Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 23:56:22 -0500
Reply-To: Benoit <huotb@VIDEOTRON.CA>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Benoit <huotb@VIDEOTRON.CA>
Subject: Re: Vngns ARE junk! Wilder's Law
In-Reply-To: <4233ADBD.4070606@earthlink.net>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
"""why not just limp the original until it died?"""
I agree... i guess he was scared... or in need of a new gadget engine
(he he he Larry)...but what he told me made sense, a bit more power
because of it's heavy load... Let's not forget one thing, this engine
deal look pretty good.
Now, we know one thing, in general, VW rebuilt engine are crap in
general...they simply don't last... most people and customer i know
don't have more than 30 to 40 k miles before a major overall!!!!!!!!
So, in that sense, VW west are Junk, not the van but the engine side of
it!!!!
We are way far of a very reliable Honda engine that will do way more
than 200k miles on a engine without any major maintenance!!!!!!!!!!! I
work on both company all day long...VW is wat far from Honda technology.
"""Why did he get all new ones? Then a couple thousand miles later he
has a failure."""
It is call prevention, for some, it's a must, fot others, it is not a
need...now, who are we to judge what degree of prevention is good for
one...and for others??????????????? I agree on some stuff.... Maybe he
went to far as for prevention...but i am not the one to judge!!!
"""These folks were going to the tip of South America and back in a
group of VW vans.""""
I met them, a least 1 of those folks...one is in Orlando! Keeth. His
trip was not about a van....but about a trip!
I think there is aminimum that can be done before a big trip like that....
Mark, am not like that...remember, you help me change a shifter
bushing.... i did not do much before i left Montreal for that Mexico
trip, i left MTL with a verry sick engine, and i have paid the
price....i had a lot of other problems also!!!!!!! now, in the past
years, i have learned a lot on VW, and i know now what should be done /
check and what should be left...to destiny.... like wheel bearing.
Still, i made it home with that same sick engine.....
But i still do anything i can before any long trip.....and my trip a way
longer than most of you guys....
That means:
-Good engine, good compression.
-Good drive axles
-Good brakes
-Starter, alternator, regulator, fuel pump.
-Fuel filter, air filter
-Good battery.
-Tires, distributor, cap, rotor, wires, plugs and pointes...
-Good exhaust sytem
My few last trips where trouble free.... i do more than 4500 miles per
trip, some pass the 12000 miles.
I now know more on those van/bus than most (and am being humble!) of the
guys here.....and i still own 2 VW, one 84 Vanagon and my beloved
73......which one do i chose for long trip.....the 73!
I have now 3 split Vanagon engine i my shop, 2 Bus's engine, 2 tranny....
Cheers Mark, Ben
mark drillock wrote:
> I'm not sure he needed a new engine in the first place. Why was it
> done? The compression readings he posted in Aug 2002 seemed to be what
> prompted the whole engine saga. Given how far and how often Larry
> ended up limping around the country on crippled rebuilt motors it
> certainly seems possible to me that he might have been better off
> sticking with the original until it died, assuming it even did. If he
> was willing to limp the high dollar motors around so often, why not
> just limp the original until it died?
>
> There were other breakdowns that occurred all too soon after he had
> replaced parts. Wheel bearings come to mind. Why did he get all new
> ones? Then a couple thousand miles later he has a failure. Was there
> even a failure to start with or was the full replacement another
> preemptive effort gone bad?
>
> Over many years on this and other VW van lists there have been stories
> from people who spent great sums on their Vanagon getting ready for a
> big trip. The Caravana trip list comes to mind. These folks were going
> to the tip of South America and back in a group of VW vans. Some
> members replaced a lot of expensive things before the trip and still
> had those same things break down early on. Perhaps there is something
> to be learned from this.
>
> The syrup was good, Ben, thanks!
>
> Mark
>
>
> Benny boy wrote:
>
>> """As for Larry, he made what seems like a classic mistake to me. Some
>> people figure that you can preemptively replace enough stuff as an
>> insurance policy to ensure a more trouble free trip. Time and again
>> this has proven to be a waste of time and money. Fix what is truly
>> broken and save the rest of the money until you really need to spend
>> it."""
>>
>> I don't agree Mark... when you leave for a 1 to 2 years trip, you do
>> as much
>> as you can so you won't loose to much time in the shop.... that is
>> 60k miles
>> trip! not your everyday weekend trip.
>>
>> He did one thing wrong, and he knows about it! Wrong choice of
>> engine....but
>> look now, he as an broken AVP after 9k miles...
>>
>> Life IS A risk!
>>
>> Cheers, Ben
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
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