Agreed.  Without any evidence to the contrary, there was no reason to think
that the rods were about to go.  If it were my van, it would have got a good
used cylinder head.

Cheers,

Jeff
www.vanagonparts.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM]On Behalf
Of Dennis Haynes
Sent: Thursday, December 16, 2004 7:07 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Northwest Connecting Rod story

So, how did you know the rods were about to go? I would have performed a
compression, leak down, and oil pressure test of the engine. If the bottom
end was healthy, I would have also recommended a head replacement or maybe
even a good used head. Good chance engine would go another 75K. This repair
approach could have saved $2,500 to $3,000. If you should have a cooling
system failure of any sort with the new engine, it is no longer a new engine
anyway.

Dennis

----- Original Message -----
From: John Smith <johns3539@HOTMAIL.COM>
Date: Thursday, December 16, 2004 1:00 am
Subject: Northwest Connecting Rod story

> I found only a small amount of information on Northwest Connecting
> Rod in
> Seattle when searching the archives, so I want to make sure my 2
> cents gets
> added:
>
> A couple of weeks ago my regular mechanic told me I had a cracked
> head on my
> 91 Westy.  With my extensive knowledge gained from this list about
> how the
> conversation with my mechanic should continue, I ask him what he
> would do.
> Long story short, it was the wrong answer.  In fact, he went as
> far as
> saying that all he had to do was replace the head and the engine
> would be as
> good as new.  I asked him about the chances of throwing a rod
> bearing, and
> he said "That happens so rarely... that's a worst case scenario."
> Needlessto say, I got out of there in a hurry.
>
> Not knowing what to do and having roughly $4,000 worth of repairs
> hangingover my head, I weighed my options.  Top only rebuild?
> Full engine rebuild?
>  It had about 125,000 miles on it already, and I just knew the
> rods were
> about to go.   After weighing all the pros and cons and
> determining my needs
> and mechanical ability, I leaned towards a full rebuild of a stock
> engine,but still wasn't sure of myself.   Boston Bob?  AVP through
> Bus Depot?  or
> maybe I should just go Tiico.  I was really hesitant to deal with
> shippingan engine in from CA or MA, and remembered NW Connecting
> Rod being mentioned
> in the archives and receiving extremely strong recommendations,
> but there
> weren't nearly as many posts as Boston Bob or my other options.
> I decided
> to give him a call since he was local.  He was extremely helpful,
> and told
> me I should come down and we could talk about it more.  We did,
> and after
> more discussion and a few more checking of references, I decided
> he would
> rebuild it.
>
> I'm very happy I did.  He's extremely nice and is willing to
> answer any
> questions.  He'll let you come into the shop, have a look at
> everything, and
> explain what it is he's doing.  He's been rebuilding WBX's for a
> long time,
> and definitely knows his stuff.  He does WBX's for most all the
> dealers in
> the area, too.  He only does one car at a time... he took the van
> in on a
> Monday morning, was done Wednesday afternoon, and was able to keep
> it under
> $3900 out the door. I'm approaching my 500 mile oil change, and
> everythingis just peachy.
>
> From the few posts I read about him in the archives, he is the
> only man in
> Seattle to do rebuilds... and I would have to agree 100%.  If you
> need a
> rebuild on a WBX and you're in Seattle, you should seriously
> consider going
> directly to Jerry at NW Connecting Rod.   This isn't knocking
> Boston Bob or
> Bus Depot/AVP of course, in my dealings with them, they're great
> too, and I
> know they do/offer fantastic work.  But if you're in Seattle, your
> best bet
> may be to just keep it local.  Kudos to Jerry.
>
> Northwest Connecting Rod
> 1705 S 93rd St F-7
> Seattle, WA 98108
> (South Seattle, off of 99 on the way to Burien)
> 206-763-2487
>
> Onward,
>
> John
> 91 Westy (Canadian)
>