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  • Nice Surprise From Advance Auto

    Mutt's currently running 30 PSI boost and I suspect I may want to run more as the more boost I throw at him the better he seems to like it. The problem is that the cheapo boost gage I'm running goes from -30-0-30PSI so after 30 I'm guessing at the boost although 30 clicks on the controller seems to equal 5 psi pretty consistently. Still, I want a gage.

    So I on-line ordered up an Eqqus 0-60 PSI boost pressure gage from Advance - they don't have them in-store. Took them FOREVER to send it - it was about 8 days before I got it. That was NOT the nice surprise. Then I opened the box yesterday and it was a -30-0-30 PSI gage which I already have 2 of. Also not the nice surprise. (stay with me here......) So I call Advance and got India though the guy had REALLY good English - sort of a win. So he gave the usual apologies but then dropped an interesting piece of info on me - you can take web-ordered stuff back to any Advance store along with the web order number (it's on the paperwork in the box) and they'll send it back (no shipping) and issue you a refund. Easy-peasy.

    So I drive to my local Advance (I won't say I go there often but some of the guys know my phone number by heart) and lay the gage on the counter and tell them the deal. They handled the return just like the guy on the phone said they would so that was WIN #1. Then I asked the counter guy if they could order the right one and son-of-a-gun, there it is on the screen. So I ask "how much" and after some calculating of discount (I have discount coupons by the bunch) he says "$0.00" given the return of the wrong one - WIN #2. I figure I can afford that and it's on its way. It'll be at the store next Thursday as it comes from Eqqus and not Advance but I can live with that. The store is literally at the end of my street so picking it up there is no hardship at all. Pretty pleased about this.

    Dan

  • #2
    your presumption that the right one will arrive next Thursday is quite cute. I see an angry parts guy episode coming soon to a front page near you
    Doing it all wrong since 1966

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    • #3
      That IS, of course, a possibility. However, we DID order by the correct part number (I harvested that on line and confirmed it on the store's computer screen) and I know Patrick ordered it properly unlike my on-line order which somehow went from PN 6256 to PN 6257 - that's a total mystery. So yeah, we'll see what shows up but I have a fair amount of confidence (fingers crossed).

      Dan
      Last edited by DanStokes; May 17, 2019, 08:05 AM.

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      • #4
        Another win for Just-In-Time-Inventory.
        Of all the paths you take in life - make sure a few of them are dirt.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by DanStokes View Post
          That IS, of course, a possibility. However, we DID order by the correct part number (I harvested that on line and confirmed it on the store's computer screen) and I know Patrick ordered it properly unlike my on-line order which somehow went from PN 6256 to PN 6257 - that's a total mystery. So yeah, we'll see what shows up but I have a fair amount of confidence (fingers crossed).

          Dan
          I wonder what McTaggart would say to all of this ;)

          A reminder about my brake caliper fiasco a couple weeks ago might be in order. 1) Napa put wrong one in box, 2) Napa put another wrong one in box 2, 3) ordered from O'Reilly, used wrong one number 2 as core.
          Doing it all wrong since 1966

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          • #6
            My guess is that at your initial order Advance found they didn't have what you wanted, then your order sat there for a couple days while they decided getting you the correct part was too much of a hassle for them, so they finally just dropped what they had around in the box figuring on you the customer taking up their slop, i.e. just accepting it. When that didn't work and they wound up with an actual physical person in front of them demanding the correct part, somebody had to go hunt one down and then go through the process of acquiring it, wherever that may be from. As it turned out, their little gamble at the outset in sending the wrong one just to get the order passed through cost them, and it cost you.

            I've had good luck online-ordering parts to be picked up at the local O'Reilly's (generally staffed with patient, knowledgeable people), shipping free, where I can then open the box and confirm I got the right stuff before it ever leaves their hands. Maybe Advance will do the same thing.

            I like the parts that come from NAPA, in fact I prefer them even when more expensive, but the local counter people always stand there looking at me like I'm from Mars, or like they really don't feel like having to deal with another customer right then or something, and tend to be a little short on the knowledge thing when these days it doesn't take much with that computer in front of them. I just am not comfortable going there unless I have to, of-course that would have to do with whoever manages the place and not the NAPA organization itself. There's an Autozone with a similar staff attitude and less-good parts so we leave that one alone.

            The O'Reilly's lifetime-guarantee starter in my truck (how can you guarantee a starter for lifetime?) is going kaput after a year-and-a-half of very light use, it was inexpensive at the outset but it nearly stranded me on a recent road trip and now I've got to go through that hassle of changing it. Not worth the savings, that's for sure. I will swap it at the store for another which will then sit on the shelf as a spare while I go to NAPA and get the one I'll actually install, which hopefully stays there awhile.
            Last edited by Loren; May 17, 2019, 10:18 AM.
            ...

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            • #7
              There is a reason and that is the courts have ruled you don't have to return any item sent in error to get a replacement. Some online retailers were filling out of stocks with alternates and hoping the hassle would impel to customer to compromise. If they ship it to you in error it is now YOURS at no charge.
              My hobby is needing a hobby.

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              • #8
                Maybe not quite a derail, but y'all know I don't know jack about engines, and I'm not proud for not knowing, but.....I'm just curious. 30PSI boost and going for more? What does it take to blow the heads off of that thing?
                Last edited by pdub; May 17, 2019, 10:44 AM.
                Charter member of the Turd Nuggets

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by pdub View Post
                  30PSI boost and going for more?
                  Because Diesel.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by pdub View Post
                    Maybe not quite a derail, but y'all know I don't know jack about engines, and I'm not proud for not knowing, but.....I'm just curious. 30PSI boost and going for more? What does it take to blow the heads off of that thing?
                    The answer is - quite a bit. The guys in Europe are running 60 PSI (I know - weird that it's in American units.... maybe 3 atmospheres?) supposedly with no bad results. I'm guessing I'll end up at 45ish. Remember, this IS a Diesel with a completely forged bottom end (the pistons, connecting rods, and crankshaft are all forged rather than simple machined casting and therefore much stronger) and there are lots of headbolts for each cylinder (6/cylinder IIRC ) so the head stays seated, and the whole deal is German overbuilt (I can relate). So it's tougher than the average bear. We'll find out!

                    Dan

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                    • #11
                      It took me a while to catch on. When hanging around tractor pull guys and Diesel guys for a long time I'd shriek "But, but, won't it detonate?". They'd always chuckle and say "Why yes, but it's supposed to.". Makes me wonder about direct injection and gasoline, but it only works in a radical level there to make up for the vaporization gasoline requires. Also the question is can Diesels gain from some "injection lead" the way gasoline gains from spark lead? Diesel guys only talk about two injection timings, right and wrong.
                      My hobby is needing a hobby.

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                      • #12
                        Did you see the 1985 300TD wagon restored on Wheeler Dealers this week?
                        Last edited by Red_Kitty; May 17, 2019, 05:08 PM.

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by DanStokes View Post

                          I'm guessing I'll end up at 45ish. Remember, this IS a Diesel with a completely forged bottom end (the pistons, connecting rods, and crankshaft are all forged rather than simple machined casting and therefore much stronger) and there are lots of headbolts for each cylinder (6/cylinder IIRC ) so the head stays seated, and the whole deal is German overbuilt (I can relate). So it's tougher than the average bear. We'll find out!

                          Dan


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                          Last edited by Red_Kitty; May 17, 2019, 05:01 PM.

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by pdub View Post
                            Maybe not quite a derail, but y'all know I don't know jack about engines, and I'm not proud for not knowing, but.....I'm just curious. 30PSI boost and going for more? What does it take to blow the heads off of that thing?
                            Watch tractor pulls.. Several engines, yes. But count turbos and blowers on each engine.. Compounding turbos being driven by blowers as well..

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Red_Kitty View Post
                              Did you see the 1985 300TD wagon restored on Wheeler Dealers this week?
                              They were talking about it on the Mercedes forum I'm on but I missed the episode. Hope to catch it on a re-broadcast. Wondering what they did to it but I'm guessing that, among other things, the fixed the sunroof drains and the broken-down driver's seat, both common problems.

                              Dan

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