SMB stuck on Grapevine was that YOU?

[copescobra]

Happened to travel up the Grapevine into Los Angeles and noticed an SMB on the side and looked like being towed.

I feel bad that I could not stop as no place to stop and try to help out.

copes

[Kathryn]

It was me. My van was in a mudslide south of bishop in July and after all this time I was just picking it up from the mechanics in Bakersfield (I'm in la but progressive wanted it worked on in Bakersfield to be closer to their Fresno headquarter) I started up the grade and overheated. Good news is its nothing too enegmatic and was easy to diagnose. Bad news is people doing lazy work left me on the side of the road and progressive insisted if I want the work garenteed it has to go back to the same place. Van is back in Bakersfield and progressive is on a short leash. Hopefully ill have my home back end of this week or early next week.

[larrie]

Glad to hear that your van has recovered, at least mostly, from the slide. Keep after Progressive till they get it right.

[Pschitt]

Well, sorry to read that, you're definitely not Lucky.. I cross my fingers that you'll have it soon again and without any other issue.

[Jeffrey]

I remember what happened to you. The pics looked like it would never come back. Glad you are on your way with it. Prepare for more issues, hopefully minor.

[Viejo]

So what exactly was the easy to diagnose problem caused by sloppy work that left you overheated on the side of the road?

[Kathryn]

The van overheated. Didn't breakdown on me. I figured it might take me all night to get up the grade if I kept stoping and going waiting for it to cool down. As it turns out the radiator is filled with mud. Go figure. But with all the work that's been done there is no way that should have been missed. I talked to the garage it was towed to today and they said it was grossly obvious what the problem was when they looked at it.

I was really upset when I picked it up last week because there was still superficial mud on it. They did a sloppy job cleaning and then never looked under my ph despite my requests and when I put it up before I left it was covered in mud. Now my ph has been marinating in cement like mountain mud since July.

I know I'm not lucky right now. But I'm amazingly lucky in so many other ways. What makes me so mad is not that all this happened but that its prolonged by some lazy a**holes and the fact that if I had balls my insurance company totally would have me by them.

[JoeH]

man, yours is a nightmare of a story but how on earth (pardon the pun) would your radiator fill up with mud? It's a sealed system under pressure.

[Kathryn]

I'm sure "filled" probably isn't the correct term but mud is blocking the airflow one way or another. I wish I could explain. Then I probably wouldn't have to work so at not being taken advantage of by my insurance's mechanic.

[jage]

Mud in the cooling fins, on the outside. Like the kind of thing it would take a hose to fix.

If the PH doesn't leak I wouldn't sweat it, the canvas is pretty durable and while it stains (inside anyway ) a little mud shouldn't hurt anything.