Piston Slap: Antagonizing The Agonist
Danny writes:
Ok, this may be somewhat of an abstract question, and it doesn’t really pertain to me in any particular manner, but hear me out anyway, because this sounds like one of those perfect cases of somebody (The Agonist) getting duped by a mechanic. In this case it’s the band The Agonist who travel in their “Blue Hornet” which appears to be a Chevy 1500 van. They say in the video that they dumped a bunch of money into it before they went on tour, but somewhere in California the rear differential went bad and it needed to be replaced. They go on to say in the video that they tried to get a second hand rear diff, but they were told it was illegal, so they made their way towards the border to find one closer to Mexico, where apparently these kinds of “laws” aren’t enforced. One of the band members also notes that the “rear differential decided to break again” which tells me this light of a van might not be up to the task of pulling all this gear. Maybe they should step up to a 2500, or better yet a tour bus.
Video here:
Do you know of any laws that would prohibit the installation of a second hand differential? If so, could you shed some light on why it might be illegal, or did this band simply get duped?
Sajeev Answers:
I find nothing on the Internet that proves California will not allow the sale/installation of a used differential. That said, many wrecking yards do not sell items they see as a safety threat: I’ve tried to buy valve bodies for anti-lock brake systems in the past, never could get them. But a differential? That’s hard to believe. So I agree with you, and here’s my explanation.
I do remember, years ago, a (Dateline NBC?) expose on a scam where guys on motorcycles flag down elderly folks in RVs, claim they are seeing differential failure, take them to their “shop” and overcharge them for a part they did not need. Or they never install a damn thing, as there was no problem with the RV in the first place. How did it work? The scammers pull the differential cover, add a pinch of metal shavings to the cover while under the RV, get back out and quickly “prove” that the rig is about to lose an axle. It’s absolutely shameful, pure evil and somewhat clever. But they got caught, eventually.
Something like that could apply here, as an overloaded van (rated for 6300lbs towing, so not by much) is far more likely to eat transmissions, not differentials. And the second differential failure implies the installer had no clue how to set a rear end for new gears. It’s not an easy task, so that’s entirely believable too.
Then again, maybe someone in the band pulled a Stevie Nicks, someone else got wind of the “rumours” and they took it all out on that poor ‘ol Chevy Van via neutral drop ( http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Neutral%20drop). Best and Brightest, give us your possible explanation for this truly odd scenario.
Send your queries to mehta@ttac.com. Spare no details and ask for a speedy resolution if you’re in a hurry.
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Sounds bogus, but being CA, maybe it has something to do with with the lubricant? Naa - it's bogus. Around 6:40, she says the engine is dying, too. Time to replace.
Silly hippies. Silly, silly hippies. So, they ran into a standard issue POS mechanic who has a boat payment to make. Were we truly Darwinian, they would know better and shoot this lying b-tard where he stood. Sadly, we aren't. I sit on the fence with scenarios like this - though the wrench is a pathetic lying scumbag, that anyone would be so ill-informed about anything brings out the Darwin reaction. That these kids are so absolutely pathetic that couldn't figure out to spend 5 minutes googling this crap really makes me tend to lean towards them getting/paying what they deserve. BTW, what is wrong with anyone that can't swap out a rear diff if you're broke? It's almost always under 30 total bolts (counting wheels), and requires a coupla $6 bottle jacks, $20 worth of hand tools, and worst case if you've never done it, maybe a day of your time.