Can anyone help this poor guy?  Sounds like he = has really been given the royal treatment by his local dealer...
 
As usual, please respond to him and not me!

Brent Christensen
'89 GL Syncro Westy
Santa Barbara, CA

-----Original Message-----
From: GARY TRENT [mailto:IMUSACC@worldnet.att.net= ]
Sent: Friday, June 09, 2000 4:43 AM
To: info@vanagon.com
Subject: '87 Vanagon

Dear Sirs;
    I have been plagued by a problem = that simply refuses to surface for the
VW Dealer. What it is is that the shift pattern and = gear engagment are
really fine, then I'll try to down shift and it will = resist and act like it
just tried to go into reverse. Other times it goes = into third instead of
first, though it feels like first. At a stop light = (from a stop) I usually
have to go to reverse, often with difficulty, and = then to first position
before letting out the clutch. It also jumps out of = gear unless I hold it in
place, this was this am, and seemed to jump out as I = decelerated. The dealer
told me yesterday that everything looked fine, = linkages etc, and they
changed the shift coupler (an Independent VW center = in St. Mary's , Ga. said
they didn't have one and I needed one.) All this = surface acouple of months
ago as the gas tank was deteriorating and clogging = the fuel pump, $500.00
later and I now have a new tank, but when all this = occured it killed the
fuel pump, (I had replaced it only five or six = months before) so the Indep.
tech put a filter between the tank and pump to = preserve the new pump til I
could get the tank replaced. Not knowing what was = happening, and enroute to
Orlando from Savannah, I noticed a significant, and = sudden loss of power as
I pressed on the accelerator though the van kept = going slower, so I down
shifted, and see-sawed back and forth between third = and fourth, til I killed
my clutch just getting it to St. Mary's , I was = between Brunswick and Jax as
it happened. They installed a new clutch -during the = next week, needless to
say Orlando was out of the question . ( I have 2wd, = water cooled)

I like my VW but I have about reached my frustration = level since the dealer
insists they can find nothing wrong. The bill was = $1500.00 ( not including
the clutch and pump installed at  @ St. Marys = an additional $600.00), and
other than a new shift coupler and gas tank & = diagnostic I'm no better off
than I was. Anybody else had this problem?

Gary Trent
Savannah, Ga.