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Date:         Mon, 13 Feb 95 14:36:21 CST
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Joel Walker <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject:      from LiMBO: the Vanagon Wasserboxer

The Transporter, Vol. 7, #1, Jan.-Feb., 1995

The Vanagon Wasserboxer by Jim Harvey

I think it's time for someone to stand up for the later model Vanagon with the water-cooled engine. This vehicle is definitely an engineering masterpiece. It stands alone as the ideal layout in chassis configuration. With the engine and drive wheels in the rear, along with the 50-50 weight distribution, it not only has good handling characteristics, it has the added benefit of an increase in traction due to weight transfer under acceleration or hill climbing. It is small on the outside and roomy on the inside. On the negative side, the seats are hard and the vehicle is not the most beautiful van I have ever seen, but unfortunately, the best looking vans like the Mazda Bongo Brawny and the Isuzu WFR are not even sold in the U.S.

Now I would like to delve into the cooling system problems and all of the horror stories connected therewith. In theory, having the engine in the rear with the radiator in the front is the ideal layout because the engine itself is somewhat protected from the cold blast in the wintertime and is not flanked with heat from the radiator in the summer. However, this layout results in a very complex system that requires certain guidelines that must be adhered to at all times.

First of all, it is absolutely imperative that the system is free of air. When bleeding the air from the system, via the 12-mm hex bleeder screw on the upper tank of the radiator, THE FRONT WHEELS MUST BE ELEVATED ABOUT 16", WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING ABOUT 2000 RPM.

Secondly, do not rev it up before it has warmed up. If you cannot get every person who drives the Vanagon to agree to this rule, sell the vehicle to someone who will appreciate it. Keeping the engine speed below 2000 rpm for the first mile or two should not be too much to ask in exchange for years of trouble-free driving pleasure.

When the pressurized cooling system is cold, no pressure exists. Therefore, over-revving the engine when cold will cause cavitation at the water pump, thereby depriving the water pump seal of lubrication and producting air in the system. The Vanagon is not the only engine that can be affected this way. It can happen with any engine that employs a water pump which has a high output. This phenomenon is quite prevalent with diesel engines.

In reference to the comment by the editor in Volume 6, #5 newsletter, "There have been stories of faulty water pumps being installed at the factory or as part of a warranty service." I will admit this is possible; however, my guess would be it is very rare. The real problem lies in negligence of lead-footed storage yard imbeciles, or so-called mechanics who think the answer to many problems is a high-speed road test. I personally know of such causes. These idiots should be restricted to operating nothing more mechanized than a tricycle. With satisfactory improvement, they could be advanced to a pedal car!

The last topic I would like to elaborate on is coolant. The Vanagon owner's manual clearly states, "The cooling system has been filled at the factory with a permanent coolant which does not need to be changed." Yet, invariably many people will ignore the advice of the manufacturer and let some know-it-all at the local service station drain out their high-quality phosphate-free coolant which sells for about $18 per gallon and then put in some bargain-priced junk, using an improper mixture and wrong procedure for filling the system.

The coolant mixture must contain a minimum of 40 percent antifreeze for proper heat transfer and frost protection. The mixture must contain at least 30 percent water in order to activate the corrosion inhibitors and water pump seal lubricant. As you plainly see, the ideal way would be pre-mixing. However, quite often people fill the system with pure antifreeze and top it off with a little water and have no idea as to what proportions they have ended up with.

Some people find it hard to break old habits or adjust to modern technology. If you have a vehicle with an engine that has the old fashioned cast iron block with an integral water jacket, it is a good idea to change the coolant periodically, as it seems it is virtually impossible to get rid of the core sand residue from the casting process and the rust associated with this type of manufacture.

The water-cooled engine used in the Vanagon is truly a work of art. The aluminum block is fitted with wet cylinder sleeves of high quality cast iron alloy. Full length and full circumferential cooling is obtained. This is a far cry from your cast iron blocks with Siamese cylinders and partial length water jackets. When a cast iron block needs rebuilding, it is necessary to rebore the cylinders and install over- sized pistons. The big problem is cleaning up the borings from the machining process.

If it ever becomes necessary to rebuild the Vanagon engine, it is merely a matter of replacing the cylinders and pistons with standard-sized new ones.

The neoprene gasket on the Vanagon water jacket is completely independent of the sealing rings used between the cylinders and cylinder head. If the neoprene gasket shows signs of seepage, it means it has become hard or lost its elasticity due to over-heating of the engine. Therefore, it must be replaced, as no amount of retorquing of the cylinder head bolts would have any effect on it.

The Vanagon engine is a well-engineered power plant. It is economical and produces sufficient horsepower without being over stressed. A big plus goes to the fact that it is one of the very few engines using trouble-free no-maintenance timing gears. I personally will never own another vehicle that employs a stupid cog-type timing belt.

SUMMARY: If you are a person who likes to jump in a vehicle and take off at full throttle, buy an electric car. If you are one who hates to spend money for long-life antifreeze, drive an air-cooled car or bus. If you are a do-it-yourselfer who admires outstanding engineering, believes in TLC, and owns a Vanagon, I would advise you to hang onto it. After all, it could end up being tomorrow's classic. ------------------------------------------------------------------------

joel's comments: hmmmmmm. well ... i kinda like the cars myself, but i think this fellow goes a bit overboard. ;) keeping the rpm below 2000 for a mile or so is, IMHO, not really possible. besides, that's NOT what the owner's manual says to do. Now, i agree: don't go reving this thing up to redline on a cold engine. but i don't like to let the rpm get BELOW 2000 rpm (except in 1st gear).

cavitation of the water pump: yeah, that could be true. i have heard about it on diesels. never connected it to my bus, though.

coolant: "permanent coolant"? does it really say that? well ... i still think it's a good idea to replace ALL fluids in a car at least every two years. but the original stuff is what i think you should replace it with.

proper mixture: yup. you CAN have too much antifreeze. that's on any water-cooled car. that is, you CAN have too LITTLE water in the mix.

me personally, i think the biggest problem with the Wasserboxer engine is simply the fact the NO other VW used that engine. therefore, the numbers of engines and parts were much lower than, say, a rabbit engine. so the costs of parts for maintenance and repairs are much higher than a rabbit engine. this was also a problem with the Type 4 air-cooled engine, although the 411/412 and Porsche 914/912E did help a little bit.

it didn't help that the U.S. dealers seemed to not care to spend much time and money on training their mechanics to work on the Vanagons. But i personally still like it, and in my mind it's the best bus that VW ever made (for me, anyway). :)

joel


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