s.t.fraser,

What a terrible road trip.

If I have read your posting correctly ... You seem to be stranded in
Harrisonburg, VA.

Here's a listing of the VW Repair Shops that our community has submitted
reviews on.

http://www.roadhaus.com/shops_advanced_search_results.php

I don't see any listed for Harrisonburg, VA but here are several good shops
and a couple of 
"bad shops" scattered around VA.

However you are only 100 miles from one of our list members who has a shop
in Gapland Maryland.

Westy Ventures 
3333 Gapland Rd. 
Gapland, Maryland 21779 
Phone: 301.432.4645 
karl@westyventures.com 
http://www.westyventures.com 
 
Owner: Karl Mullendore  

Karl is off camping this weekend ... But if you give him call on Monday, he
may be able to help.

You can trust Karl 100%.

The other resources I can suggest are the Vanagon Rescue Squad & Aircooled
Interstate Rescue Squad 

Vanagon Rescue Squad

http://www.vanagonauts.com/?catid=74

Here's a listing I threw together of every VA member within 100 mile of you.

Looks like 7 members.

Aircooled Interstate Rescue Squad (A.I.R.S)

http://www.type2.com/rescue/

Here's a listing I threw together of every VA member in the State of VA

http://www.roadhaus.com/temp/Airs%20Listing%20VA.txt

Looks like 67 members.

You stated ... 

"My wife has health issues and has to get back to Canada for medical 
appointments. We just want to go home. I would be happy for any 
suggestions. We have paid over $7000 in repairs in the last 6 weeks. 
We can't dump the van because we need to get all our stuff and our 
cat back to Toronto."

There are lots of options.

1) Get the Van properly fixed, drive home and put this nightmare behind you.

2) Rent a vehicle to drive back to Canada and have your Van Shipped back
home.

3) Rent a vehicle to drive back to Canada and make arrangements for someone
to sell your Van ... But please 
 don't consider that unless you feel that's the only option.

There is lots of resource within this incredible community to help a
stranded traveler.

I've just scratched the surface.

Tell us how we can help further.

 
good road,
good adventure,
good life,
 
larry chase
www.roadhaus.com
soon to be roadhaus.org

- - -

Desperate! 
Posted by: "the_sun_has_got_my_hat_on" s.t.fraser@rogers.com
the_sun_has_got_my_hat_on 
Sat Jul 15, 2006 7:04 am (PST) 
My wife and I live in Canada and have come to the US for a vacation 
in our 1987 automatic Vanagon which we purchased just over a year ago.

We have had an unbelievable amount of trouble with our van this trip 
although we drove it 10,000 miles last year without any real problems.

A few days prior to leaving Canada we had a full service performed on 
the van by our mechanic for a cost of $1000 (oil change, transmission 
oil change, coolant power flush, new plugs, leads, distributor cap 
and rotor arm).

The morning we left Toronto the van stopped dead in the middle of the 
highway 15 minutes away from home so we had it towed back to our 
mechanic who cleaned some corroded connections in the digifant under 
the back seat. He told us he had corrected the problem and to enjoy 
our vacation.

We left Toronto again and got to Pennsylvania where the van wouldn't 
start when we tried to leave the campsite we were at. After about an 
hour it did start. I suspected the starter motor solenoid so began 
trying to get help but couldn't find anyone who worked on older 
Volkswagons. The following day while we were trying to find help 
near Gettysburg it happened again and after an hour or so it started 
again. We took it to a Volkswagon specialist who checked it over and 
said it seemed fine and that we should be okay continuing onward.

Like a fool I continued and it happened again at Front Royal VA but 
restarted shortly after. We continued again and it happened on the 
Skyline Drive (Shenandoah). We continued as far as Waynesville VA 
when the transmition started slipping really badly and when we 
stopped at a campsite it wouldn't start again.

This time we had it towed on a flatbed truck to a VW guy. He put a 
booster on the starter motor and fixed the radiator fan. As he 
didn't do work on automatic transmissions we had to find a 

transmission place and arranged to have the transmission rebuilt and 
a new torque converter fitted.

Everything was great and we continued our trip. About 10 days later 
the transmission started slipping again so we took it to Aamco and 
they took the transmission apart. They told us that the transmission 
had not been rebuilt and only part of a kit of soft parts had been 
used. The pump was cracked and not replaced, the sun gear was very 
worn and the original torque converter had been painted and put back 
in. We had paid $2200 for the first rebuild and $2500 for the second 
one.

A few days later a coolant pipe broke and we needed another tow. The 
pipe was replaced by a VW guy in Harrisonburg but now a day later we 
have more trouble.

The van started running badly but intermittently. All of a sudden it 
felt like the choke had come on, thick black exhaust, sort of 
chugging and loss of power until I floored it and then it would run 
and accelerate ok until I eased off on the gas, then it would chug 
again. Also it used half a tank of gas in 27 miles.

We took it back to the garage but they said they don't really know 
what the problem is. After they adjusted the idle, adjusted the 
mixture, tested the injectors (which they said had problems) they 
said it may be the sensor on top of the air filter. They have the 
van and will order the sensor on Monday but they are not positive 
that will cure the problem. They have told me that if the part does 
not cure the problem they cannot return it so I will have to pay for 
it even if I don't need it and have also said it probably won't be 
cheap. I don't have a problem with paying for a part that I do need 
but am concerned that I will have to pay for a part which won't 
correct the problem.

We left Canada for a 2 week trip intending to get back by 12 June, 
it's 14 July and we are still stranded in Virginia.

My wife has health issues and has to get back to Canada for medical 
appointments. We just want to go home. I would be happy for any 
suggestions. We have paid over $7000 in repairs in the last 6 weeks. 
We can't dump the van because we need to get all our stuff and our 
cat back to Toronto.