Date: Thu, 10 May 2012 13:52:10 -0400
Reply-To: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Best way to judge life left in Waterboxer?
In-Reply-To: <01e101cd2ec3$a896d4d0$f9c47e70$@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
If you catch the knock early on and stop the engine it can usually be saved.
One of the problems with rebuilt engines is the dwindling supply of useable
cores.
Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Stuart MacMillan
Sent: Thursday, May 10, 2012 11:44 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Best way to judge life left in Waterboxer?
I had the dual sender and yep, they both agreed and I ignored them equally.
The problem was I took it on a long trip (Seattle to Fargo round trip) and
the engine started knocking about 150 miles from home on the return trip!
It threw a rod about 5 miles later while on I-5. Not a bad spot for failure
considering! So, if you develop a strong bearing knock, kiss your engine
goodbye!
Stuart
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
pickle vanagon
Sent: Thursday, May 10, 2012 5:55 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Best way to judge life left in Waterboxer?
I just want to point out:
for some people, activating the light at a higher pressure could be a big
disadvantage.
Especially once you have a gauge, the idiot light should really just be used
an indication that you have catastrophic oil pressure failure, not as a
gauge to indicate engine wear. So you could argue that introducing any
nuisance blinks at that light may only desensitize the driver to its
purpose.
There is also at least one case in the archives of someone who rebuilt his
engine because he occasionally had flickering of that light with the VDO
sender, only to have things not really improve. Obviously I don't think you
would make the same mistake but I'm just saying it's worth people keeping in
mind the difference in specs.
Of course you can always use a tee to run both the VDO and stock sender,
although more connections is its own disadvantage.
On Wed, May 9, 2012 at 11:23 PM, Dennis Haynes
<d23haynes57@hotmail.com>wrote:
> I would never want to use a plastic tube to bring pressurized oil into
> the passenger compartment. Use an electric gauge. The VDO with the
> dual terminals, ( gauge and warning light) are amongst my favorite.
> Especially since it will activate the light at a higher pressure than
> the
stock unit.
>
> Dennis
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jon Durham [mailto:jon_durham@knology.net]
> Sent: Wednesday, May 09, 2012 7:53 AM
> To: Dennis Haynes
> Subject: Re: Best way to judge life left in Waterboxer?
>
> What type of oil pressure gauge shall I install? A sensor or one in
> which the oil flows thru a tube to the gauge?
>
> On 5/8/2012 11:17 PM, Dennis Haynes wrote:
> > A properly working oil warning light is either on or off. No faded
> > glow. It shall turn on each time the ignition is turned on and then
> > turn off after the engine starts and sufficient oil pressure is reached.
> >
> > Dennis
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
> > Behalf Of Richard Koerner
> > Sent: Tuesday, May 08, 2012 3:30 PM
> > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> > Subject: Re: Best way to judge life left in Waterboxer?
> >
> > Stuart,
> >
> > Thanks, that's helpful information; I'll keep an eye for that oil
> > pressure light flickering. I've had an occasion recently of very
> > faint dull red glow from the LED at startup and idle, which
> > subsequently quickly faded away once at operating temperatures.
> >
> >
> > Reason I'm asking is that I'm trying to plan for the future. I've
> > been know to take some pretty long roadtrips in my Vanagon, like
> > 10K-12K miles at a crack. That would be unfortunate, to have to
> > decide on a rebuild or Subie conversion while on the road thousands
> > of
> miles from home base, lots of
> > downtime too and expense. And still not sure what my long term travel
> > plans are, to keep Vanagon-based for the next 10 years or upsize a
> > little to something like a Sprinter or the next generation Ford
> > Transit scheduled for USA manufacture in 2014 (latest rumor). I
> > still really appreciate the handling of the Vanagon and
> > garage-storage capability, both of which would be compromised by a
> > larger van-style rig; I don't know if even a small Class A motorhome
> > would suite my style which is on the "minimize" side. And I've been
> > a VW Van owner
> since
> 1974 so it's in my blood now.
> >
> > So if my current motor would be good for another 25K or so, it would
> > buy me a few years time to dial in my long-term options. I know at
> > this age of the vehicle there are just so many factors to take into
> > account regarding overall vehicle longevity, but I appreciate the
> > helpful List advice on this issue.
> >
> > By the way, when I said it doesn't "burn oil", I guess it would have
> > been more accurate to add "excessively"....I use about a half quart
> > every 2000 miles.
> >
> > Rich
> > San Diego
> >
> > --- On Tue, 5/8/12, Stuart MacMillan<stuartmacm@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> >
> > From: Stuart MacMillan<stuartmacm@GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject: Re: Best way to judge life left in Waterboxer?
> > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> > Date: Tuesday, May 8, 2012, 9:31 AM
> >
> > Rich,
> >
> > Just drive on, and forget about it! If you do a compression test,
> > what will you do if it's low (and it will be)? The death signal is
> > when the oil pressure light starts coming on or flickering,
> > particularly
> after a long run
> > on the freeway. When that happens it's time for a rebuild, or if it
get
> so
> > gutless a passenger has to help you push it up hills.
> >
> > My '84 went over 200,000 miles and was running strong, but I replaced it
> > with a used 2.1 just for the fun of it years ago. Bad idea. I blew
> that
> > one up (http://volksweb.relitech.com/21rodbrg.htm) and I don't have
> > that rig anymore.
> >
> > Stuart
> > '85 Westy
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
> > Behalf Of Richard Koerner
> > Sent: Monday, May 07, 2012 3:45 PM
> > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> > Subject: Best way to judge life left in Waterboxer?
> >
> > The 1.9 engine in my 85 manual Vanagon has 198,000 miles. Never
> > been opened for any reason. Runs smooth as silk. Gentle driving,
> > burns no oil, always passes smog, power seems about the same as always.
> > Wondering how long this thing can last? What's the best way to get
> > some
> idea, compression test?
> >
> > Rich
> > San Diego
> >
>
> --
> "Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened."
> Anatole France
>
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