Date:         Sun, 29 Aug 2004 15:00:24 -0600
Reply-To:     bhs73@SPYMAC.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Mark Edwards <bhs73@SPYMAC.COM>
Subject:      What to replace in a rebuild?

I am either going to be buying a new motor this winter, from a source such
as AVP, or Bob Donalds, or I will have my local mechanics do the job. They
are very competent and have done many such rebuilds. I have no qualms
about their ability to do it, and take care of me afterwards.

The motor in question is a 2.0L Air Cooled. I think it best to have the
job done locally if I can, for a lot of reasons.

When it comes to just rebuilding the existing engine, I am not sure what
will be replaced, and what will be used again, outside of the obvious
parts. When I go to speak with them about the rebuild, I will certainly
want to  know what will be replaced, and what will get checked out and put
back in. The engine now has about 180K miles on it, runs superbly, no
smoke, only oil blowing out the seals. Never a problem with emissions. The
only issue, outside of the age factor, is that the compression is around
95-105 and although its not dangerously slow or anything, I would like to
get it back to something with a bit more zip. Plus, sooner or later, its
going to leave me stuck somewhere, and probably not right in front of my
house. :-) Could be a lot later, or it might be soon. If I can find the
$$$ to do  it, I figure the peace of mind would be a good thing.

When I first mentioned a rebuild, they told me it would be no more than
$1800, and when I asked if it could get past $2000, they were quite
certain that would not happen.  I did not pursue it beyond that for
details. It may be time to consider going for it, so I would like to
solicit input as to which components would be okay to use again, and which
ones ought to go, generally speaking.

I am just looking for information and perhaps experience from others who
have done it, so I can at least understand what I ought to look out for.

I'm talking about cylinders, heads, the cam, crank, and components like
that. Will I get a reasonable rebuild for such a price?

Its just a general question, and probably hard to be exact as the parts
will need to be examined to verify any need to change them out, but my
engine rebuilding experience is in the V8 world. I have never been inside
a motor like this one. I am just assuming that there is consensus as to
what should always be replaced, and what can sometimes be re-used.

Any opinions or experiences will be appreciated.

Mark