Date:         Wed, 6 Mar 1996 13:18:26 PDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "Shawn Wright" <SW@smus.bc.ca>
Subject:      Re: '88 Westy leaky rear heater core - HELP!

> >Last night I was starting to clean up little things on our new '88
> >Westy & noticed a drop of coolant on the rear heater on/off lever.
> 
> groannnnn ...
> 
> >So two questions: Is there a recall on these heater cores, as there
> 
> not that we (i) know of ... but there is a tech bulletin about the bleeder
> screw up top of the valve. are you sure it's the valve? some folks HAVE had
> replace their valves ... it's messy, but not toooo bad. and not too terribly
> expensive, i hear.
I just priced the valve $ 104, core $ 197, bleeder screw/seal $6. 
Speedway VW had never ordered a core or a valve, but had plenty of 
bleeders in stock, which may be a clue...

> >Since I fairly certain that the pressure test was not done, or the
> >results covered up, what can I do to make certain that the heads are
> >not leaking on this engine? If it takes being present while they do a
> 
> until you start seeing coolant, there's not much you can do ... the test was
> supposed to show this IF it was done correctly.
> 
> >ps: In BC, the law gives us 7 days to back out of a purchase with no
> >penalty, which gives me until Saturday... This is a last resort of
> >course. I would appreciate any advice on how best to deal with this
> >and keep the vehicle asap!!!
> 
> well, it's remotely possible that the pressure test CAUSED the leaking valve
> on the heater. so i would return to the dealer and "request" that a NEW
> heater valve (if you think it's the valve ... or a new core if you think it
> is the core) be installed and the pressure test repeated. otherwise, you
> plan to exercise your rights under BC law and return the vehicle for a full
> refund (THAT gets their attention, cause the salesman loses his commission
> on refunds!). but you have to be firm and nasty and mean, and that isn't
> much fun. i HATE dealing with dealers. :(
I thought about the leak being caused by the test, but I do recall a 
coolant smell before they did it (Doh!), so I think it was there all 
along.
These guys are one of those few dealers with a good rep, even though 
they stopped selling VW (small town...), I will try the nice guy 
approach first. Talked to the salesman & he assured me the manager 
will look into it & take care of them problem no charge. We'll see. 
This was by *far* the easiest car dealer I've had to buy from, so I'd 
like to give them a chance to make it work before pulling out or 
getting nasty. 

(I had to get nasty once already with the local Saturn dealer on an 
'83 Westy last fall- stop payment on cheque, threatened to report him 
to the MV licensing branch, etc. The *really* annoying part was that 
the owner acted like getting threatened was normal business for 
him...)

BTW, the dealer is BowMel in Duncan, for you locals, and so far I've 
been pleased, so I hope this goes well.


Shawn
'88 Westy 322k (Kyra)
'85 Jetta TD 341k (Jenni)