Date:         Wed, 20 Jun 2001 11:51:25 EDT
Reply-To:     VW85Westy@AOL.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Peter Krogh <VW85Westy@AOL.COM>
Subject:      New Engine Oil Leak
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Hey List,
  Please cc any response to Kroghphoto@aol.com, as I don't get to this email address too often.

  I have replaced Zippy's old engine (at 190,000) with a new AVP rebuild.  I
  had the 2.1 crank installed, and I have to say I like the power increase.
  It's not a Ferrarri, just a slightly faster Vanagon.

  I have a problem, however, and I seem to be in the middle here.  I noticed
 an oil leak from the area between the tranny and the engine at less than 300
  miles.  The shop that did the work said that it was a leaky front engine
  seal, certainly caused by defective parts or work by AVP.  AVP says that it
  is most likely from poor flywheel installation.

  The shop charged me $95 for the flywheel, and I thought they said something
  about having gotten a deal on it somewhere.  After the leak, they told me
  more specifically that it had come from a VW reman that was ordered for a
  customer, and that the flywheel was removed when he switched from Manual to
  Auto trans.

  AVP will only honor warrantee if the seal is not scored or "burned looking"
  as this would indicate improper flywheel installation. Additionally, they
  said that they will pay for 3.5 hours labor for the work, and my garage said
  that is a 5 hour job.  AVP will only pay $40 an hour (which I knew when I
  bought the engine).  So that's $140 on a $280 repair.


  The installer is a shop in Maryland that does a *lot* of Vanagon work.
  Judging by the parking lot that may be half their business.  They seemed to
  know all the little quirkiness of a Vanagon, and said that they had done
  hundreds of engine replacements.

  They did a pretty nice job overall, although slow.  I put no pressure on
 them to do it quickly, just friendly weekly calls on the status.  There were
 two
  problems with the installation besides the leak.

  The first was that the motor quit within the first 12 miles of driving.
 They said that turned out to be a loose wire on some FI control that was
 flooding
  it out.  The odometer indicated that they had test driven it for about 36
  miles.  Fixed for free.

  The second is a temperture fluctuation that was greater than my old engine.
  Idling quickly raises the temperture until the fan clicks on, whereupon it
  stabilises at slightly warm.  At 1000 miles I asked that to bleed the
 system, which they said they did.  Within a few miles the heat problem
 returned.
  Upon inspection, I saw a missing hose clamp on the hose from the expansion
  tank to the fill tank.  Also, the bleeder valve in the engine compartment
 was left open.  This made me nervous about rushed/shoddy work.

  Questions:
  1.  Any insight on what is most likely to have caused the seal to fail?

  2.  Does the "book" indicate that dropping the tranny and replacing the seal
  is only a 3.5 hour job? AVP stated at time of purchase that the
 reimbursement was based on a published time schedule for repairs.

  3.  Should I try to be there when they do the work to check out what caused
  it (they have said that I can wait)

  4.  Does temperture fluctuation indicate air in the cooling system? Should I
  insist on a full Bently-style bleed?

  Thanks for all your help.
  Peter & Zippy (now Zippier!)