Date: Thu, 18 Feb 2016 13:39:41 -1000
Reply-To: "SDF ( aka ;jim lahey' - Scott )" <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "SDF ( aka ;jim lahey' - Scott )" <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Organization: Cosmic Reminders
Subject: Re: Tune Up Poll
In-Reply-To: <CAFdLW6mqDUNonfhOBh6N9NZsM6xhZofR3ZqRNVd+qPM9+Roo-A@mail.gmail.com>
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I would say that on a waterboxer engine, the spark plugs barely wear *at
all* ~!
Like 'maybe' the gaps will expand and electrodes get rounded ...a tiny
bit over time.
I have boxes of used waterboxer Bosch and NGK spark plugs that are good
for thousands of miles yet.
However...
"It's NOT the parts ! ..it's the adjustments."
for sure ...throttle switches fail to make contact after a while.
Most that I have seen have not been adjusted since the Dark Ages.
Some are corroded or worn beyond normal adjustment range, but still can
be tweaked.
timing doesn't get off at all normally.
air filters 'may' get a little dirty eventually ..easily cleaned ...I
just turn mine over and tap them on a clean concrete floor ...tons of
dust comes out that way.
spark plug wires ..mostly those last really well...
but ...they don't last forever.
Rocker arm adjustment ...ideally those never need attention ..
but sometimes they do. Pretty rare.
Oxygen sensor ...I'm sure there are Many of those running in Vanagons
mostly dead or lalzy.
Coolant temperature ..very important that it runs up to proper temp.
1/3 on the guage is not good, it's very bad.
Changing the coolant.
you can't change that too often. You never get all the old out ..
Just look at any place a coolant hose goes on an aluminum connection
...corrossion forms there easily ...
...that's how the head gasket area inside the engine looks.
Bosch distributor caps and rotors..
i carry good spares ..but those last practically indefinitely.
for example...every 1.9 waterboxer distributor has a felt pad under the
rotor.
Does anyone even remember about those or know what they are for ?
I've seen multi-thousand dollar rebuilds turned out without a drop or
two of oil ..or even looking at it, on that felt that is there to lube
the centrifulgal advance.
and ..checked that the centrifugal advance is functioning properly
..that's part of a real 'tune up' ..right ?
it's not 'the parts' ..it's the Service and Adjustment of things, and
inspection .
What good to new spark plugs do if say ....vaccuum leaks develope slowly
over time here and there ?
it's far more the lack of service, and keeping the very few adjustments
correct, than it is 'replacing parts'.
The parts barely wear if you keep it in Full Proper Running Order.
they should start, idle, run, and accelerate perfectly. When they don't
....it's not usually from parts not being changed..unless it's been
totally forever.
have fun !
Scott
On 2/18/2016 9:23 AM, Dan N wrote:
> I would say 2 oil changes...
>
> oil filter every oil change
>
> spark plugs wire every 4 oil changes
>
> depending what kind of oil you use approx between 8K miles to 10K miles
>