My wife has an Aerostar with 110,000 miles. Guess I should be in good shape for now. But is there anything that can be done to help minimize cam chain wear? Some kind of oil additive?

I hate the shoehorn fit of the 3.0 in the Aerostar. They should have put the 200 cid inline six in there with a half doghouse into the passenger compartment. Would have been better for working on and for towing.

 

what I meant was that money is a large factor to people. when considering that some figure "time is money", 10 mins out of their day is too much to help a fellow traveler on this big ol' dirtball we call home. I guess, when you boil it all down, nothing matters, except the type of person you are, or at least try to be. good friendly helpful people have nothing to do with money. but greed is a major contributor to most of the sad state of the human condition.
sorry, this is totally off topic. [rant off]

 

I do agree that niceness and socioeconomic status seem to be unrelated, but whoever made the point that niceness and population density are intrinsically linked is correct. The smaller the city, the nicer the people; at least usually.

Barstow, CA was a small town according to the population data in my TripTik. I guess all bets are off in CA.

On to another question now...

Someone else reponded that the 3.0 is not an interference type engine, and that if I heard no odd sounds when I turned it over after the chain broke, that the engine would most likely be fine, only needing a new timing chain installed to get back on the road.

While it would have tapped out all my reserves, I would have been able to afford it.

However, the mechanic/owner told me that the likelihood of internal damage was quite high, and he specifically called the engine an interference type engine.

Based on the incorrect information (aka bald-faced LIE) that he told me, do I have any recourse?

Thanks....

 

legally, I'm not sure though it seems likely. as far as the vehicle, any chance of recovering it? given that it may be relatively easy to repair, can you still get it back, if you want to, that is?

 

Possible. I do not know it is interference type or not. I'm sure there are plenty of people here who do know. If it is not an interference type, then you propably have good grounds for a lawsuit. The mechanics often look for any excuse to not work on an Aero that they can find.

 

time to write that letter to California AG's office and Barstow rag editor. auto shop owner, tow shop and bone yard owner probably all golfing and business buddies.

 

I would say you could have a good case against them. Taking advanage of a Poor Handicaped person broken-down far from home.

I think I would call the DA or Police and have them impound the van before it is stripped to have the engine tested to see if the mechanic was taking advanage.

Then I would call a Lawyer and tell him the story and see what he says.

You might be able to have the Van returned or replaced.

Jay

 

Call your local ABC or CBS offices. They always hungry of those news.

Fordboy49

 

at this point, it might be worth it to:
1. get the van back- if only to keep that...umm.... guy from profiting from it.
2. create some bad publicity for him- might make him think twice next time.
3. include the mechanic in everything-see #2

this is easy advice from someone who doesn't have to take the time to do these things, but, if it WERE me, I would make the time for this. afterwards, if you still don't want to repair the van, any of us here would be glad to take her off your hands for $50. just kidding, of course. but I'm sure you could get a much fairer price from those of us here.

 

good luck with the DA and the Chief of Police, both are probably golfing buds with the shop owner and the hulk salvager.
no criminal act commited, just highly immoral and outrageous business civil law acts.

 

the literature I've seen recommends changing at 100,000. mine is over 220,000 and I'm not sure that it's ever been changed. as far as minimizing wear, same as it ever was; regular oil changes with a good filter and oil. "keep it clean inside". not sure if an additive would help any, maybe lucas oil treatment, to keep some lube on the chain for start-up.

anyone have any other ideas?

 

After doing some research, I hate to tell you that the 3.0L vulcan is NOT an interference engine. TCCA LINK I know that the 3.0/3.2L SHO is not (based on the vulcan design.) So a simple timming chain chage would have gotten you back on the road.

If you are up to it, I would look into getting back your Aero. But if it is not pheasable in your physical/financial condition, we understand.

I would definitely write to the paper, and the surounding papers about your bad experience. If the local one doesn't pick it up, someone else might.

As for when to replace it? Timming chains usually last the life of the vehicle, but sense we do keep them a long time I would recomend replacing it every 150k mi. There is no way really to extend its life, it is a wear part, and over time the metal will fatigue no matter how much lubrication you use. Nature of the beast (Just like O2s.)

A replacement chain from Checker is $25.48. With Crank/Cam gear you are looking at $83.99. Might be a PIA, but you will only be doing it once, maybe twice before the body succoms to rust.

 

Nighthawk - Since what you have found is the closest to an authoritative fact that I have seen on whether or not our engines are interference type or not, I'll now repeat an earlier question - Since the mechanic specifically told me it was an interference type engine, and in effect, made that the sole point of my decision to repair or scrap it - Do I have any legal recourse, ala small claims court?

I've never tried to sue anybody, mostly since I've had no reason to - But the way I was treated pisses me off to no end.

I'll be calling the SF County Court/Clerk tomorrow to iinquire about what I can sue for and how to go about it, but if ayone has any information in the meantime, post it here, please.

I'll also be calling the SF DA, Barstow BBB, Barstow Mayor's Office, AAA, and the local TV stations, and seeing if I can get any satisfaction that way.

And before I forget - Thanks to everyone who has repied to this thread so far - I only wish I had Internet access while I was in that armpit of a town so that I maybe could have averted this disaster!

 

Honestly I don't know what you could sue for. They did not actually repair something and it broke and they refused to fix it. Also you could have gotten a second opinion.

Attorneys do usually have a free first consoltation, so I would still ask, just don't expect much.

As for the next jam you get into (or anyone), Libraries have free internet access, and there are cafes that charge reasonable rates. Just FYI.

 

1. call the wrecking yard and see if your van is still alive.
you may be able to get it back and have another shop in Barstow repair it.

2. call the "Vulture" auto repair shop and only speak with the owner/manager. lodge a verbal complaint with him/her about the false misleading auto repair informantion that his mechanic stated to you which caused you financial loss. also explain the outrageous customer treatment you recieved from his employees that very well may be in violation of the Federal "Americans with Disabilities Act". he will probably tell you to .

3. Hang up and write the repair shop a civil complaint letter with no death threats, notarized, mailed certified with delivery signature.

4. California AG's Office<!--StartFragment --> Department of Consumer Affairs Bureau of Automotive Repair

http://smogcheck.ca.gov/StdPage.asp?Body=/consumer/FileComplaint.htm