Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2007 00:16:59 EST
Reply-To: Oxroad@AOL.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jeff Oxroad <Oxroad@AOL.COM>
Subject: Re: Boston Bob engines - Use caution
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
In a message dated 1/16/2007 7:21:43 PM Pacific Standard Time,
danielcroberts@AOL.COM writes:
A body of posts can say a lot about a person. Make your own judgement.
Dan--
I see that some of the responses about your problem have been less than
sympathetic. And I have to say you are in a position that deserves sympathy. A
Vanagon with that damage to the engine is a real PITA. And no one, none of us,
want to get in the situation you find yourself in. I think lack of sympathy
probably has to do with the direction in which you vented your frustration which
was an attack on Bob Donalds' person rather than an objective discussion of your
situation. Personal attacks often result in more personal attacks.
In an effort to get to the bottom of this situation:
The bulk of the problem seems to be from a mistake you made, and quite
frankly it's a mistake any one of us could have made. Even those who ride you for
driving with the alternator light on have made similar mistakes. I'm willing to
guarantee it. I know because I know human nature and no one has Never made a
mistake, no one has Never made a dumb mistake, and I say that with extra
confidence knowing all the mistake-makers on the list made the mistake of buying a
Vanagon....or worse a Eurovan. ;)
It seems the bulk of your problem was driving after the alternator seized
busting the belt and rendering the water pump useless. As you now know now this
situation causes a lot of damage fast.
That's a shame. I understand you're angry about the cost, headache, and
heartache. But you have to own that. And the mistake and the cost will probably be
inconsequential 6 months from now--probably 6 weeks from now.
And again I say that's worth sympathy.
The second issue you brought up was your alleged problems with Bob Donalds. I
say alleged not to dispute what you say, and not to judge your character, but
because it's it is alleged in that none of us has first hand knowledge or can
proof of exactly what happened.
I wouldn't like the seals on my newly rebuilt engine leaking either. I would
call Bob. It sounds like you did and he tried to solve your problem. Then you
say those solutions did not solve the problem.
But here's the big PITA about the situation. You may have had a case with Bob
about the allegedly leaky seals, but it's all moot once you damaged the
engine all by yourself with help with from no one. It's unfortunately kind of the
equivalent of someone else staining your best neck tie and you in turn a few
days later accidentally burn that tie to dust, then try to collect from the
person who stained it saying it was already ruined when you burned it. "Well let's
take a look at it." Well it's dust now, but it was definitely stained. Maybe,
but you're stuck.
And I should add again, I don't know what the situation was with your engine
and your dealings with Bob except what you say. And you say he didn't want to
deal with you once you cooked your engine.
And even if that time line is slightly off, the point is the damage from your
engine at this point arguably all could have been caused by your cooking it.
And there's no turning back the clock on this one. The damage is done. Your
warranty, if any, is voided because of your intentional, if not regrettable,
decision to drive with the alternator light on.
You use your 30 year Colorado mechanic as a witness to supersede Bob's
knowledge and workmanship but never share his or her name. The list knows a lot of
mechanics who work on Vanagons and I'll bet there are some who know of your
mechanic in Colorado. Heck I've even had interaction with mechanics in the Denver
area and I live 1500 miles away.
I've also had interaction with Bob Donalds.
And really none of that matters. You did the damage to your engine. What you
did voided any warranty. So in my opinion you made another mistake when you
struck out at Bob for an issue he was no longer responsible for and could not be
held responsible for. And it seems he was in the process of troubleshooting
your problem at least at one point.
Your engine is fixed. There are no more oil leaks. Even you yourself say "but
I can't say for sure what made the difference." You really have no case
against Bob and no reason to trash him on the list.
I understand you're upset by the recent situation with your Vanagon. But the
mistake, the two mistakes I would say are yours. Even the third mistake of
referring to Bob Donalds as Bob McDonalds is on you.
You're making a lot of mistakes. Good for you. Anyone who isn't making
mistakes isn't trying anything new.
Enjoy your bus. Sounds like it's up and running properly.
Best,
Jeff
83.5 Westy
LA,CA
