Hi,
This is a story of why you NEVER =
loan out your
van!! At least not to someone who does not know the first thing =
about
Vanagons!!
My bosses have a 1987 Syncro Westy I =
had been
trying to buy at one time when they blew the engine. They wanted =
what I
thought was too much so they ended up having a factory rebuilt engine =
installed
in it.
They have had it back about six =
months and it
had just been sitting. It had been plagued with a symptom of dying =
while
driving down the road.
They loaned it to some friends to =
take out to
the desert for a few days. They were out on the road somewhere and =
the
thing dies on them. Not being able to start it again, they call =
the tow
truck.
The guy shows up with the cradle =
truck.
The borrower of the van pulls out the owners manual and reads the first =
few
sentences about towing and it says it is OK to tow.(?) I have =
never seen a
Syncro owners manual so I am not sure what she was reading. =
So the
tow driver pops the front of the van on the cradle and off they =
go! He has
no idea the thing is a SYNCRO!!
So they get on down the road and =
they are
travelling along. The friend happens to glance back towards the =
van and
there is black smoke pouring out from under the van!!! Pull over =
and the
tow driver finally realizes the things a four wheel drive! How the =
guy can
not feel the thing pulling behind the truck is beyond me. They call a =
flatbed
out to haul it in the rest of the way.
Get it to the tow shop and they get =
a good look
at the van. The front tires, which were new as well, had big grooves =
worn in
them where they were turning in the restraint! There was no oil =
left in
the engine!!! Probably a big hole in the side of the case!! =
Tow driver keeps claiming that they =
should have
told him it was a Syncro. The friends claim they can smell alcohol =
on the
guys breath and that he is drunk! Meanwhile, the owners are 100+ =
miles
away.
Finally find another tow company to =
haul it to
the owners mechanic at the cost of $500. He is now in the process =
of
assessing the carnage. Meanwhile, the owners are trying to sort =
out what
the Tow Companys insurance company will cover.
Does this sound like a nightmare or =
what.
Probably trashed the tranny, differential, and/or the viscous coupling =
as well
is my guess.
Do I sense a frontrunner in the =
Schmoo Award for
this year? Or at least Bonehead(s) of the year?
John Andrew 1984
"Westiico"