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Date:         Thu, 16 Dec 2004 01:00:19 -0500
Reply-To:     John Smith <johns3539@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         John Smith <johns3539@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Northwest Connecting Rod story
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed

I found only a small amount of information on Northwest Connecting Rod in Seattle when searching the archives, so I want to make sure my 2 cents gets added:

A couple of weeks ago my regular mechanic told me I had a cracked head on my 91 Westy. With my extensive knowledge gained from this list about how the conversation with my mechanic should continue, I ask him what he would do. Long story short, it was the wrong answer. In fact, he went as far as saying that all he had to do was replace the head and the engine would be as good as new. I asked him about the chances of throwing a rod bearing, and he said "That happens so rarely... that's a worst case scenario." Needless to say, I got out of there in a hurry.

Not knowing what to do and having roughly $4,000 worth of repairs hanging over my head, I weighed my options. Top only rebuild? Full engine rebuild? It had about 125,000 miles on it already, and I just knew the rods were about to go. After weighing all the pros and cons and determining my needs and mechanical ability, I leaned towards a full rebuild of a stock engine, but still wasn't sure of myself. Boston Bob? AVP through Bus Depot? or maybe I should just go Tiico. I was really hesitant to deal with shipping an engine in from CA or MA, and remembered NW Connecting Rod being mentioned in the archives and receiving extremely strong recommendations, but there weren't nearly as many posts as Boston Bob or my other options. I decided to give him a call since he was local. He was extremely helpful, and told me I should come down and we could talk about it more. We did, and after more discussion and a few more checking of references, I decided he would rebuild it.

I'm very happy I did. He's extremely nice and is willing to answer any questions. He'll let you come into the shop, have a look at everything, and explain what it is he's doing. He's been rebuilding WBX's for a long time, and definitely knows his stuff. He does WBX's for most all the dealers in the area, too. He only does one car at a time... he took the van in on a Monday morning, was done Wednesday afternoon, and was able to keep it under $3900 out the door. I'm approaching my 500 mile oil change, and everything is just peachy.

From the few posts I read about him in the archives, he is the only man in Seattle to do rebuilds... and I would have to agree 100%. If you need a rebuild on a WBX and you're in Seattle, you should seriously consider going directly to Jerry at NW Connecting Rod. This isn't knocking Boston Bob or Bus Depot/AVP of course, in my dealings with them, they're great too, and I know they do/offer fantastic work. But if you're in Seattle, your best bet may be to just keep it local. Kudos to Jerry.

Northwest Connecting Rod 1705 S 93rd St F-7 Seattle, WA 98108 (South Seattle, off of 99 on the way to Burien) 206-763-2487

Onward,

John 91 Westy (Canadian)


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