Date: Sat, 25 Jan 1997 23:18:41 -0800 (PST)
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Charles D Earl <cdearl@cats.ucsc.edu>
Subject: Re: FWD>Help!!! Broken down on a dirt road in Costa Rica!
Kirk,
This is not really an answer to your (friends) dilemna, but I had to
write when I saw mention of "Gandalf's" When I lived in SF I was
attracted by their ad with the picture of the "VW wizard" in the yellow
pages. I had been hearing a valve lifter tapping slightly on occasion
while warming up my Westy, then it would go away and stay away. As I have
since been told by several
reputable sources, including seeing posts about this on this list, this
is a common problem with Vanagons. It can mean time for a valve job
(especially if the sound doesn't go away) but that is a worst case
seanario. Usually it is just a sound if you can live with it.
My point? A Gandalf's mechanic (Roger I believe was his name,
maybe even the owner) told me I needed a new engine or a rebuild, no if,
ands or buts about it. I doubted this, said I'd think about it and
decided to pass. I then proceeded to gather the info mentioned above.
Roger even called back twice to ask when I was going to schedule my much
needed engine replacement. Well, 30k later (which includes 3 road trips
of 6k+ apiece, subjecting my van to torturous weather, altitude and hill
climbing conditions), the same engine runs perfectly. Sorry Roger, I
don't think so.
Don't take this wrong, I'm way over it (for all I know these may be your
friends), but that was my singular, what I would call, very negative
experience with
this shop. As far as I'm concerned, they wanted to charge me $3000. for
unneccesary work. If my experience with them was supposed to be "magical,"
then I would have to say it was the dark side of the force. I will
never give them my business or recommendation.
As I posted earlier, I recommend Fred's Garage in Redwood City for Bay area
residents. I hope your friends were rescued. Are they on a surf trip?
Good luck,
Charles
'83.5 GL Westy
On Sat, 25 Jan 1997, Kirk van Druten wrote:
> FWD>Help!!! Broken down on a dirt road in Costa Rica! 97-01-25 10:=
> 02:57
> Hey everyone,
>
> My friends Dave and Whitney are in their '88 Westy in Costa Rica! They =
> drove it all the way down there from the San Francisco bay area! I just =
> got the following message from them. I gave a few basic troubleshooting =
> ideas and some experiences I had while troubleshooting my dying ECU =
> computer but thought I would forward his message to the wisdom of the list.=
>
>
> I'm off list at the moment-I'll be your best friend if you email any =
> troubleshooting tips directly to him (and copy to me if possible). His =
> address is davidadair@aol.com
> I'm at lansharks@batnet.com Thanks mucho in advance.
>
> Kirk out
> --------------------------------------
> Date: 1/25/97 7:48 AM
> From: DavidAdair
> Serious question, dude-man. Driving down a dirt road, no problemas, going
> maybe 25 mph, and the car died suddenly, no sputtering, no nothing, just
> dead. Still have electrical systems, battery, etc., just absolutely no
> ignition.
>
> We've had a number of occasions where the car "burps", and stalls for just =
> a
> second, like what I remember you describing yours doing. I've also heard =
> of
> someone who's VW used to crap out for 10 minutes, then run fine again for =
> a
> month, when it would happen again. We've been baking in the sun for about =
> 3
> hours, waiting for a mechanic to show up, and nothing's improved.
>
> Question on my mind is primarily whether the "computer" could totally die.
> Also, I've only checked the basics, like loose wires and made sure the =
> rotor
> is turning. What else should I be checking? Since it was so sudden, it
> seems like it must be electrical, like a loose or broken wire or that durn
> computer. Where is the computer, anyway? Is it the funky piece next to =
> the
> air filter? What about the "controller" under the back seat?
>
> If you can e-mail some response pronto, please do. We're probably spending=
>
> the night here, and can call in for messages. If you can relay =
> information
> from Rodrigo if the need arises, that would be awesome. Depending on what
> the mechanic can find or not find, we'll just call Rodrigo directly, since =
> he
> speaks Spanish anyway. I appreciate any advice you have.
>
> Cheers mon,
>
> Dave (and Whitney).... late-breaking update: we got towed to a garage =
> where
> a German guy looked at our car and found only a little bit of testability =
> in
> the ignition system. It looks like we'll replace our control unit. I =
> called
> Gandalf's to find out how difficult it is to get the part, cuz we're going
> nowhere til we get it. I'll keep you posted.
>
>
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