Date:         Fri, 3 Jan 2003 12:06:38 EST
Reply-To:     Rogerspace2@AOL.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Roger Reynolds <Rogerspace2@AOL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Engine Repair or Conversion
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

Dustin,

I just went through this dilemma with my own '89 Westy with both heads
leaking and needing considerable work.  Since this is my daily driver and I
didn't want to be without it for months but did want to have a bit better
performance and I didn't want to have to modify the engine cover and change
fold out bed hinges, I went with a TiiCo conversion kit and installed it
myself.  The kit saved me a lot of time finding another engine and making
sure that I had all of the parts that are needed, and it's nice to have all
new hoses, sensors, ECU, fuel injectors, distributor, etc., so I hopefully
won't have to worry about all of that stuff for some time.

The TiiCo ended up costing me about around $4500 (kit plus shipping, clutch
kit, fuel rail from Van-again, heater hose, coolant, etc.) if you have a shop
install it, I would expect to also pay them for 20+ hours.  (This is my
guess, based on how long it took me and reducing it a bit for professionals
to do it.)

Overall, I am happy with the performance of the new engine as it has more
torque and I can maintain speed over hills that I wasn't able to before but
it isn't any quieter than the 2.1 and I am still working on the growl
(vibration) that many of the TiiCo Vans get at around 3000 rpms.  There has
also been talk on the TiiCo list of others not being able to get the engines
to pass CA smog requirements, and having lifter failures.  There has even
been talk about whether the engine is actually new or remanufactured.

At the moment, I am not unhappy with my conversion but don't think that I
would recommend it to someone else.  On the East coast, check out Boston
Engine Exchange for having your engine rebuilt correctly if you choose to go
that route.  And look into the other conversions as well.  P-mail me for any
additional info on the TiiCo conversion or If you need "core" parts for a
rebuild.

Good luck
Roger