I just thought I would write a few thoughts about Vanagons. A 91 GL is my only car. I picked it up early = last spring to replace my 84 GL. I guess that I have been driving = Vanagons for about 6 years now and I really love them. Way back when, I also = had a 65 split window Deluxe Bus. Since July, I have run into a number of = busses that I couldn't pass up. I have been buying them, fixing them, and = selling them. Two of the ones I got were parts cars. The rest, 3 = Westy's and a GL are sold or for sale. Most have needed engines.

I have dismantled 2 - 1.9 and 1 -2.1 engines during the course of = this period. One 1.9 had 85,000 miles and a broken crank shaft (I = believe it was lugged a lot). The heads were in very good shape, but with a = minimal amount of corrosion. The other 1.9 had a very badly burnt = valve and the both heads were cracked between the seats. The corrosion was pretty bad. The 2.1 had 2 broken con rods and 2 holes in the block. = The heads were very corroded. In all three cases, the = corrosion happened only between the heavy rubber head gasket and the head. There was absolutely no corrosion in any area that anti freeze comes in contact = with. All 3 of these engines came to me with green anti freeze in them. I = can only conclude that the anti freeze has nothing to do with the corrosion of = the heads. None of the studs had any appreciable amount of corrosion either.

That said, I am in the practice of using phosphate free anti = freeze and distilled water anytime I drain and flush one of these = systems. I just took the green stuff out of my 91 today. The rear heater core was = leaking and I replaced it with a new one (Bus Depot) along with a new = valve. I also replaced the thermostat and both temp. senders. The 91 has = been running cold since I got it. I didn't worry about it too much this = hot summer, but wanted to be sure that I was heating up the oil since it has = turned cold. The 2.1 thermostat housing works very well and I think it is = a big improvement over the 1.9's with one exception. My 91 is very clean = and the body is totally rust free underneath. The engine is clean = and the air tubes on the fuel injection are still about 90% painted. = However, the bolts on the thermostat housing were completely rusted. The 4 = that hold the cover on were rusted to the point that a 10 mm, six point = socket slipped around the hex. The 2 bolts that hold the housing to the = head were Allen socket heads. They were so bad I could not get the Allen = wrench into the holes even after I scraped all the loose rust out. I ended up = using vice grips to remove the housing and then the cover. Where is the = good German engineering in the fasteners in the engine compartment?