Dear List, After reading Boston Bob's conclusions on the 2.1L connecting rod big end distortion and Stuart's "Evangelical" spin on the importance of replacing con rods sooner rather than later, the solution seems clear. 1) The oil pressure loss and the resulting engine destruction seems to always be rooted in the con rod big end changing shape and is never a crankshaft/main brg issue. So we'll leave the crank alone........... 2) From what I read it is possible to remove the con rods without splitting the case. So at high miles do the heads(as needed), REPLACE THE RODS, throw in a new(cheap)type one oil pump, have a good look at the P&Cs and put it back together. This would avoid the grim 6-8,000 mile later engine destruction we keep hearing about. 3) This mini-overhaul would require the motor to be on a stand but repairs of this type should be carried out on a stand. Once we know the true weak link in the WBX(thanks Bob!), we need only spend our money in the right places and the 2.1L will deliver reliable lower end durability. Regards, John |
Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of
Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection
will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!
Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com
The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.
Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.