Vanagon EuroVan
Previous (more recent) messageNext (less recent) messagePrevious (more recent) in topicNext (less recent) in topicPrevious (more recent) by same authorNext (less recent) by same authorPrevious page (June 1999, week 3)Back to main VANAGON pageJoin or leave VANAGON (or change settings)ReplyPost a new messageSearchProportional fontNon-proportional font
Date:         Mon, 21 Jun 1999 21:09:44 PDT
Reply-To:     vwvanman@EXCITE.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Robert Lilley <vwvanman@EXCITE.COM>
Subject:      Re: Wolfie mods
Comments: To: Adam Culp <aculp2@yahoo.com>
Comments: cc: vanagon@vanagon.com
Content-Type: text/plain

On Mon, 21 Jun 1999 16:36:56 -0700 (PDT), Adam Culp wrote:

> Robert, > I am curious as to all the mods you have done to your >vanagon

Without an engine swap, are there any performance upgrades worth doing to boost power?

YES! I did some upgrades to the my stock 2.1L engine, It is estimated to be @130 to 140 hp from the local machinist that did some machine work on it. Each upgrade was chosen to strengthen weak areas of the engine and to add power. I utilized T1 after-market speed equipment and strengthened stock parts. I started with the stock displacement. (The cost of custom larger pistons would add @$650 to the cost, too much for my pocket)

1. I had the crank counterweighted: It smooth out the revs, double bearing life and increase power.

2. I had ALL rotating parts balanced as a unit. Same as above

3. Had rods rebuilt, new bolts and nuts.

4. Had Webcam special grind cam with a lift and duration increase.

5. Used light weight: cromoly: "cut to fit" push rods, retainers, racing valve locks, 1.25 Rhino ratio arms with Rhino swivel feet, solid rocker shafts. Lessens valve train weight to effectively increase spring pressure WITHOUT having to go to heavier springs (Less weight to move back and forth).

6. Had all parts engine that touch heat ceramic coated. Piston tops. Combustion chamber, valve faces, exhaust valve radius. Exhaust ports, exhaust system, catalytic converter, muffler was wrapped in a fiberglass heat barrier.

TO ELIMINATE the head corrosion problem I Had the sealing surface of the head ceramic coated also. This puts a barrier between the aluminum and the rubber gasket and corrosion cannot penetrate the coating to start the corrosion process.

7. Super Turbo muffler. Fits in stock location and the arms simply need to be bent a little down to fit muffler. 6" round stock is @ 5" runs better freer breathing. I used the stock exhaust because I did not like the S&S header that I had ordered. Pipes were thinner, inadequate bracing-will lead to cracks. Muffler was ugly. It was an oval shape. Just my opinion.

8. Monza single tip resonator. Used a 2" angle cut tailpipe extension from Autozone to enable the tip to exit to the right side of the body to the rear of the tire and with good ground clearance

9. Match ported the oil pump to case (enlarged the pump in/outlet holes to match case) square radiuses the internal oil passages to improve flow and pressure stability at lower rpms.

10. Matched ported complete exhaust system and air runners to intake on heads.

11. Mildly, ported New AMC head with sodium filled exhaust valves. 3 Angle valve job on seats and 2 angle on valves.

12. 5W 30 Redline synthetic oil (ONLY AFTER 5000 MILE BREAK IN) power increased and mileage increased.

13. Red line MTL synthetic oil for tranny.

14. K&N air filter. I was able to reach 4500 rpms a lot easier.

15. Curial German sealant ONLY from Busboys. Same as original sealant and oil from case has not leaked a drop.

16. German "Blue" coolant for aluminum engines.

17. German parts throughout

18. LOTS OF TIME CLEANING PARTS. @15 hours just to clean and prep case (I DID not want any leaks)

19. Racing clutch bolts. Twice the holding power of stock bolts.

I also replaced: All hoses from long cooling tubes to engine compartment thermostat and distribution plastic housings- (@ $26 each and easier to replace with engine out). I used stainless steal hardware where possible 13 mm nuts, bolts washers etc.

****In engine rebuilding use ONLY NEW *head bolts the case bolts are different than head bolts. *flywheel bolts *rod bolts and nuts oil pump nuts

*These are stretch bolts and could break!!!

I also replaced the clutch slave, clutch master and brake master cylinder. Easier with engine out and all at once prevents from random failures with 10 year old parts.

All of my engine improvements were mostly "bolt" on. The only thing that took some time was to cut the push rods and grind a little from the rocker arms. (If you have a tube cutter and a bench grinder it should be easy) Also the match porting took some time but was not difficult. In fact, the whole process was quite easy it simply took time researching the upgrade parts and waiting for them to come from CA. The engine was easy to put together.

What I did was to simply to a "stock" rebuild of my engine. I took 18 years of improving the performance of T1(bug), T4(72-79 Bus) and now wasserboxer engines.

I carefully selected the add on to complement each other. Rather than simply strengthened one or two parts I did the whole package to eliminate weak points, parts that have the potential to break. IMHO it is not wise to increase power to a few parts that could stress other parts to failure.

Here are the simple "bolt on" improvements: Quad tip spark plugs Red Line Engine and tranny oil K&N air filter

Bolt on with some minor work: 1.25 ratio rockers Cromoly push rods Turbo muffler Monza single tip

Easy Improvements to stock rebuild: counterweight crank balance rotating parts regrind cam-performance cut from Webcam 3 angle valve job CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN parts

Some work to Improvements to stock rebuild: match port intake, exhaust, oil pump

Protection coating: ceramic coatings to reduce heat in engine compartment and prolong life of all parts in engine compartment

I also installed a European 5 speed tranny with a .70 fifth gear. It bolted right in and works with my stock linkage. The only change is to have the front engine mount shortened by 1.5 inches (I do not have the exact measure but Weddle Engineering does).

All my upgrades are what VW should have done. I did not change anything external, I wanted to have a stock engine. I simply made it run as it ought to have run. I am getting @ 28 mpg now (Should go up when engine FI is finally tuned.)

Still to do: Lighten flywheel the amount the counterweighting added. Install an adjustable FI pressure regulator. Increase fuel pressure 1 to 2 psi above stock 36 psi to see if it improves mpg or power, plus it will work better since the with the cam change the vacuum has also changed a little continue to tune FI

You can order the parts and have a local mech. put all the parts together.

If your engine currently does not need rebuilding, buy an engine and have parts machined and ordered and then have mech. assemble it.

>I am curious as to what you > did and about how much money you have spent to achieve you > accomplishments.

For the tranny and engine mods, plus replacement of a LOT of hoses, seals, H&R springs, FI parts(there was a short in a wire to the distributor hall sensor that cause problems with FI parts) & 6K Engine alone was @3K (Without new heads)

> Time I am sure is something that you will not be able > to put a number on, as it sounds like you spend countless >hours.

@200 hours plus and counting...

> Any info would be helpful as the performance you describe are what > I am striving for and thought it would only be possible with an engine > swap.(or did you aready have that done?)

I DID NOT swap out the engine for some thing else. I have looked at other news groups and many of the engines have their own set of problems to deal with. I choose to address the few problems with the Wasserboxer engine and find a way to fix them, BTW I think I have done that. I have increased the power, increased the gas mileage, increased the durability AND increased the reliability of the engine. While it did cost some money, each part is works together in the over all engine package.

Robert

_______________________________________________________ Get your free, private email at http://mail.excite.com/


Back to: Top of message | Previous page | Main VANAGON page

Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!


Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com


The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.

Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.