Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2004 19:34:09 -0700
Reply-To: Mike Miller <mwmiller@CWNET.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Mike Miller <mwmiller@CWNET.COM>
Subject: Re: Double cab for sale/engine longevity
In-Reply-To: <D5C04CCA-FBB8-11D8-A8FB-000A959B3796@knology.net>
Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
Well, I drive much the same way you do. Holding the beast at or below 4k
rpm. My engine has 37k miles on it and from one report is blowing lots of
oil on startup - probably valve guides.
This is the engine where the rings didn't want to seat so maybe it's a bad
luck engine.
Mike
On 8/31/04 6:47 PM, "Jim Felder" <felder@KNOLOGY.NET> wrote:
> After talking to my local vw mechanics a while back, I concluded that
> the vanagons they had in for frequent engine replacements had one thing
> in common: drivers who thrashed the engines. That of course stands to
> reason for any car, but 70 mph seems to be the magic number for
> vanagons. I was looking at an 89 syncro on its third engine. We talked
> about a dozen or so other customers who got 80K miles or less on their
> engines, and the anecdotal evidence was that the drivers of those
> vehicles reported commonly driving way over 70 mph. The syncro had
> commonly been driven 80. Other customers had driven faster than that,
> and had come back for replacement engines more frequently.
>
> These replacement engines came from a variety of sources, including
> ones rebuilt by the shop.
>
> My 90 has 192K miles on it. It doesn't burn or leak anything. It runs
> strong. The heads have been out once to replace the rubber gasket, but
> no valve job has been done. I NEVER drive over 70. Maybe for just a
> minute or two while passing, but the van has never been 80 at all,
> ever.
>
> My mechanics were remarking that the other long-lived engines had
> drivers who reported driving similar slower speeds.
>
> There may be plenty of evidence out there to the contrary, but it seems
> to me that when the VW engineers placed that green area on the tach,
> they meant it. Maybe there is a threshold rotational speed above which
> the centrifugal force and inertia of the rod is great enough to ovalize
> the journal hole.
>
> Anybody else? I realize that I and others may just have luckily gotten
> a better balanced or otherwise better-fitting engine. But just asking
> around, it seems that speed kills these things.
>
> Jim
>
> On Aug 31, 2004, at 8:24 PM, Stephen Overmyer wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2004 11:47:33 -0700
>> From: The Shaws <mindthegap01@COMCAST.NET>
>> Subject: Re: Double cab for sale
>>
>> Add states: "Top VW techs say either lifter or wrist pin. it has 130
>> comp.
>> on each cylinder and it will do 80 all day long so I don't worry about
>> it."
>>
>> If someone is considering this vehicle, it's about now one should be
>> hearing "Warning Will Robinson"
>> Nice body( not wrapped in the colour) but engine work sounds just
>> around the corner...
>>
>> After reading the vanagon thread on the worst design flaws of the
>> German
>> engineers perhaps the one big one overlooked was that they failed to
>> understand the American driver........
>>
>> Yea but...
>> The VW Transporter was designed primarily for use in Europe where
>> significantly higher fuel costs and where a greater
>> awareness of the implications of transport based on non-renewable
>> fossil fuels exists. Sure they have Autobahns but
>> VW vans aren't generally meant to be flogging along at 140kph. They
>> are far better suited to running in the range of
>> 90 to 110kph where reasonable fuel economy can still be attained.
>> They
>> are a commercial vehicle that due to their
>> versatility, solid build and superior drivability (and even
>> personality :) have won hearts all over the world. Their
>> purpose in life is not to be thrashed along at high speed with scant
>> regard for increased fuel usage and this US
>> perceived design flaw is really a failure by some to appreciate or
>> understand the vehicle and it's intended purpose.
>>
>> Anyone out there run a solid 2.1 wbx at 80 all day long? Let along one
>> with potential problems.
>>
>> I wouldn't. I have taken one to these speeds but would not remain
>> there for long periods. It just wastes fuel and
>> shortens the life of the engine.
>>
>> or maybe it's just me, but my solid 2.1 likes to run about 65 "all day
>> long"
>>
>> No, it's not just you, that's exactly how they should be driven and
>> that's where they are most happy.
>>
>> A happy VW is a reliable VW :)
>>
>> Steve O
>> NSW Australia
>> '92 Transporter WBX Kombi
>> '00 Transporter Double Cab
>> '03 Transporter Double Cab (work truck)
>> '78 Landrover Series 3 Soft top (ex-Aust Army)
>>
>>
>>
>
>
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