Date:         Tue, 10 Dec 2002 20:15:20 +1300
Reply-To:     Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Subject:      Re: Wasserboxer Reputation
In-Reply-To:  <KJX95DAROTB7D84WMJLG2D0981YDC.3df54f96@lionia>
Content-type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=us-ascii

>This is a stretch. Honda, Toyota, Subaru or Nissan engines are class
>above wasserboxer of the era(1980-1990)

I agree... in general.

>in reliability, quality and longevity. No "dreaded syndroms",
>endless leaks or cheap wiring or plastic there.
>Just sold my old Nissan truck with 180,000 miles on the clock, half
>of it on bad dirt roads.
>Still run like new. In fact this is not unusual. That's what's expected.

Not necessarily. Nissan (and other Japanese manufacturers) have made
some engines with really bad reputations, especially diesels (here in
NZ there's a saying: "Don't buy any diesel beginning with M"... I can
stretch this to include N...

Mitsubishi diesel... all grenades
Mazda diesel... all grenades
Nissan 2.0 four diesel, say 1988 onward Bluebird
Nissan LD28 diesel six (prone to broken crank noses)
Nissan RD28 diesel siz (very rapid bore & mainbearing wear, warped
heads, every single unit does this by 65000km)
Toyota 2.4 turbodiesel (drops valveseats; van be alleviated by
dumping heat through an oversized exhaust)
Subaru EA82 SOHC 8-valve fours (overheat, crack heads)

I'm sure there are others.

>I won't call the Japanese engines of 80-90 a class above the WBX.

Neither would I. More like several classes above. They were often
DOHC/16V, for a start eg many Corollas from the earliest 80s (and as
far back as 1966 in limited-production models!). VW's only SOHC
designs were AUDI engines (1100, 1300, 1500, 1600...) and these were
rough and mechanically extremely noisy.

Carburettors? Most bike engines are still carburetted, and put out
far more specific power than ANY car engine, even turboed ones.

>All I was trying to say, is that a "correctly" rebuilt and maintained WBX
>motor will not experience any problems that couldn't be expected on other
water-cooled engines during the course of the engines lifetime.

I think it is important that an engine not NEED mollycoddling to
remain viable. Your average Toyota (even an old 60s one) needs
absolutely minimal maintenance, and even those which don't ever get
that just keep on going. The VW wasserboxer needs all sorts of
maintenance done on it just to keep from blowing, and this sort of
thing is utterly unacceptable in an 80s vehicle.
--
Andrew Grebneff
165 Evans St, Dunedin 9001, New Zealand
<andrew.grebneff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz>
Seashell, Macintosh, VW/Toyota van nut