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?