Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1998 09:00:05 -1000
Reply-To: "Gary A. Hollenbeck" <hbeck@HAWAII.RR.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: "Gary A. Hollenbeck" <hbeck@HAWAII.RR.COM>
Subject: Hello to the list!
Content-Type: multipart/mixed;
Hello to everyone,
I have been lurking here on the list for some time now, soaking in all the
super information. We just recently purchased a 1985 Vanagon with what we
were told was a "cracked head." Hehe, I know already what many of you
veterans are thinking. Most of you are probably correct.
Anyway, we got a good price on the van for Hawaii prices I feel. It is in
excellent shape body and interior. Clean on the underside and mechanically
in good condition. I have had quite a bit of "backyard mechanic" experience
so I figured I could pull and replace the heads on the engine myself.
Boy, was I in for a surprise. Dismantling the engine wasn't difficult.
Pulling the heads was a different story. I have never seen such bad
corrosion. It looked as though the coolant hadn't been changed in many
years. Somebody had worked on the engine before and snapped a head stud.
They had tried sealing the leaking head with gobs of sealant. Anyway, I
think you all get my drift. The cylinders were welded to the heads so they
came out with the heads leaving the pistons laying in this undescribable
"muck" I knew at this point I was in for a major rebuild. Sooo, out came
the old wasserboxer and off it went to the machine shop. The people I
brought it to have an excellent reputation here on the island, plus the
owner happens to be a buddy of a buddy. As it turns out, the heads are
rebuildable, the cam was gone. Crankshaft needs turning, and the clutch
disk was shot, along with all the other normal stuff. Total damages
1538.00... phewww. I wasn't quite prepared for that but I do trust the
folks doing the work. He has built an excellent reputation working on these
engines.
So, anyway I pick up the engine this tuesday or wednesday. I believe our
starter is shot also. It looked in real bad shape. Plus it was missing a
couple bolts and screws which left me a little suspicious. I managed to
open the case enough so I could examine the brushes and was hit with an
overwhelmingly acrid burned odor. I was unable to finish dismantling due to
frozen and "previously" stripped out screws. So Ouch, new rebuilt starter
here on the island... 275.00. Ya gotta understand now.. We have owned and
worked on 2 super beetles but overwhelmingly, I have been a Jeep guy. I am
used to a new starter running around 55.00. An engine rebuild which
includes repairing 3 cracks in a head... 950.00. So, while the beetle and
Jeep experience was fairly inexpensive, the Vanagon experience has got me
reeling just a tad.
I intend to have the baby up and running by this next weekend. I have
flushed the coolant system real good. But, was wondering if any of you had
some other tips or recommendations for me prior to and during my upcoming
re-installation.
Sorry for the long post.. but once again thanks to all of you for raising my
Vanagon knowledge level.
Gary A. Hollenbeck
1985 Vanagon with a genuine "wasserleaker."
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