Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2007 11:39:02 -0400
Reply-To: Benny boy <huotb@VIDEOTRON.CA>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Benny boy <huotb@VIDEOTRON.CA>
Subject: Re: EB2007 Vanaru Test Drive
Nice post bro, you know your stuff... yea! you got me going now!
(If you are VW freaks, some of you should not read the following, you could
be offended!)
Japs 4cyl engine are of a better design than any frigging European/American
engine, period, you want to argue that! i'm ready!.
Every 4 cyl engine have at some point head gasket problem. Most japs will go
over 100-150k miles before they need a head Gasket job, a simple procedure,
on most cars you don't need to remove the whole engine to do so, now do the
same job on a 92 Jetta with the EX and IN on the same side, now rech those
lower EX bolt...
For anyone here who say's that you should stick to VW for life, your are
full of it, you are just a VW close minded... (i won'tsay the word here).
EVEN if the wasser was reliable for some (and please speak out), those
engine are 15-25 year old, and all FI/coolant componnant also.
Before i start working on Vanagon/Bus engine, i use to work on
Honda/Toyota/Mazda cars/engine an Honda motorcycle. Believe me, there is NO
comparison, design wise and reliability wise, for those who had problem with
Honda/Toyota, your were just unlucky, if you want to argue on that specific
reliability matter, you are again very close minded.
Parts for VW boxer are getting harder and harder to find, it's a simple
fact. Wasser are BADLY design, dificult to work on at some point, why do you
think some folks have to re-do those hea gasket so often, i think that i
have mastered the art of doing so and it took me more than a HARD year, and
even then, there is a risk, and we are not talking about the bore-hole plug
that are starting to leak badly on some engine...
I know Hans, he is a good friend, i also know Paul (a good friend also),
both Subaru freak. Now, Paul is a good example, he as Subaru driven vans and
he just did his last Newfoundland trip with a VW powered Syncro. Now ask him
about which one he like the most!
I have my hands full with those old engine, 10 hours a day, i just finish my
90th something engine, a old 2.0L AC, i had to gather used parts to fix that
van/engine, including a cooked FI harness replace by use one and a destroyed
distributor. Thanks to Paul and Hans for bringing me parts, vans, engine, FI
parts, cooling parts so i can save some VW powered vans/owner.
One of the reason i didn't go to EB is because i don't trust my FULLY
rebuilt Wasser, yea, that's right! i have lost fait on those engine, last
Wednesday night, i was preping the van to go to EB and i found a small leak
at the thermostat housing/pump junction (1.9 cooling system), the new water
pump have a weakness: one of the 2 threaded hole on the pump that attach to
the T-Housing are machined to deep into the pump, the casting is NOT perfect
IN the pump and one of the hole goes through and inside the pump, to so that
bolt need to be sealed. So even if it's NOT the engine itself, everything
around is 20yo.
I'm not talking about failling Injectors, distributor, fuel reg, ECU, idle
control valve or module, noisy lifter, flooded engine, crack heads, fissured
sleevee(yea)... and so on.
Conversions are the future if we want to keep those vans running for a long
time, like it of not! People like Hans and Jim from bostig should have all
our respect.
Anyway, my VW powered days are over. And i'm taking the risk, i'm better of
a with a 2000-2003 engine than a 20-25 yo one, and even if heads leaks, i
won't battle with rusty exhaust bolt and will be able to change those head
gasket on the road... this is funny, i'm spitting the case of a Subi 2.2
this morning for fun... beside this one, there is a sick 2.1L on my second
engine bench, side by side. Of course i'm taking pictures.
Ben
ps.: i'm not even talking about the power gain!
http://www.benplace.com/vw2.htm
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your friend is right. I've worked on more of these than I have VW's, and
I've never owned one, and never will. AS for the Subaru list, they would not
expose there own mistake! Joe. W
| 
