In a message dated 98-06-30 20:00:23 EDT, Maureen wrote:

<<Although I finally got the loss of power fixed after taking the Vanagon
 to two bad dealers and my former mechanic who did not set the idle right,
 one of those three appears to have partially stripped the oil drain where
 the plug goes in after an oil change.>>

While I don't want to get into the crossfire here the drain plug holes on
the aluminum blocked Vanagons are notorious for galling and stripping
over time.  It can be caused by careless removal and installation but
just like the sparkplug holes which sometimes blow out, the soft alloy
of the case gives way to the harder steel drain plug every time.

>>I took the Vanagon in again today to the good dealer that fixed the power
 loss problem and they said that if they took the plug out to change the
 oil, I could lose the whole engine if the plug is stripped because they
 could not fix it.  Sigh. <<

Sounds like your 'good' dealer simply wants to sell you an engine.
These stripped threads are repaired all the time with inserts.  The best
one to use is called a 'Time-sert'.  It is similar to the Helicoil but is a
much more robust design.  Pretty much what they do is to drill the
orginal hole slightly oversize and tap it for the insert.  The insert is then
'glued' in and the orginal drain plug goes in the hole in the insert.  Time-
serts
are steel and if properly installed will last the life of an engine.  With it
being steel you don't have to worry about stripping the threads again.

Todd Hill
VolksWerks Transaxles
Olympia, WA
 </PRE></HTML>