Date:         Sat, 3 May 2008 11:28:07 -0700
Reply-To:     John Anderson <wvukidsdoc@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         John Anderson <wvukidsdoc@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      Re: sad engine fire victim, 88 Wolfy
In-Reply-To:  <f0510030ec44226b17989@[218.101.117.153]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

You guys don't live in the rust belt folks, in WV, OH, PA, MI, I've bought countless busses and aircooled vanagons with severe surface rust on the steel lines, right up to a couple rusted right through (usually admittedly where the ring main pierced out through the firewall.  In fact finding a nice clean rust free ring set was a real challenge for me in WV.  Same with any steel lines on any import or american made vehicle, including and especially subie and toyota vehicles.  Believe me, I'm not a big believer in plastic parts in general, but steel does and will rust in the locals where it rusts.  2.5 subie into a '88 syncro was my favorite conversion ever, but it doesn't change reality, steel rusts, plastic doesn't but it eventually cracks and fails.  I think the waterboxer ring is ignorant, mostly from too much rubber hose, not so much from the plastic bits, as the rubber may fail even every 5 years, but the design was an improvement over the steel in the air cooled for
 real reasons, not just cause VW and Bosch were looking for something new to do.  My initial point was and still is that I doubt the design life for these parts was 20+ years.

  John

Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ> wrote:
  >????
>Ok, it's maybe my very bad English here but are you talking about the metal
>Bus's fuel line, the way they where install on Air-Cool engine?????
>I have work on so many Air Cool engine and all metal fuel line where in
>PERFECT SHAPE!!! And those stupid engineer went from a great design to a
>stupid one... ho yea, i see you guys comming, Air Cool engine where somewhat
>sealed form the outside elements.. still! I have never seen ONE rusted metal
>fuel line on any Bus's or Air-Cool vanagon! Subaru, come on...!!! Go see any
>old 2.2L from the 90', please, find some rust and show me a picture,
>Pleassssssseeee. The only good thing VW did is to use the most reliable and
>best quality hoses in the world... good thing for many VW Vanagon driver who
>are not aware that those should be service.
>

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