Date: Mon, 28 Dec 2009 09:03:23 -0500
Reply-To: Ken Wilford <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Ken Wilford <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: Air-cooled, gas, diesel
In-Reply-To: <421331.85694.qm@web111404.mail.gq1.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Steve, the best engine that was ever stock in a Vanagon here in the US
was the 2.1l engine. It has the most power and is very reliable if well
maintained. I have had them go over 250k miles with no major problems.
There is a noticeable power increase over the 1.9l engine. If the van
came with a 1.9l and the engine was good I wouldn't replace it but the
nicest, and most well made Vanagons are the later models (89-91) which
also have the power windows, door locks, cruise control, good working
AC, sound proofing, etc. I have owned the entire gambit of these vans
from diesel, AC, and water cooled and I own and drive daily a 90 Carat
and an 89 Wolfsburg (basically the same car with a different name).
These are my favorite version of the Vanagon as they can be camped in by
two people if the urge strikes, but you also have seating for 7. We
have four kids and don't like to tent camp so when we travel we usually
drive there in the van and then rent a hotel room or cabin when we get
there. We tried camping and traveling with the four kids in our 88
Westy but it was cramped and that was three or four years ago (the kids
aren't getting any smaller).
I really like the automatic transmission version as well as these seem
to get almost as good fuel mileage and while you lose a little bit of
power to the automatic it isn't really a problem for me as I accelerate
slowly to conserve fuel anyway. I really love the automatic when you
get stuck in traffic and have to creep. It kills me to have to ride a
clutch for an hour or so in DC traffic.
If you are considering buying a diesel Vanagon I would drive one first
as they are scary to drive and this should be enough to scare you away
from one. They are so underpowered that they are almost dangerous as
you cannot speed up if you miscalculate pulling out somewhere. Also the
engines last about 100k miles on average before they blow a headgasket
or crack a head or the block. I think this is due to the fact that the
engine is working at 110% all the time trying to move this heavy brick
shaped object down the road. I get about one call a year from a person
who has blown up three of these engines in a row and wants to bring
their van to me so that I can install the engine because it must be
something wrong with their mechanic but they keep blowing up their
diesel engines. I ask them how fast they drive on the highway and if
they tell me 65 mph I tell them that this is why. You really have the
baby the diesel Vanagon. Don't push it or it will blow up on you. You
would think after the second engine the customer would start to suspect
that it isn't the mechanic but them, but they usually don't. Not to
mention that the hoses and coolant tanks and radiators have been NLA for
over 10 years. The 82 is the year you can find the easiest and it is
also the one year that is the hardest to get parts for. It was a one
year only coolant system which makes it hard to get people interested in
making aftermarket versions of the parts. No AC or power steering. The
engine actually has a sticker on it that warns not to put AC on the engine.
Air cooled is a good engine but again you have to be very careful to
have the cooling system in good repair. Most people think that because
the engine is air cooled that means that as long as there is air around
the engine, it will be fine. So customers come in with the cooling
system totally disabled and wonder why their rings or pistons and
cylinders are toast. It is a very simple cooling system, but it needs
to be working properly for the engine to live. You can kill a brand new
engine in less than a year otherwise. There is less power than the
waterboxer, and don't think about power steering or AC as they will put
too much of a strain on the engine.
Of course these are my opinion and observations which I have made over
the past 11 years. Your mileage may very. Hope this helps.
Ken Wilford
John 3:16
www.vanagain.com
Stephen Cebula wrote:
> While we're on the subject of engine types, what about diesel vs gas powered? Besides the obvious lack of power. Are there any advantages to the stock diesels other than fuel economy, like reliability for example? From what I've heard and experienced, I'm partial to the 1.9 gas, but I'm wondering if I should expand my horizons.
>
> Thanks,
> Steve
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