Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1999 19:52:17 EST
Reply-To: KENWILFY@AOL.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: KENWILFY@AOL.COM
Subject: Re: Longevity tips (longish)
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
My '91 Carat Vanagon has over 150k miles on the original heads (which is
probably why folks have been hesitant to buy it). However it doesn't leak a
drop and the motor still runs excellent. I am the second owner. What is the
secret? I believe cycles have alot to do with it.
I have written this up before on the List but I believe cycles is what
destroys Vanagon head gaskets early and allows others to last until 250k miles
without blowing (I have talked to several folks that have accomplished this
due to cycles).
So no this is not about Harleys or Yamahas, the cycle I am referring to is the
heat up from ambient to operating temperature and then cool down to ambient
temp again that happens to your vans motor every time you start it up, drive
somewhere, and then shut it down for an hour or more. Every cycle that the
motor goes through is just one more time that the headgaskets expand and
contract. Eventually the cycles wear out the gaskets and they fail (gradually
at first allowing seepage and the pitting that comes with it, and then
catastrophically when you are in the middle of no where and low on cash).
One cycle could be you driving down the street to your friend's house 5 blocks
away to see a movie or driving all the way from NJ to Georgia to visit the
kinfolks. Therefore if you see a van that has low miles on it and the head
gaskets blow my bet is that it was used for many short trips, while vans that
have 250k miles on them were used by traveling salesman who toured the country
in them. So if you want to make your vans to last longer, or at least get
more miles in between headgasket replacements, try to keep the cycles long and
use another vehicle for shorter trips (hence my '81 Diesel Jetta).
My other suggestion is to keep the vehicle on the road. Drive the van, don't
let it sit and rot. Just sitting has shortened the life of alot of heads and
gaskets. Sitting for long periods (like folks do with thier Campers) is bad
news for head gaskets. The gaskets get a "set" from not going through thier
cycles that actually accelerates thier demise when they are finally called on
to do some work the next summer. Also any amount of acids and moisture that
are in the oil (which form in every motor from combustion chamber by products,
fuel that goes past the rings when the motor is still cold, and water that
forms due to condensation after shut down) attack the inside of the motor.
Any debris that is in the coolant system also gets a chance to settle down in
the bottom of the water jacket and help differential metal corrosion form in
there as well (I found chunks of this mung the size of my pinky in the bottom
of the water jacket of my last customer's motor). So if you are going to
store the van for the winter (which is wise in the salt belt areas) then
please start the van every week or two and let it get up to operating
temperatures and keep it there for a while so that the fuel and moisture can
properly evaporate out of the oil and the moisture can leave the exhaust
system as well. Flush and change the coolant every year or two to keep the
corrosion down. Take the van out for a 30 minute drive when the snow takes a
holiday (unless you are someplace where it doesn't).
Finally, enjoy your van. It is yours after all. Keep it nice, but have fun
with it. Don't worry about driving it because you are afraid of putting miles
on the thing. As I have shown you, sometimes you are actually hurting the van
by not driving it. So plan nice long trips. Use the van daily or every other
day when you can. And just plain enjoy yourself.
That's what I do!
Ken Wilford
Van-Again
John 3:16
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