How did he refill the transmission and check the fluid level without opening
the engine compartment hatch?

----- Original Message -----
From: "Charles McGehee" <chasm@ELLTEL.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2006 1:43 PM
Subject: Did the mechanic do something?

> Hi all,
>
> Here's the problem:  My '85 Westy has been running like a champ.  Had
> a leaky AT, however, and a loud muffler.  So I took it to my mechanic
> to have the AT resealed and the muffler replaced.  OK.
>
> Get the thing back and, although it starts alright, won't make it
> through an intersection even; it lacks low power.  Exhaust black like
> it's rich. Smells richt, too.  Worse, the red coolant-level light
> won't stop blinking.
>
> When I let it cool off, though, it starts right up, red light stops
> blinking in a few seconds like it should, and it runs fine -- until
> it warms up and then it starts getting sluggish when starting from a
> dead stop.  Further -- and get this -- when I turn the engine off and
> re-start it the light blinks and won't stop until I let it cool off again.
>
> I took it back to him and he swore up and down that he didn't do
> anything (he has an attitude problem anyway.)  Says he didn't even
> open the engine compartment.  All he could think to do was to test
> the sensor on the coolant reservoir by pulling it off and short it to
> see if the light would stop blinking (it kept on blinking.)  He
> wiggled the O2 sensor wire, too, but on the surface nothing was amiss.
>
> Still, the thing was running fine until I took it in, and now it's
> not.  I would judge that the choke/mixture gizmo has somehow been
> affected, but how, I can't imagine.  And how the coolant light is
> involved, is even more mysterious.
>
> Any thoughts about what could have happened between Time 1 and Time
> 2?  Would be most grateful for your insight.
>
> Charles
> '85 Westy
>