Locate an Auto Repair Shop in grandforks, North Dakota

The $40 - $50 dollar bbl oil is a bit optimistic. Prices might dip, but for how long? 6 months, a year? The geopolitical issues with Iran, Iraq, Nigeria and other places do not appear to be going away anytime soon. "The price of crude oil now is about $75 per barrel and Evans said he expects the price to eventually hit $90 or $100 per barrel." http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060708/AUTO01/607080359/1148- Other news related to the price of ethanol and E85 include the recent announcement by Shell Canada that their cost for expansion have increased by a few billion. "LABOUR shortages and soaring equipment costs have raised a question mark over the future of one of northern Alberta's biggest oil sands projects, controlled by Royal Dutch Shell." http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19720229-36375,00.html Energyintel is reporting "dry wells offshore Kazakhstan", "Kazakhstan is facing a struggle to achieve its target.... five years behind the initial schedule" Opec will likely slow expansion projects and lower production if prices drop. Demand does not appear to be falling off either. Demand in the US was up 1.4% from last year. My money is on $60+ bbl oil. On the bright side, we will be getting a new ethanol plant in ND. This would be the fifth planned. The new plant will use lignite coal, corn and either barley or wheat. The big advantage to using lignite is stable prices, as compared to natual gas. And, we have lots of lignite coal in ND - about 800 years worth at current production levels. The plant will be closer to west coast markets, it is on a rail line and water is plentiful (Missouri River). The only issue I see is that the oil boom has made it hard to find workers in that part of the state. I hear stories of people making $25 to $30 per hour driving trucks. The pre-boom wage was probably more like $10-12 per hour. These jobs will disappear if oil prices drop to $40 a bbl. Marginal wells will shut down and expansion projects (drilling and oil sands) will start to diminsh. When this happens prices will rise again. E85 and E10 are still a safe long term bet. http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/state/14991406.htm

For some reason I thought the TDI would get mid forty mpg. Consumer guide also measured the TDI Jetta at 38.5 mpg. Learn something new everyday. On a related note, finding biodiesel should get easier in a year or two. There are plans to build the largest biodiesel refinery in North America at Minot, North Dakota. The facility will produce about 32 million gallons (100,000 tons) of biodiesel per year. They plan to use canola crops as a source (355,000 acres). This represents about one percent of all the crops planted in the state. That sets an upper limit on how many plants we could supply with feedstock for biodiesel. I would guess 10 plants if we could get the farmers to plant enough canola or soybeans. http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/state/11203944.htm Are you sure that $10 a gallon costs will not impact your lifestyle? Have you considered the indirect costs? Bob

I think you will be fine. The replacement engines supposedly have newly designed oil rings to eliminate the excess oil usage problem. Be prepared though to get charged for a few items. It is more a less a ripoff but the dealer will probably charge you $300 + or - to do the work. For example, they will likely put in new coolant and charge you for that. At least that is the kind of thing being reported elsewhere. Granted you will still have much of your warranty left after the work is done. However, be careful to inspect everything very closely when they are done. While they should know how to hook it all back up correctly, even a careful tech can make a mistake especially with the amount of work being done. If you do see something fishy (e.g. unhooked connector) or it sounds different, gets poorer mileage, etc. the sooner you report the problem to them the more likely they are to stand behind their work. I suggest you also pester them beforehand to make sure they plan to clean or replace such things as the pcv, egr and its associated piping. These things can really get fouled when the engine is burning oil like yours was. Again you are getting one of the very few known problems fixed (i.e. bad oil rings) with a new engine block. Assuming it is done right that is clearly a good thing. The rear diff problem is a new one on me.

Mike - if you are looking for aftermarket wires then get them with silicone additives. BTW thanks for your "cold AT question" response on the Subaru board. It was short and clear as usual. grandforks - I 100% agree with bsmart. Also don't forget "the human factor" of mechanics. A rebuilt engine even of high quality labor is not the same as a fabric assembled one.

Sounds like you got a LEMON. I'd have the dealer take it back on the lemon law, assuming your state has that law. The short block isn't sure to fix your problem. It's a long way from a complete new engine. They will have to use all the misc. external parts of your original engine. All you will get new is the block, cylinders and working internals. I wouldn't do it considering the other problem you mentioned with the driveline.