Vanagon EuroVan
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Date:         Wed, 24 Feb 1999 12:19:07 -0800
Reply-To:     Larry Burt <lwburt@SPIRITONE.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Larry Burt <lwburt@SPIRITONE.COM>
Subject:      Re: WBX replacement
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Michael Townsend wrote: > > Hi, > > I have been following all of the engine swap options, and have just > about decided to stick with the Waterboxer for my 90 Carat. If I want > a newly rebuilt motor, I can probably get it done for about $3k, > assuming about $800 removal and replacement of the old one, and a new > waterpump. The Eurospec I4 is what I was saving for, but it costs > twice as much as the WBX -- no matter how I look at it. The 5 cyl is > $4500 with the rebuilt motor, and I would have to still find the FI > system from a donor car, and then pay for the removal and > replacement. The TDI is the most desirable option, but it is too > expensive and still too much of a science project. While I agree that > a new I4 or a rebuilt I5 will last more than twice as long as a new > WBX, I don't have twice as much money now to make the investment. I > also have no time, no machine shop, no patience, and no mechanical > talent. My present waterdripper is starting to leak more than 1 drop > / second while the engine is running, and I don't know how much time I > have before it catastophically blows. If I do get another waterboxer, > I promise to change the coolant every 2 years. > > Now, assuming I have to stick with the waterboxer, who is the best > source? What is your opinion of: > GEX (well, I already know the list opinion on this one) > AVP ?$ > VW (Trademark, all rights reserved) new engines (not rebuilt) ?$ > Boston Bob $2100 > > I suppose I could just do the heads, but the D.P.O. did not take care > of the engine at all, and it has 130k miles on it and it consumes oil. > > Thanks very much, > Michael Townsend > Durham, NC, USA > townsend@rtp.ericsson.se

Follow up on WBX replacement thread. I've only been on the list for a few weeks, but I've already read many posts about engine replacements. Some of us obviously enjoy and have time to do elaborate upgrades and swaps, but for myself I simply wanted to pay someone a fair price to do the job right and go back to enjoying my van. I'm the second owner of an 86 westy 4spd, which I bought with about 115K, original engine, never opened up. I pushed it along for four years to 155K by which time the heads were leaking dramatically and something had to be done. My research here in Portland, Oregon led to the following options:

Replace heads--my regular shop (independent--Heckmann & Thiemann) refused to do this because the block was corroded. Other shops were willing to do it for $1250-1800.

Put in a used engine. The best deal I could find was a 2.1 engine with over 100K miles, 90 day guarantee, about $1200 plus $300-400 install.

Put in a GEX rebuilt engine. The GEX deal was the least expensive, but they were squirrelly about whether I'd get my core charge back--have to wait while they evaluated it in California. Cost was about $2300 plus 300-400 to install, plus more if the core didn't pass. Again, my regular shop refused to do it because they'd had bad experiences with GEX warranty service. Several other shops in town said GEX was my only option for a rebuild.

Put in a VW dealer-supplied rebuild. These engines come from somewhere in Canada and I think are available only to dealers or some independent shops, but there may be a way around this. My regular (independent) dealer recommended this option, so I had them do the install. The downside is that the supply is backordered, up to a month. Mine took about 2 weeks to arrive last summer. Cost depends on the Canadian exchange rate, but mine was about $2800. By the time some miscellaneous parts were replaced and labor added in, I was up to about $3350 or so. Guarantee is 12 mo/12K.

I haven't regretted my decision once. So far I have about 4500 miles on the engine and it runs very smoothly, slightly more power and slightly better mileage, more even idle, and best of all ZERO DRIPS. For me the best part was getting my van back inside a few weeks and not having to rearrange my life around the project or worry when some non-standard part was going to cause me grief.

For me the new engine with the manual tranny gives plenty of power, even with a canoe or two on top and four people with gear inside. With an automatic or a synchro I might feel differently. There are probably other rebuild options available, especially in other parts of the country, and some of the conversions look very interesting, especially the Golf or Subaru. Another thing that made the stock rebuild make sense to me is that I had invested over $1500 in peripheral engine parts over the last 4 years--starter, alternator, water pump, clutch, exhaust, catalytic converter, idle motor, etc. I got to build on this investment by putting in a stock engine rather than a conversion.

YMMV Larry Burt, lwburt@spiritone.com


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