the only warranty on 1776 engines is 12 months, I decided to
accept
>defeat and go the long route of building my own engine. This has proven to
>take more time than I thought so it is going much slower than planned. The
>good part is that it is built correctly. I won't have to worry about what
>junk is thrown together in the engine. Hmm.. I wonder why it was easy for
>me to magnaflux the rods (all of them showed cracks, but the junk pile rods
>lying on my garage floor were good) and not you? this would have cost you
>a few dollars up front, but saved you a customer in the long run.
> Last night I needed to replace the heater boxes on the type 4
>engine. This probably should have been done less than a year ago when the
>engine was installed, but that's another story. When I put the wrench to
>the nuts they turned quite easily. This I 1st thought was a good
>thing. Then, when the studs sheared off with little effort, I realized
>that it was going to be a long night. The good part is that the studs
>still had a couple of inches sticking out of the head. When I put
>Vice-Grips (tm) on the studs and tried to remove them, the sheared a 2nd
>time. This is the 1st time I've seen vice grips shear a stud. It seems
>that you guys decided to save money by using inferior studs, and to keep
>them from working out of the case you glued (ok, ok, "thread locked" them)
>into the heads. This is how a 1st year automotive student would attack the
>problem, not how a reputable engine builder operates.
> I've bought a fair number of engines over the last 20 years. Some
were
>better than others. Mofoco is known for crap, but you came recommended by
>some reputable folks. They were wrong and are no longer recommending
>you. It's funny that with all the money you spend to promote your
>business, very little is spent on quality control or customer service. At
>least I have learned to treat your motors the same as a Mofoco motor. The
>type 1s make great bon-fires and the type 4s are best to slap in a vehicle
>right before I sell it overseas.
>
>A former and now educated customer
>
>Chris Smith
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