Date:         Sat, 21 May 2011 14:18:13 -0500
Reply-To:     mcneely4@COX.NET
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@COX.NET>
Subject:      Re: 2.1 wbx with AC Water pump woes
Comments: To: mordo <helmut.blong@GMAIL.COM>
In-Reply-To:  <BANLkTik2qzEN-50XAq2KJNDo7qQEZ6hq3Q@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

---- mordo <helmut.blong@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> Man, what a bummer to replace a water pump on a wbx with air
> conditioning! I've admitted defeat for the moment for lack of tools and
> reasonable access. Any tips will be appreciated. The sticking points at the
> moment are the steel pipe from the water pump to the thermostat and the
> steel pipe to the pax side of the engine. I cannot get a wrench on driver
> side pip at the water pump and I can't get the pipe out from under the
> driveshaft pulley set.
>
> While I'll give it a go tomorrow (had to stop for a Preakness Stakes party),
> I may just bail and take it to an able mechanic. Can anyone ballpark the
> price for R&R a waterpump, reinstall oil cooler, refill oil.

Waterpump replacement at a VW dealer in Fort Smith, Arkansas when I was on the road and had few choices two years ago cost me about $700.  When that waterpump failed again in Colorado, Rocky Mountain Westy put a new one on for about $400.  Those prices included parts and labor.  The dealership refunded the part price, but not the labor.   A dealership vice president at that dealership told me that had I used a VW dealership to get the second job done, the labor would have been covered.  However, when I had tried to get the VW dealership in Fort Collins to even look at the van, I was told they are no longer serviced by VW. When I told the personnel there that I had just had a waterpump replaced by a dealer in Fort Smith, I was told that that was a local choice, and the Fort Smith dealership should have informed me that the guarantee I should expect would not be honored by other VW dealerships.   What a crock!  I have a '91 Volkswagen Vanagon GL Campmobile with air conditioning.

mcneely