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Wed Jun 20, 2012 11:28 pm

I appreciate German Motor Werks

Recently I took my 87 Syncro with 2.5 AEL Tdi to my friend Paul, aka vwhead here on samba, whose family runs a shop near Monterey Ca, called

German Motor Werks
95 Central Avenue
Pacific Grove, CA 93950
(831) 649-0445

Paul helped me by adjusting the Injection Timing on my Tdi.

He discovered that my van was Retarded out of spec, and after he dialed it into spec, the van now runs smoother, quicker, and is more fun to drive than it has ever been in the whole time I have owned it.

After all the vibration problems I have had with this motor, and after all the transmission problems, my now smooth running 5cyl Tdi feels like an entirely new motor.

Paul also replaced my passenger front wheel bearing,

and installed new sway bar end link bushings, the result of which is, I no longer have a vibration at 2400 rpm in 4th gear. That is a HUGE improvement in driveability. Coupled with the tighter sway bar, the van now tracks better on the freeway than it ever has before.

I know I keep saying that, better than it ever has before. Thats because the improvements are so HUGE to me after all the frustration of past vibrations, and wandering steering, despite multiple alignments and wheel balancing, new ball joints, new tie rod ends, and even running my syncro with the driveshaft out.

What really made my van smooth was Paul's help with Ignition Timing, wheel bearings, and sway bar bushings.

I feel really fortunate to have found a mechanic that understands my Syncro and has the time and skills to help me keep it running really well.

Full disclosure, this is a bold faced promotion of a shop owned by a friend of mine, that I know from going driving on Lost Burritos trips. I am totally biased, but it is still accurate that Paul has done work for me that has really helped my van turn a corner from being no fun to drive, to a van that makes me smile when Im behind the wheel, and makes me look forward to driving.

fwiw, Paul's shop specializes in 1.8T installations in Vanagons. You may have seen his cool Single Cab Syncro

Thanks Paul!

Wed Jun 20, 2012 11:43 pm

Awesome. Someone who "Gets It" AND knows what the hell they are doing = priceless.

Thu Jun 21, 2012 5:59 am

Man, I was right around the corner from there . I was in Cali for vw training course, spent a day around monterey , cannery row, etc. VW shops should be on the tourist maps.

Thu Jun 21, 2012 9:33 am

Jon's injection pump timing was very retarded. I discovered this using Vag-Com with the TDI graph that they provide. His injection pump timing was totally retarded, it was at the bottom of the TDI graph "window". I made a simple adjustment by moving the injection pump to get the optimal timing and most power. Now the injection pump timing is at the top of the "window" and running better than ever! The nice thing about Jon's TDI and many of the newer TDI's is that you can dial them in using Vag-Com. With the timing now more advanced the engine has more power with less throttle and no smoking! Jon tells me that his MPG hasn't suffered and he is still getting over 20 MPG with his heavily modded TDI Syncro Westy.

Jon was describing to me a vibration that he had at high speeds. This was due to a worn out right front wheel bearing! Jon thought it was the left front but when we put it up in the air and shook the wheels for play there was no play. I then started spinning the wheels trying to pin point the problem. A little trick I used to find the bad bearing was to put my fingers on the front springs and spin the tires. I instantly felt (not heard) the vibrations at the spring as the tire was spinning. It's kinda like a stethoscope, the bad bearing transmits the vibration to the sensitive spring. It's a great way to find a bad wheel bearing. We ended up replacing the bearing and the Syncro specific wheel bearing water seals that will allow a Syncro wheel bearing to go under water without destroying the bearing. Jon's may have been original and thats pretty good for a 25 year old van. While we were in there I suggested that we replace his old cracked lower sway bar bushings. End result - no more odd groaning noise/vibration from the wheel bearing, tighter handling from the swaybar bushings and a happy camper! :D

Glad your happy Jon!
Thanks, it was a pleasure working on Betty :D

Thu Jun 21, 2012 9:59 am

Hey Jon-

I am glad to see your Syncro got treated well by Paul, who I like, at German Motor Works. I realize we can only judge things by our own experiences, but this is my experience with German Motor Werks.

I was going to replace the CV joints on my 2WD...bought the 4 CV's from VanCafe, jacked up my van on stands, and realized the job was beyond my skills. Maybe I could do it if I had a lift, but on my back under the van I couldn't even focus properly with my bifocals.

I called up John (Paul's father) at German Motor Werks for a quote. He tells me he charges $110 an hour and that it will take 4 hours...$440 to install CV's by a professional and I already had the CV's. I call up the shop I normally use and ask them what they think. They think $440 is excessive and will do it for $200.

I am glad you had a good experience with Paul, but his father, John, overpriced his work, imo, and I do not recommend anyone using German Motor Werks without getting a second quote.

I never planned to post about my bad experience there, and never mentioned it to Paul, even though I have seen him numerous times since then. Your post, Jon, prompted me to share a different viewpoint and experience. I would feel negligent not speaking up and letting other Vangon owners know my less than stellar experience with German Motor Werks, and encourage them to get a sceond quote before going ahead with work there.

I have no doubt that John is an excellent, experienced mechanic and know that he and Paul have done a great deal towards advancing the ability of using 1.8T's in Vanagons.

If you are on the Central Coast of California, and need repairs, I reccomend VanCafe in Santa Cruz.

Thu Jun 21, 2012 10:08 am

I have also felt that $400 to install 4 CV's was excessive, but that is also what Burley charges.

The costs of service is one thing, being able to get good service is something else.

Not one single shop I have worked with until now ever discovered that my Ignition Timing was retarded. Van Cafe does not work on my Audi diesel motor swap.

I chased AEL vibrations by rebalancing the flywheel, and I even considered rebalancing the crankshaft.

Now it seems all it needed was a proper Timing adjustment.

I have spent a lot of money on my motor vibration problems, it even cost me a transmission.

To find out my timing was retarded was such a huge relief, at least now my van runs smoothly.

the taste of quality lingers long after the price is forgotten

Thu Jun 21, 2012 10:21 am

Hey Texxxxx,
What do you expect, bring a teabag into a restaurant and expect free hot water and a clean cup ?

Thu Jun 21, 2012 10:36 am

please dont attack an individual poster for his opinion, try to focus on the topic at hand, appreciation for German Motor Werks.

Texxxxx is a good man and I share his opinion that Van Cafe has one of the lowest hourly shop rates of any place I have worked with. Highly recommended, IF the project is within their scope of service.

I use Van Cafe a LOT, and they deserve their own appreciation thread, for sure.

However, few people are aware that German Motor Werks is owned and operated by Vanagon owners that have experience with modified syncros like mine. So I wanted to share my joy.

Thu Jun 21, 2012 10:48 am

jpwerks wrote: Hey Texxxxx,
What do you expect, bring a teabag into a restaurant and expect free hot water and a clean cup ?

Jon_slider wrote: please dont attack the an individual poster for his opinion, try to focus on the topic at hand, and share your own experience with German Motor Werks.

The poster, jpwerks, that attacked me IS the owner of German Motor Werks. Unusual way to promote business...lol!

Thu Jun 21, 2012 10:59 am

> Unusual way to promote business

well, I guess we all have our good days

since we are into the politics of service pricing, here is something I have learned

shops make a profit on parts they sell, in addition to the labor they charge to install them

from a profit perspective, if a customer brings in their own parts, and just want installation, the shop loses part of their profit margin

as a customer, I have also tried to get the best deal and parts and labor by shopping around for parts, and then taking them to a shop and asking them to do just the labor.. I later learned that in some cases the shop can sell me the part at the price I pay for it, and the shop can still make a little margin, to help with overhead

the politics of customer relations and pricing structures is certainly a difficult one to find common ground on between the needs of a customer to get the best price, and the needs of the shop to get the best margin

but my post was not about shop pricing

it was about praising the shop that found something wrong with my Van, that every other shop I have used, had missed

Ive spent more money chasing other solutions to my vibrations than I think I should have, but its water under the bridge

Im just glad to have finally experienced the smooth power potential of my motor, albeit 4 years and 25k miles later than I had hoped.

When Paul first suggested my timing should be checked, I kind of rolled my eyes, thinking he was being simple minded. My problem, I thought, was MUCH more complicated than that, as I had been led to believe by many other failed attempts to solve my motor vibration problems.

Imagine my chagrin, suprise, satisfaction, even elation, to find that Paul had found the silver bullet that killed my bad vibes.

I could have been pissed at all the wasted prior efforts, but I really am just tickled pink at how well my Van is running, finally!

I think its time to go for a drive.

Visualize Whirled Peas

Thu Jun 21, 2012 12:02 pm

jpwerks wrote: Hey Texxxxx,
What do you expect, bring a teabag into a restaurant and expect free hot water and a clean cup ?
Generally when a customer brings his own pats, the labor rate or time do not go up. But understand that if the parts doesn't fit and it takes longer then the customer needs to pay more for additional time. Also here's no warranty on the part so if it have to be replaced, the customer is responsible for the labor.

Thu Jun 21, 2012 8:24 pm

I wish I could afford to pay a shop like Paul's to work on my van. I wouldn't have so many parts in my living room :lol:

Mon Jun 25, 2012 9:34 am

> I wish I could afford to pay a shop like Paul's to work on my van

cost is one thing, rework is expensive

Paul got my motor timing right the first time, after I have spent large amounts of money with other professional services that failed to address the issue.

here is the current timing, previously the motor ran below spec, at the point of the cursor

Ive had issues with CV joint assembly from other professionals, but Paul got the assembly right

Ive had issues with spring installations from other professionals, but Paul got the installation right

it may be expensive to use Paul, but its more expensive to use services that require multiple come backs, and that cause damage to other systems

the taste of quality definitely lingers long after the price is forgotten

Mon Jun 25, 2012 12:09 pm

That's exactly what I meant. I try to do things myself and sometimes it would have been better to go to a shop like Paul's, and pay someone to do it right the first time. :lol: