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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)
Comments: To: stuart@COBALTGROUP.COM
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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