Re: GLX woes (long)

["Benjamin W. Stein" <bstein@medill.net>]

My understanding is that they are going to be able to put a new cylinder lining
in the engine.  I have not interrogated my mechanic too throroughly about
exactly how they are going to do it, but I have taken cars to him for years so I
trust him.  Additionally the car is leased, so if things are not straightened
out entirely I am not totally out of luck.  My mechanic did mention that he
talked to the service manager of a local VW dealer who said they don't even
bother with VR6s when they are damaged like mine is, that they are too hard to
work on.

Ben

Christopher Cooley wrote:

> ben,
> hope you take this the right way....that sucks!
>
> what are the plans for the 1/8 - 1/4" gouge in the sidewall of your
> cylinder?  Seems like pistons would be easy compared to the engine block....
>
> curious,
> chris
>
> Benjamin W. Stein wrote:
>
> > About three weeks ago on my way home from a Cubs game (when they were
> > still able to play) I was driving my '97 glx in the midst of a
> > torrential downpour.  I had just commented to my brother that the car
> > really handles foul weather well.  We turned onto a street with an
> > underpass and there was some water in the underpass, but it didn't look
> > like all that much so I drove on.  Needless to say it was more water
> > than it looked like, probably 18" or two feet.  The car made it about
> > two thirds of the way through and then died.  The rain kept falling and
> > the water kept rising eventually the water made it to about three inches
> > below the door handles, and then stopped rising on the car.  After the
> > first as*hole in an SUV drove past we realized it stopped rising because
> > the car started floating.  Eventually we got towed out.  The car won't
> > start, so we push it to the side of the road.  We then notice that all
> > the idiots in the SUVs who came roaring past us hit the submerged curb.
> > Four of them were by the side of the road changing their right front
> > tires.
> >
> > About four hours later we went back and tried starting the car again.
> > Eventually it kicks over, sounds like an inboard motor on a boat, and
> > spits our literally gallons of water from the exhaust system.  But now
> > the car has a ticking sound to it.  I take it to my mechanic, who
> > listens to it and basically says, "you're screwed call your insurance
> > company."  I do, they go look at it tell my mechanic to do what he needs
> > to fix it, they'll cover it (thank god).  He takes the engine apart,
> > finds the connecting rod on the number four piston is bent, "like a
> > pretzel", there is about a 15 degree bend in the connecting rod.  For
> > those of you that have not seen a connecting rod for a vr6, it is about
> > four or five inches long, three inches across and an inch thick, one
> > hell of a big piece of metal.  Turns out that water went in through the
> > air intake and was sucked into the cylinders, water doesn't compress
> > like air and presto, trashed engine.  The bent connecting rod drove the
> > piston into the cylinder wall digging a trough somewhere between 1/8"
> > and 1/4".
> >
> > They call the insurance company back who tells them to go ahead and fix
> > the engine.  The total bill is $3700.  The bad news now is that three
> > weeks after this happened they just got the piston today, evidently it
> > came from Stuttgart.
> >
> > I just want my car back.
> >
> > Ben