[Vwdiesel] Wasserboxer Westy

Tue Aug 13 14:59:08 PDT 2013

I'm very pleased with my turbo diesel! A lot fewer engine electrical
issues! I think www.boxeer.com shows the Subie turbo diesel?

Velma 82 na diesel westy
On Aug 13, 2013 4:55 PM, "Tad" <tadc at europa.com> wrote:

> Torque absorber - I like that. :)
>
> Thanks Andrew, that's a wealth of knowledge.
>
> What do you say are pros/cons of auto vs. manual?  I tend to favor
> manuals, but I imagine that introduces a whole layer of PITA when you're
> dealing with linkages running the length of the vehicle.
>
> Is there any telltale to know if the trans has been updated, or do you
> just have to ask? :)  At what point did the stock trans's get the updated
> slider?
>
> Any opinion on the Subaru conversion?
>
> What about non-drivetrain concerns (other than rust)?  Problems with the
> poptop, plumbing, electrical?
>
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Aug 13, 2013 at 1:56 PM, Andrew .Libby <libbybapa at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> It's a big topic and worthy of a longer response than I have time to
>> write at this time.  Vanagons have held their value well and in the last
>> decade have appreciated remarkably.  It is very rare to see a good running
>> clean straight syncro (no 'H') Westy sell for less than $25,000.  With
>> upgrades in powerplant, suspension, brakes, etc..., it is not unheard of to
>> see them sell from owners fo over $60,000.  GoWesty is known to have sold a
>> few completely restored and thoroughly upgraded ones for over $100,000! 8-O
>>
>> As far as issues with used vehicles, there are a few that I would point
>> out.  Rust is the worst.  Luckily I'm in AZ where it is mostly a non-issue.
>>  I'm not really a fan of any of the stock vanagon engines that were
>> available in North America.  The 1.6 non-turbo diesel is pathetically
>> underpowered in a 4,000 lb vanagon.  The air cooled 2.0 flat four gas
>> engine that was offered for the first 3 years is a little better WRT power,
>> but got 20ish mpg at best, is fairly high maintenance/unreliable with the
>> valve seat dropping issue and is very expensive now to source or rebuild.
>>  Underpowered, expensive and unreliable doesn't leave much to like.  As has
>> been mentioned, the water-cooled gas engines tended to have leaky head
>> gasket issues.  This was largely due to the fact that VW spec'd the coolant
>> as lifetime coolant.  To their credit, sorta, most of the issues occurred
>> after the warranty period...  The 1.9 waterboxer (WBX) is a little better
>> than the air-cooled for power.  Still grossly underpowered by today's
>> standards, but does reasonably well and is a stout little engine provided
>> the recommended coolant change interval of 'never' is ignored. :-)  Every
>> two or three years is a reasonable interval.  The 2.1 WBX is almost
>> reasonably powered when coupled to a manual trans.  The 2.1 got TTY rod
>> bolts which are known to fail around 150,000-200,000 miles.  When a rod
>> bolt fails the engine is destroyed usually beyond even being a core.  The
>> manual transaxles had a faulty part, the 3-4 slider hub (4-5 slider ont he
>> 5-speeds) which was originally machined with square edged grooves and so
>> stress fractures occur.  The faulty part was actually used back in the bay
>> buses also but wasn't really an issue due to the reduced power output of
>> the older stock engines.  The vanagon manuals usually fail around
>> 150,000-200,000 miles due to the slider.  Often the issue is seen as being
>> stuck in or stuck out of 3rd or 4th (4th and 5th w/ the 5-speed).  Often
>> times the sticking will happen just briefly and one is able to keep driving
>> until the broken bits turn what was a rebuildable core into shrapnel.  I
>> have one broken slider hub on my wall of shame.  Luckily I knew enough to
>> stop driving the van and pulled it for rebuilding prior to further damage.
>>  Once rebuilt with the updated slider (later ones have rounded grooves) the
>> manuals are known to last incredibly long times depending on how much
>> torque is pushed through them.  The automatics are the 010 3-speed used in
>> lots of VW/Audi vehicles of the era and are known to be very robust units
>> albeit limited in their regearing options.
>>
>> As far as diesel conversions, I have done several of them using the
>> 1.6TD, 1.9TD (AAZ), 1.9TDI AHU/1Z and the 1.9TDI ALH.  The TDI conversions
>> I have done to date have all used mechanical injection pumps built by me.
>>  At some point I may do a full electronic install just for the fun of it,
>> but the added unreliability of the added layer of complexity tends to
>> curtail the fun.  I'd rather have the higher quality end product of a
>> properly built mechanical TDI (mTDI) than the full-electronic engine
>> management and so I've been waiting for someone stubborn enough to pay me
>> to do an electronic conversion.  :-)  I currently own three vanagons.  One
>> is an '84 pop-top with an AAZ coupled to a 4-speed manual trans.  The AAZ
>> is intercooled and running a k14.  Another is an '83 high top camper with
>> an AHU mTDI, intercooled and running a VNT15 with mechanical vane control
>> coupled to a 5-speed manual.  The third is a '91 tintop ALH installed at
>> 15° and coupled to an automatic with the taller european 3.7 R+P.  I have
>> big plans for the ALH but it is currently non-intercooled and running a
>> VNT15 with stationary vanes.  Despite baing very detuned from what it will
>> be when I'm done with it, it will thoroughly spank a 2.1 WBX and despite
>> routine flogging and the torque absorber in the automatic trans, it manages
>> to pull off better than 25 MPG with all in-city driving.
>>
>> I don't know if I answered the question...  Anyway, I hope that helps in
>> some way.
>>
>> Andrew
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Aug 13, 2013 at 10:25 AM, ralph meyermann <
>> ralphmeyermann at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> There are a few out there with inline turbo diesels, and Subaru has a
>>> turbo
>>> diesel engine for around 6k if ya want to keep it diesel? Or find a 1.6
>>> na
>>> westy and upgrade like I have recently done?
>>>
>>>
>>> Velma 82 na diesel westy
>>> On Aug 13, 2013 10:54 AM, "James Hansen" <jhsg at sasktel.net> wrote:
>>>
>>> > Hey Tad.
>>> > Coolant system was an issue. The head has very narrow sealing ridges
>>> where
>>> > it meets the head gasket, corrosion was a real issue if coolant was
>>> > never/seldom changed... and they are like a 305 head, too narrow to
>>> skim.
>>> > When you are shopping, if the owner gives you a dumb look when you ask
>>> when
>>> > the coolant was changed last, consider passing, or price out what
>>> heads and
>>> > gaskets cost these days.  If it looks like it has had ANY stop leak
>>> product
>>> > used, pass, as it's probably sick already. Coolant pipes to the front
>>> were
>>> > prone to corrosion as well.
>>> > They were an excellent powertrain otherwise... By now, there are quite
>>> a
>>> > few
>>> > around that have a sick motor, bad head gaskets, etc, and are good
>>> > candidates for a diesel or other conversion. Saw a marvelous synchro on
>>> > Vancouver Island a few years back with a 911 6 cylinder shoehorned
>>> into the
>>> > back, lift kit, roo bars all round, big warn winch hanging out the
>>> front,
>>> > it
>>> > was awesome.
>>> > If Andrew Libby is off playing a gig on a mountaintop or something and
>>> > doesn't catch this, be sure you get to pick his brain before you go
>>> > looking,
>>> > especially a synchro, he's btdt.
>>> > On a personal note, I looked at wasserboxers for years.  I have never
>>> seen
>>> > stuff that held value for so long.  I still have my 73 westy that I
>>> > restored
>>> > while in university, and wanted to move up to the slightly more
>>> spacious
>>> > interior with a real fridge. The wasserboxers were the next logical
>>> step,
>>> > it
>>> > was around 1996... and I saw so many bad ones, I sort of gave up and
>>> went
>>> > the truck camper route since we could use my parents old one that I
>>> camped
>>> > in with them as a kid, they had gone to a 5th wheel trailer.  We've
>>> moved
>>> > up
>>> > from that to a larger truck camper 5 years ago which was a huge
>>> mistake,
>>> > because it has a shower, and if we lost the shower to go back to a
>>> westy
>>> > after the kids no longer camp with us, that would be most most most
>>> > unpopular, except maybe for a weekend getaway.
>>> > -james
>>> >
>>> > -----Original Message-----
>>> > From: vwdiesel-bounces at vwfans.com [mailto:vwdiesel-bounces at vwfans.com]
>>> On
>>> > Behalf Of Tad
>>> > Sent: August-12-13 5:40 PM
>>> > To: VW diesel mail list
>>> > Subject: [Vwdiesel] Wasserboxer Westy
>>> >
>>> > Hey all - not strictly diesel content, but ya'll seem to know
>>> everything so
>>> > I figured I'd ask.
>>> >
>>> > I'm thinking about looking for a VW camper van, probably a wasserboxer.
>>> >  Thinking maybe end of summer would be a good time to pick one up from
>>> > someone who's decided to move on to bigger and better things.
>>> >
>>> > So, I'm looking for suggestions/ideas as to what to look for and where
>>> to
>>> > look for it, weak spots, known issues, etc.
>>> >
>>> > Any thoughts or comments greatly appreciated!
>>> >
>>> > Thanks,
>>> >
>>> > Tad
>>> > _______________________________________________
>>> > Vwdiesel mailing list
>>> > Vwdiesel at vwfans.com
>>> > http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/vwdiesel
>>> >
>>> > _______________________________________________
>>> > Vwdiesel mailing list
>>> > Vwdiesel at vwfans.com
>>> > http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/vwdiesel
>>> >
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Vwdiesel mailing list
>>> Vwdiesel at vwfans.com
>>> http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/vwdiesel
>>>
>>
>>
>