[Vwdiesel] VW's parts availability

[Nate Wall]

Anyone see the recent VW sales figues lately? They are
not doing well at all. Customer satisfaction is way
down.

--Nate
--- James Hansen <jhsg at sasktel.net> wrote:
> So here's a cute one I thought I'd share.
> 
> Finally, I get around to pulling the intake off the
> 97 Passat to clean it
> and to inspect the EGR valve as it seems to be
> leaking.  Sure enough, the
> hole to atmosphere so the diaphragm can move is
> slobbering foul goo, and is
> probably the source of the foul diesel smoke odor
> we've been smelling inside
> the car on cold starts. (There was a hood sealing
> foam gasket missing) Fine,
> the EGR is permanently crimped, so over the shoulder
> it goes, and go bleed
> for a new manifold.  No biggie, other than the cost
> *coff*, $508 CDN at my
> "dealer wholesale" price level.  Hmm... well, we're
> keeping the car till the
> wheels fall off anyway, so what the hell, sez I, and
> call up the friendly
> neighborhood dealer, (only a leisurely 8 hour drive
> away).  Great, order it,
> plus a couple sundry trinkets I've been putting off,
> and am told, Oh, that
> has to come from Tronna, so it's 5 days minimum,
> they won't air freight out
> of the Tronna depot any more.  Okay, the car is on
> jackstands in the shop,
> IN FRONT of my stock car, which I'm rather set on
> painting and getting ready
> for the season, so that's two full spots in a two
> spot shop, and the dead
> horse is at the front with the engine open. great.
> No pushing that outside.
> So, tinker for a couple days, do other stuff, not
> that that's ever lacking.
> Call dealer back today looking for parts, eight
> working days from the
> original order date, and told that the backorder
> will be RELEASED on that
> part on Apr 20, which would mean another 5 day
> shipping wait after that
> even.  So what, are they waiting for the boy scouts
> to send their recycled
> aluminum foil in to cast another manifold? Sheesh!
> 
> So, clean this one up, it has to go back on, five
> hours of scratching,
> digging, spraying, passing out from solvent, etc...
> Man was it ever plugged.
> I easily took two cups black goo out of there. 
> Anyone that thinks EGR is
> good on a diesel was dropped as a child.  So with
> things clean, I evaluate
> the egr, man it's leaking BAD. It's leaking a steady
> stream of solvent from
> just the parts washer solvent flow directed at the
> inside of the plunger
> shaft bushing, almost no pressure at all.  So, drill
> and tap the EGR
> pressure equalization/exhaust/sludge drain hole to
> 1/8" fine pipe thread,
> and put in a hose barb, so I can vent the sucker out
> the bottom of the car.
> Not that the thing is going to admit much carbon
> from now on anyway...
> Cleaned the intercooler too, and with the new 2-1/2"
> exhaust pipe with one
> flowmaster muffler at the rear it should REALLY sing
> now. Next stage,
> injectors and a chip...
> 
> So, what kind of shitty parts supply is this?  First
> time I have ever run
> across this bad a service from ANY parts seller, and
> there are no other
> manifolds available from the other suspects I know
> and deal with either.
> Man, GMC dealer can get me an obscure early corvette
> cast iron performance
> exhaust manifold here next day service, and the
> volks dealer can't supply an
> obviously consumable part. Go figure. Heck, the John
> Deere dealer got me a
> release bearing for a clutch on a 1937 John Deere BR
> in ONE week a number of
> years yeara ago.
> 
> Oh, and consumer's reports really rated the new
> volks stuff poor too, mostly
> over the 1.8T coil issue.  Boys in the fatherland
> better wise up, or go back
> to making 411's, and 412's.
> -James
> 
> 
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