Re: [T3] PA safety inspection

[Amber Amidzich <ambersand@gmail.com>]

You're much too nice - I was thinking more like Diablo's 17th level. HAHAHAA

Amber

69 SB w/sunroof AT "Squarie"

On 9/9/05, Daryl Koch <pbulman@nycap.rr.com> wrote:
> Mechanics like that belong in Dante's 8th circle of hell.
> Daryl - 72SB
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Eric Helton" <e_helton@yahoo.com>
> To: "T3" <type3@vwtype3.org>
> Sent: Friday, September 09, 2005 9:28 AM
> Subject: Re: [T3] PA safety inspection
> 
> 
> >
> > Thanks to all who responded for the support.  I will
> > also look into the Harrisburg VW club.  And j_jonik,
> > I agree with a lot of what you said.  I know that
> > in some ways, the goal is to spread money out to
> > the small mechanic shops throughout the state.  This
> > is a peculiar state in that some things seem to
> > recognize the working class strength of PA, while
> > on the other hand so much is such a burden on the
> > masses of people that are living hand to mouth...
> >
> > As it turns out, between naiivity and shock at the
> > list of failures, many of the items listed are more
> > "reasonable" than I initially thought.  I read through
> > the checklist put out by PA online last night and
> > some things that don't appear to be "safety" oriented
> > are actually on the checklist they have to go through
> > (like muffler).
> >
> > So, from memory, my list of failures reads like this:
> >
> > 1) Front side parking light lens - section
> >    broken off (alright, fine I can fix it)
> > 2) Wipers don't work - They actually did on the
> >    the way to the shop (it was a dewy morning).
> >    I don't know what they did to it, maybe the
> >    fuse blew in a fit of bad timing.
> > 3) Horn plate on steering wheel - I wrote to the
> >    list about this problem a couple of days ago.
> >    I haven't had time to find the plastic connection
> >    parts yet.
> > 4) Upper and lower ball joints - I don't know about
> >    this.  I do have a weird front end rattle on
> >    high speed turns, but I had the car checked by
> >    a shop in Wisconsin this Spring when I moved to
> >    PA and my fiance was driving the VW.  They said
> >    ball joints looked fine and the only problem
> >    they could guess at was play in the steering box.
> > 5) Steering dampner bad - I'm not sure if the
> >    shop in WI looked at this.  I replaced it in
> >    '99 or '00.  I don't know the life of these,
> >    especially given the front end rattle mentioned
> >    above...
> > 6) Muffler - 2 small visible leaks.  Evidently any
> >    visible leaks or "external repair" is grounds for
> >    failing here.
> > 7) Speedometer - fluctuates a lot at low speeds, but
> >    is fine over about 30 with no fluctuations.  This
> >    might be a marginal item if it were the only
> >    problem.
> > 8) Odometer - known problem, however, not grounds
> >    for failing if the car is >25 years old.
> > 9) Drums oversized - I think he means they had been
> >    turned too much.  I will have to pull them and
> >    measure them to find out.
> > 10) Rear brake cylinders siezed - This might be
> >    true.  The WI shop mentioned this and said they
> >    had some tool to fix it.  Evidently, it didn't
> >    fix it for long. :)
> > 11) Rear brake shoes heat cracking - I haven't
> >    looked, but it's possible
> > 12) Something about the rear part of the frame being
> >    rusted and breaking loose.  I haven't a clue
> >    what this means, so I will go back and talk to
> >    them about it tonight after work.
> >
> > So, basically, most of it does appear to be somewhat
> > reasonable.  I think that some could be a matter
> > of perspective and a mechanic more familiar with
> > VW's might perceive things differently, but I'm not
> > sure.
> >
> > My fiance picked the car up because I had to stay
> > late at work, so I didn't get to talk to them until
> > this morning.  They guy who did most of the
> > inspection wasn't there yet, but another guy who
> > helped was.  My initial reason for bringing the car
> > back was that they forced open the glove compartment
> > (because it sticks sometimes) and broke the latch.
> > They never told us this.  So, I jumped in the car
> > and nearly got myself killed at the bottom of the
> > hill because the rear brakes basically didn't work
> > at all and the pedal when straight to the floor
> > with little affect on the brakes.  I understand
> > some of the affects of pulling the drum off and
> > loosening the brakes to allow it to, but they
> > didn't re-tighten it to make it reasonably safe to
> > drive.
> >
> > If they would have told me about the glove box,
> > it would have been understandable, but I'm a little
> > disappointed with their lack of integrity by just
> > ignoring it.
> >
> > I'm going to stop now.  This is way too long.  Thanks
> > for sticking through this epic email if you made it
> > this far!
> >
> > Best regards,
> >
> > Eric
> > '72 sq
> >
> >
> >
> >
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