Date:         Fri, 8 Jan 1999 14:13:41 -0800
Reply-To:     Stuart MacMillan <stuart@COBALTGROUP.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Stuart MacMillan <stuart@COBALTGROUP.COM>
Organization: The Cobalt Group
Subject:      Longevity tips (longish)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Since someone asked, here is my story:

Bought my '84 Westy in 1986 with 30K on it, a full camper set up never
used.  It was a VW lemon buy back from California, and I was told it had
fuel injection problems but that this dealer had fixed them.  I am a
fearless idiot and somewhat of a mechanic, so I went for it, $12,500
including an extended warranty to 50k.

Within a day I found it bucked badly at any cruising speed below 65
mph.  I bought the Bentley and went through really basic stuff and
discovered that the low speed throttle switch had been improperly set at
the factory (paint mark still in place)!  I can't believe VW mechanics
couldn't find that, and I could see why the owner forced the buy back,
which took her two years.

Heads blew first at 60,000 and VW picked up all but some labor charges.
They blew again at 91k in 1991, and VW picked up all but $750, since
only one head was replaced with a new one and one was rebuilt and
failed.  They put two new heads on this time.

Since then I have done the following:

Changed oil  (10/40 mineral based) and filter every 5000 miles
Changed coolant every three years, using the cheapest non-phosphate
brand I can find
Used Red Line MT 90 in the trans axle since it was rebuilt at 105,000

These are basic, but here are two things I think have made a difference:

Using a product called "No-rosion" from Applied Chemical Specialties in
the cooling system, and adding a 10 gauge ground wire connected from the
right head to the common ground on the case and back to the body.

You can get info on No-Rosion by calling 800-845-8523, they don't have a
Web site.  The product is basically a chemical buffer with additives
that prevent corrosion between dissimilar metals.  I add it every 15,000
miles, and it cost less than $5 per treatment.  It was designed for
stored classics and race cars that use only water in the cooling
systems.

Every morning I head out and immediately go up a half mile steep hill,
and my engine is still strong and only blows a little smoke on start up
for about a minute.  I have no complaints about the service this motor
has given.

Anyone else have some tips?  Any others with more than 100K on their
heads?

Stuart