Date: Sun, 10 Oct 2004 05:16:08 -0500
Reply-To: John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
Subject: Re: Safe 2.1/1.9 Rpm: survey/query
In-Reply-To: <BD8E3239.417D%msutts@earthlink.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
I drive an 88 GL w/4-speed tranny. It rides on Michelin XCA 205/75/R14's.
My first Vanagon was an 85 GL. with a 1.9L WBX. I got 205,000 miles on
it without ever having to do anything major. Tune-ups - that was it. I
was gentle with it. Never pushed that speed.
Then I bought this current van with 86,000 miles on it. I thought I got
a good deal. BUT, at 89,000 miles the engine failed due to a hole
burning through a piston.
I bought a newly rebuilt engine complete, and when the wrecked engine
was removed, I discovered a yellow tag on the engine saying Re
manufactured by VW of Canada. It was immediately obvious that I was
about to put the third engine in this vehicle in less than 100,000
miles. I could not help but wonder what had gone on before. For me the
new engine gave me a good solid vehicle, but the failure of two engines
before the 100,000 mile mark was a stern warning. On top of that, my
mechanic, an old timer with Volkswagen boxer engines, cautioned me not
to attempt to drive as fast as the general highway traffic in our area -
which has a lot of expressways and interstates running through it.
People routinely drive 70-90 mph here and if you are not up to speed you
get irate looks and the occassional erect middle digit wave. My man
said the engine simply will not hold up and will be relatively short
lived. I believe him.
My 88 GL spent it's life in the south. That much I have learned. I
suspect that the vehicle simple was run hard to the point of death for
those first two engines. And I suspect they were not serviced adequately
either.
Consider that a Vanagon is basically a truck, and given the era in which
they were produced - at least the US models - they were designed to get
optimum performance at 55 mph. Again, they are a truck......not intended
for a high speed driver. That given, have you ever noted the engine RPM
at 55-60 mph??? One hell of a lot lower than 4000 rpm.
I drive my van at 3800 rpm on the open road. On a level bit of road that
pegs the speedo needle at 63 mph. That is a bit more than 55, but I do
it. I am determined not to burn that engine up as was done before. I
drive the truck lane, and at 63 I'm slower than most tractor-trailer
rigs, so when I can I move over so they don't have to change lanes. But
I don't push my engine.
Robert Lilley of this list carefully developed and built a WBX engine
that was capable of higher rpm and horsepower and even with the stock
transmission, higher road speeds, without hurting the engine. But for
the stock engine and transmission, keep it UNDER 4000 rpm if you want
long life from the engine.
If you simply must go a little faster, you can do it fairly simply by
having your tranny modified by Daryl at AA Transmissions. He is a member
of this Vanagon list and is listed on Vanagon.com. Give him a call and
talk to him about it. He's a good guy and will give your the straight scoop.
Keep in mind, as always, steady cruising causes less wear that a lot of
city stop-and-go driving.
Regards,
John Rodgers
88 GL Driver
Matt Sutton wrote:
>Ok Folks.
> I've been listening and posting for a couple of years now, and still
>consider myself a newbie. But recent posts have made me want to ask an over
>arching question about driving the vanagon.
> What is the actual safety area in RPM's for engine longevity on the
>Vanagon engine? Or, what did the engineers really intend? Or maybe a
>hypothetical question is best- if you had designed the wasserboxer engine,
>how would you treat it if you had to drive it?
> I drive an 88 G, 4-speed, usually pretty unloaded on short 15 mile runs.
>Two-three times a year I'll do long runs, a month at a a time. Last one was
>10k miles. On these long runs I'm usually just over 4K on the tach,
>(215/70/r14 tires).
>
> Just trying to judge what I can ask of my vehicle, really. Would love to
>hear from all the rebuilding heavy hitters out there. Can't exclude Subies
>and I4's, but I only have the engine I have, and am trying to make the most
>of it.
>
> thanks,
>
>Matt Sutton
>88 GL
>Brooklyn NY
>
>
>
