Lots of luck getting that fixed under warranty.  Oil starvation will be obvious--whatever seized the engine will tell the story.  

Stuart

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of mark drillock
Sent: Tuesday, April 23, 2013 12:20 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Possible...Overheating

Some engine suppliers put tell-tale melt tabs on their engines so they will know if the engine was overheated. They don't like to warranty against driver ineptitude etc. A simple problem can quickly cascade into a severe engine failure unless the driver practices due diligence. Some suppliers expect the driver to assume the risk of their own behavior. I don't think this is always fair but it isn't fair the other way either.

This reminds me of a recent occurrence with a friend of mine. He was having instrument cluster issues and was driving his van locally at times with the cluster out while he struggled to repair his damaged one so that it worked in all respects. Then in hectic preparation for a trip he decided to change his oil, removing the oil and filter to drain over night. The next day he put the new oil in. Then he started the engine and drove off on an errand. He did not get far. Not having a working oil pressure warning light had never been a problem before. Having no working warning light coincide with forgetting to install an oil filter was suddenly a big problem and he needs a new engine. If his old one is still under warranty what should he do?

Mark

Dave Mcneely wrote:
> What are these "melt tabs"?  mcneely
>