Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2011 14:30:05 -0800
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: Spare 2.1 engine - how big can I make it?
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HI.,..
odd that someone would do headgaskets proactively at 30K miles !!
oh...sorry '30K ago' ..so maybe miles were high.
but the 'proactively' part ..
no.
'the standard' ..for well made japanese cars ..
is 'almost never' .
I suspect a service department sales job.
and ..perhaps yours is just a little cracked coolant hose under there
..something minor.
Or ..
I would suspect poor workmanship also.
and I read this once..don't know if it's true ...
that only forester modern subuar 4 cylinder engines are made in japan .
the rest are made in the US ..
which would make me suspecious.
and dealers..
I check with them all the time about what they do for service ..
often they don't really really spend the customers $ that carefully ..
and if something is just to hard to do .
they won't even advise that it should be done.
also ...taking care of newish cars, so those under 70K miles, is an entirely
different world than repairing cars with more miles and years on them ..out
in the 'real world' let's say.
OK..I hope that 1.8 T works out for you !
reminds me of what a waterboxer vanagon owner once told me..
this in light of the fact they need head jobs or whole engines now and then
..
he said 'I try not to keep them too long, so I'm not the person owning it
when it needs an expensive repair."
I'd read Consumer Reports on that car ..
I hope I'm wrong, but it would not suprise me if it's not pretty.
Great performance..but should be pretty new or have a rich owner ..
from what I gather.
put it this way ..'very exotic but not inexpensive.'
is what I gather.
I have zero desire to own a modern crazy hard to work on, hyper expensive
repairs and parts car ..
and one that needs to be interacted with a computer to see what ails the
poor thing ..
Most modern cars are the kind that are ..
'great new cars, but you wouldn't want to own one when it's older...say 150K
miles and higher..
15 yrs old or more."
I'd say that modern complex VW's and Audi's fall into that catagory solidly.
thanks..I'll do just fine with nice older fixable yourself cars and vans !
Just look at how much money I'll save..and most fun of all..
I can fix it myself !
btw...that 1.8T is known for an oil problem ..
coking of the oil in the turbo ....oil passage problems ..something like
that..
Should even be a class action suit, from what I gather.
google it ..........about the technical side, and I assume you're pretty on
top of that already.
scott
www.turbovans.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joe Luther" <jluther@ALFONS-HAAR.US>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Monday, February 07, 2011 11:24 AM
Subject: Re: Spare 2.1 engine - how big can I make it?
> Scott -
>
> Thanks for the info. I read a lot about people adding WRX engines to
> Vanagons back when I looked at a wasserboxer some years back, I decided to
> wait on finding an air cooled.
>
> You are correct that it's the Phase 2 SOHC engine, to the best of my
> knowlwedge. They used the Phase 1 DOHC in the 98 Forester only, if the
> web
> sources I've looked at are correct, and mine is a 99.
>
> The lady who owned the car took it in religiously to the dealer for the
> 30k
> major services so I was thinking (hoping) everything was done, including
> the
> valves.
>
> She had the HG's replaced about 30k ago as a preventative measure, she
> said.
> She had no reason to misrepresent anything, she traded the car in and I
> was
> getting it from the dealer.
>
> Mine may not be gacking HG's quite yet but I'm getting the smell and the
> coolant drop in the reservoir - no smoke, bubbling, pressurization, temp
> or
> idle fluctuations.
>
> It's probably a moot point, I'm selling it to a friend who works for a
> Subaru dealer as soon as he sells a cabrio and I'm getting a Jetta wagon
> with the 1.8T, hopefully.
>
> OT a bit here I guess, but I just wanted to share my experiences with the
> OP
> and be sure he looked into the HG and piston slap issues before going
> through the work of transplanting a certain engine into his Vanagon. I
> can
> certainly see why people like Subarus, the AWD is great here in SW Ohio
> but
> I'm going back to what I know - VW's.
>
> Joe
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans [mailto:scottdaniel@turbovans.com]
> Sent: Monday, February 07, 2011 1:50 PM
> To: Joe Luther; vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Re: Spare 2.1 engine - how big can I make it?
>
> Joe,
> not 'too vanagon' ...just 'subaruvanagon' ..but ..
> is it a DOHC 2.5 ..
> or is it a SOCH 2.5 ?
>
> the DOHC 2.5 does have 'more' of a head gasket issue than most subaru
> engines.
> And ..
> on used subaru engines with the typical 100+ K miles ..
> it's always better to replace the head gaksets...
> on all models of 1990 and later 4 and 6 cylinder engines ..
> up to the SVX anyway ..
> can't say about the 3.0 H6 in that regard..
> but 'it's not uncommon' for subaru engines to need new head gaksets.
>
> and on the DOHC 2.5 near as I can tell..
> their valve clearances are almost never checked until there's a problem ..
> they use shims and it's a tricky job to deal with them with the engine in
> a
> subaru car.
> I recently found 6 of 8 exhaust valve clearances tighter than spec.
> the valve clearnace shims btw..
> for a VW diesel they cost a buck or two..
> for the DOHC 2.5 ( commonly seen in 97 and 98 Outbacks ) they cost almost
> $
> 11 each !
>
> now that I think about it ..
> I suspect your engine is a SOCH 2.5.
> Many people don't realize those have adjustable rocker arm screws ..
> just like an old VW.
> they also have roller cam followers..
> which is what all more modern engines designed for oil with less zinc in
> it
> ( which is almost all car oils now ) have .
> Done well, the subauru engine option is very, very rewarding in a vanagon.
> it's 'more' of everything ..
> more power, more throttle response, another 1,000 rpm to play with, better
> fuel economy.
> Knock sensor ignition with no distributor etc.
> The parts are expensive, very, but you usually only have to buy them once,
> like say a timing belt or some guide wheels for it.
>
> Scott
> www.turbovans.com