Date: Wed, 31 Jul 2002 12:39:25 -0700
Reply-To: Sam Scholten <undergroundboy01@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Sam Scholten <undergroundboy01@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: WBX bashing
In-Reply-To: <F91ZkfzDskqC5EtrUVY000004ad@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
--- Jfp w/2 wbxs <jfp7@HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:
> thanx for your opinion but like others before you,
> your position is ripe
> with lots of technical ignorance. The 2.1L WBX has
> enjoyed as much as much
> as 1 million kilometers of VW testing
...as in 1 million kilometers of warranty claim
paperwork...
> and with
> required proper maintenance
> has proven it's unique design.
...proven every time my girlfriend reminds me that
it's time to work on it...
> Presently Vanagon list members deal with WBXs that
> are clearly at the end of
> their "Service life". Usually that means >10 years &
> 100K miles.
100K is an arbitrarily low number for a reasonable
service life of an engine. With 3K oil and filter
changes, most "Big 3" engines are known to go at least
150-200K before a major rebuild. As far as Toyota or
Nissan...
> In spite of admirable performance, the WBX at some
> point >100K mileage
> point, the engine will need some sort of major
> repair. This is where a
> jackass like you buy a Vanagon at bargain prices and
> then encounter the
> so-called well-known WBX "head gasket problem".
> The list tends to be a constant soap box for WBX
> technical experts like Stan
> who thinks that >100K miles wear-and-tear failures
> are simply unacceptable
> when compared to bloated cast-iron American V-8s.
A major rebuild at 100K is pretty sad. A new Nissan
engine is due for a TUNE UP at 100K... as are many
timing chain equipped American engines!!! Toyotas are
as well, save for 70K timing belt changes.
Please explain where you got the idea that 100K is
acceptible. The aircooled engines had an excuse
(heat); the watercooled engines have none.
While you're at it, riddle me this: Jackass that I am,
I flushed and filled the coolant in my '87 as soon as
I bought the van, which came with nary a drip. I
changed the oil every 1.5K. I never ran hot, and never
pushed the van past 65 mph. So why did I drop a valve
at 103K, stranding my girlfriend and me in the middle
of nowhere, ruining a head and piston, and costing me
over $550 FIXING IT MYSELF?
Please.
I love VW buses; don't misunderstand me. However, the
folks at VW must have been smoking crack when they
thought they could get away with pushing a 2-ton van
running a small pushrod engine at a sustained cruising
RPM of over 4K (2.1-2.3K is normal for most cars, even
with overhead cams).
You can call me whatever you want, as long as you call
me a pragmatist.
Sam
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