Worst Vacation, With Crappy Vanagon Content

[jyl]

I am still reeling from the crappiness of this long weekend trip in Sunriver OR, but here is a synopsis.

Van has, as you know, a recent Ford Zetec engine swap. About 2K miles on the engine. I got the oil changed a week ago. I normally do oil changes myself but used EDIT Jiffy Lube /EDIT this time because I've been super busy.

Took the family and our French exchange student in the van to Sunriver yesterday. It is pouring rain in Portland, the whole way here, and in Sunriver. The house is a 1970s time capsule, not in a good way. Muddle through the day, get up this morning. It is pouring rain. Take the kids to a covered ice skating rink. Then into Bend for shopping and a movie. It is pouring rain.

Get out of the movie, damn I left the lights on. Call AAA, they arrive in record time, jump the van, now I need to drive back to the rental house without stopping. Get on Hwy 97. It is pouring rain. My oil light starts flickering. WTF? I checked the oil this morning, it was fine.

Pull off the highway immediately, there is a exit right there. There is a gas station right at the exit. The attendant and I look under the van. There is NO DRAIN PLUG. I'm staggered. It must have been improperly tightened, and vibrated out during the day.

A nice older couple drive me to the nearest autoparts store, I buy a drain plug. I fill the engine with oil. The attendant jumps my van. We head off in the pouring rain.

Bad news. The van is way down on power. Can't go over 45. The oil light starts flickering again. I pull off at a gas station. The engine is knocking loudly.

I call AAA again, ask them to send a driver to tow the van to Portland. Wife calls every car rental place in Bend. They are all closed, it is 8 pm Friday, and won't reopen until Monday. She calls the nearest airport in Redmond, reserves a minivan. I call a cab. Van gets towed to the service's yard, tomorrow they will tow it to Portland, fortunately I have AAA Plus. We cram five passengers into a car, drive to the airport, rent a minivan, drive in the pouring rain to the Sunriver house.

I'm working on a bottle of wine, mentally bracing myself for an unwanted engine swap. It won't cost a fortune but I so don't want to do yet another engine swap so soon. I even gave away my engine hoist . . . anyone in PDX have one?

Tomorrow we are packing up and leaving Sunriver. I'm sure it will be pouring rain.

There was one really good thing this weekend. My daughter got her dream summer job. She applied to this summer camp in Yosemite, where we've been going for 10 years. The jobs are in high demand and they only hire a few 16 y/o kids each year.

She flew to Berkeley for the interview. She had references from working in our friend's restaurant, interning at a friend's design firm, practiced for the interview, so wanted the job.

And . . . she got the call on the drive down. She was offered the job and even her #1 choice position, the kitchen (she wanted that because it pays better, longer hours).

So, on balance, it was a positive weekend. I'm trying to remind myself of that.

[island911]

That sucks!

I had that happen to me on the way to Portland down I-5. I actually heard what turned out to be the drain plug bounce along the ground, and then the oil light comes on. yeah, my wife had taken the car to one of those quick-change oil places. --never again.

[onewhippedpuppy]

That's a nice little reminder why I DIY EVERYTHING. Sorry about your luck, are you going to take up the issue with the oil change place?

[pete3799]

I think i've seen this movie.
Did you run into these guys anywhere?

[recycled sixtie]

Well that sounds like a really bad day. Like I always say you don't know what you have got until it is gone. In your case the drain plug not being where it was supposed to be. The rain. Well as they say on the west coast, you don't have to shovel it whereas we do in the winter. The upside is your daughter who sounds like a good daughter and is ambitious. You probably never will have another day like that in your life.Good job Dad on keeping it on the rails!

[jyl]

Yes it is, and yes I am.

That's a nice little reminder why I DIY EVERYTHING. Sorry about your luck, are you going to take up the issue with the oil change place?

[jyl]

I'm very happy about her job. It is a beautiful rustic place, high up in the Sierras. The counselors (what they call the staff) come back year after year. The first year you have to work the entire summer, she'll get 1 week of summer break. After that, you can work shorter periods, so she'll also be able to do other things in future summers. I think it'll be a big event in her young life. I'm sad that she won't be around for two months, but my wife and son will spend an extra-long time at the camp this year. I may go myself. She's growing up.

Looking at engine options now. Zetec crate motors are still out there, $1500 or so. Since I have the core, another option is a rebuilt long block, transfer over the accessories, ignition, etc. I'm going to try to minimize my labor. Time is in short supply and I was planning to do a bunch of camping in the van this summer.

Well that sounds like a really bad day. Like I always say you don't know what you have got until it is gone. In your case the drain plug not being where it was supposed to be. The rain. Well as they say on the west coast, you don't have to shovel it whereas we do in the winter. The upside is your daughter who sounds like a good daughter and is ambitious. You probably never will have another day like that in your life.Good job Dad on keeping it on the rails!

[pavulon]

uggghhh. Sounds like you did much better than I would have. Hopefully the kids learned a lesson in dealing with disappointment...something not taught much anymore.

[LWJ]

1) Great news about the daughter!
2) Make the van Oil Can Henry's problem. You have a busy life and hire it out.
3) This was the crappiest weather spring break ever. Yuck. I worked.

Best,
Larry

[rattlsnak]

Wait,... it rains in OR?

[Dantilla]

I love Sunriver- 300 days of sunshine a year. You hit one of the rather rare rainy spots. Bummer.

I guess I only see Sunriver when it's nice because I fly my little airplane into Sunriver's airport and have the shuttle van bring me to the lodge and/or bike rental corral.
From my place, it's a 7 hour drive vs. 1.3 hour flight over beautiful country. Haven't had a car there for years.

Pretty crappy when such good plans go completely cattywompus. Hope the engine swap happens with a minimum of naughty words and thrown wrenches.

[Zeke]

Why I was under the Jag yesterday. My wife suggested an oil change place. I read it to her.

[azasadny]

John,
Great news about your daughter! Congrats! Sorry about the Vanagon...

[RWebb]

It sounds like Jiffy Lube owes you a new Zetec motor and the labor for someone to put it in -- or a rebuild. I suggest you need to send them an Email or fax - do not do anything over the phone (unless you record it - legal in Ore.). Just state the facts with dates and tell them you want them to pay for the damage + add'l hotel bills, towing, etc.

You can always take them to small claims ct. and will not have to hire an atty.

Sorry to hear this, and I have avoided linking this to the metro thread...

BTW, my Vanagon is down right now with problems on the throttle body idle switch... worked ok, before I tore into it, but no I had to make it better...

[EarlyPorsche]

We don't have Oil Can Henry's out East but it seems like they are all the same. Regardless of whether its the dealer lube service or a quickie outfit, they all seem to hire the same person. Kid probably has been tinkering with lawn mowers since little, like the rest of us, but he was raised on mountain dew, hot pockets, and video games, so he has the attention span of a goldfish. He probably started putting the drain plug on by hand like he was told to so as to not cross thread it and then forgot to use a wrench on it (because he saw something shiny) and filled it up with 10W-30 or maybe ATF...

[jyl]

I corrected the original post - it was a Jiffy Lube not the chain I first stated.

Sorry, they are all similar to me and I forgot which shop it was. I called the first place, realized it was not the shop I had used, then called the Jiffy Lube, they looked me up in their records and confirmed. They also left the reminder sticker on the windshield and wrote date on the filter. So, manager is reporting to his management and will review video of the servicing etc. I will make a written claim on Monday.

It was snowing hard in Sunriver this morning. I had to drive the bicycles to the tow company's yard to put them in the van, first thing in the morning. Slithering around in a rental minivan, no snow tires, no chains, I was thinking "this is going to be fun" and "I don't want to be snowed in Sunriver". Fortunately, the snow stopped by Bend and the massive pileup that clogged the highway was only in one direction, so we went the other way and got home. Van arrived on the flatbed shortly after.

It was a $315 tow after all, but I felt so much better having the van sitting in my street and the family home. The situation now seems manageable and bite-sized.

[RWebb]

usually those guys tighten the drain plug so hard it never comes out

I let them do my Sube - never anything German

[Zeke]

They didn't put in that oil that they run on TV with the pan completely off?

[homer944]

Had Wally world do the same thing to a Ranger I had once, but they also left the oil fill cap on the side in the engine bay. White engine bay turned black. In the end they paid the price to have the engine pulled & replaced.

[DanielDudley]

Yes, they owe you, and no, it would not be the first time, so don't let it slide. There should be a silver lining here.