Diesel RVs: [diesel_mercedes] Re : " Patching " Engines

Brian ;

I was very lucky in that I grew up at the knee of some really good older Journeyman Mechanics , I wish I knew 1/4 what they knew .

When I began my trade as a VW mechanic , I already had much experiance re awakening old junk from the fields , fixing things far from the barn and of course , normal kids tinkering of the 1960's , several of the Mechanics I learned VW's from were old Germans and they were really keen on repairing instead of total rebuilding every time like Most Americans do .

I took thier methods and applied them to the old junk we'd buy or drag in and learned how to properly evalute used engines and bits , trannies etc. too , when I went out on my own I began buying dead engine vehicles and patching the engines in each and every one so everything worked and they didn't leak oil ~ I've never had even one come back .

I never did patch work for Customers as I didn't want to warranty those jobs .

When I'd sell the used , patched vehicles I was often asked " is this engine rebuilt ? " after they'd look under the hood and see it all shiny and nice , no oil drips , no frayed wires , no missing parts, bolts , brackets or whatever and running as good as new .

I _always_ said " no , I didn't rebuild it " and often they'd think they got one over on me .

I'd tell the customer in this case to maybe enroll in the local Night School mechanics Class and be ready to spend some time on it , it'd be a great cklass project to patch it back to robust health.

Oe of my multiple mottos is " practice your craft on the junk , then when it's important you'll do a better job ".

Yes , it's always time & $ in the end , as I don't mind the hours spent ,the $ is vastly reduced my way and typically more reliable .

-Nate
Brian Stromsoe wrote:
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> These thoughts went through my head when I seized my engine (hole poked in pan). I just felt that if the pistons seized, then maybe the crank seized too, or the valves had issues, or you name it. So, I just chickened out and went for a used engine transplant. And considered a rebuilt new engine too. It's all matter of time and money, isn't it? What would you advise an owner if he pulled into your shop with your sob story?
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> brian