Date: Sat, 8 Sep 2012 13:14:29 -0500
Reply-To: Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Low compression, more test results-busaid inying used vans!
In-Reply-To: <042201cd8de1$88c48170$9a4d8450$@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252
With all due respect to your particular experiences, the statement that the
Waterboxer wasn't meant for continuous duty would be news to the thousands
of owners with 20+ year old Vanagons. They never sold really well to gein
with, so they are not common, and neither are people who know how to work
on them. But somehow in the Darwinian automotive universe, they have
survived like very few other cars with a network of suppliers and
specialist to keep them going. Only a tiny percent have some other kind of
engine in them besides a 1.6 diesel or a Waterboxer. I'd say it is a
remarkable package if kept in good shape. What ends up getting the
Waterboxer is not so much thrown rods or dropped valves but death by
overheating. The cooling system is complex and extensive (not to mention
its length) and the opportunity to leak are numerous. On a scale of finicky
to bulletproof when it comes to surviving an overheating event, I'd give it
a 6. Not great, not terrible.
If it were such a bad engine, we wouldn't be here. I have noticed that
lately there seems to be a rash of failures, but look at the age on them.
Jim
>
> I'm done with the WBX, it isn't designed for continuous duty.
>
> Stuart
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
> Of Dave Mcneely
> Sent: Saturday, September 08, 2012 6:54 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Low compression, more test results-busaid inying used vans!
>
> How many of us, except for those who are able to do all the work on their
> vans themselves, don't have a $20k (or more) van? Wife and I now call ours
> the $1M van. Even those who do the work themselves, if they put in one of
> the engines sold by rebuilders, end up with a figure something like you
> mentioned. Take a look at Larry's RoadHaus van payout, and that was 10
> years ago and doesn't include maintenance since. mcneely
>
> ---- Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:
> > As I have said in the past the most important part of purchasing a
> > used vehicle is to find out why it is/was for sale. For some reason
> > the past/current owner no longer wants it!
> >
> > Since you only had this a few months you now know one reason. I doubt
> > this "just" happened. Depending on what you paid and how you go about
> > the conversion and then all the other stuff to follow you too may soon
> > have that $20K Camper.
> >
> > Dennis
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
> > Behalf Of Stuart MacMillan
> > Sent: Friday, September 07, 2012 10:52 PM
> > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> > Subject: Low compression, more test results
> >
> > Well, for those who have been following by email thread about making
> > the mistake of checking compression on my 140k mile original engine
> > (90-150-100-130) I’ve done some more tests.
> >
> >
> >
> > 1. Valves were zero lash or 1 turn in, no valve noise, timing dead
> on
> >
> > 2. Manifold vacuum is 12” Hg with ±1” tick (should be steady 17-21)
> >
> > 3. No detectable vacuum leaks (propane test), all vacuum hoses new.
> >
> > 4. 22% leak down on #1, could hear leakage all three places, but
> > exhaust and intake were louder than the dipstick, with the exhaust
> > being the worst. (Should have used the decibel meter on my iPhone,
> > but I didn’t want to get it greasy ;-) ). Didn’t bother testing the
> others after this result.
> >
> > 5. Does not burn oil (in 1000 miles at least) Plugs that came in
> it
> > were clean.
> >
> > 6. PO installed reman AFM recently
> >
> > 7. Idles smooth (as any of them anyway), runs well, no coolant
> leaks,
> > but has poor acceleration and poor gas mileage (~15 mpg highway).
> >
> >
> >
> > Looks like it’s got some leaking valves. No surprise this rig is worn
> > out, I assumed it was, but I could drive it home at least. I hope I
> > can get a few thousand more miles out of it so I can save some dough for
> a conversion!
> >
> >
> >
> > Sometimes ignorance is bliss, but never for long. I waited until
> > after my planned summer trips to check the engine condition, so I was
> > blissfully ignorant on purpose. I’m still planning a couple of fall
> > trips nearby though. What the hell, I’ve got AAA premier.
> >
> >
> >
> > Stuart
> >
> > ’85 Westy, purchased in May
>
> --
> David McNeely
>
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