91 Westy Camper: Time for rebuild? Swap? [Resolved]

[HackAl]

Does anybody have a contact number for Andrew Flint other than the main number? I had a conversation with him and he's willing to help but I need to coordinate the delivery.

There does not appear to be an answering machine hooked up. Maybe an email address?
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91 Westy.

Ever consider temporarily trading your van? Join the list.

[jimf909]

He's a member here. Last visited...today. If I lived 140 miles away from him I'd put my van on the annual installment plan of preventative maintenance and make appointments 1-3 months in advance (or six if needed). It's good to see you post here, it seems like it's been awhile.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=213605
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- Jim

[HackAl]

Thanks Jim. I read more than I post.
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91 Westy.

Ever consider temporarily trading your van? Join the list.

[vanagonjr]

[bobbyblack]

Nobody has mentioned calling around to places that do transplants to ask about engines that have been running fine, but were removed to do the transplant. Those can go for as little as the cost of driving there to pick it up.

I read the part where you endeavored to replace your tent. This gives me complete confidence that you have the perseverance aplenty to drop an engine, and put another one in it's place (WBX). Seriously, the tent install is something I found to be very taxing on my skill set, I've often said that if I were asked to do somebody else's tent, I would have to quote them $1,000.00 minimum, and no guarantee on results. Engines are only a few bolts away from being on the floor.

My primary spare engine came from such a transplant, it came with all the bits and bobs still attached, and a fine exhaust too. To drop an engine like that is pretty simple, there are plenty of videos, and forum topics on it. The only trick is to support the transaxle while the engine is lowered, and that is almost not a trick at all, just a piece of 4X4 and a chain.

You can do this! I can tell

-bobby
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'87 Westy 'Flossie','86 Westy 'R1','86 tintop GL - Subi2.2 'J2','83.5 stock tintop L 'ZoomBus','74 Karmann Ghia, '63 Notch

[vanagonjr]

[HackAl]

John, thanks for reaching out to Andrew. We connected today. His phone service was out.

Bobby, I really appreciate the vote of confidence. That tent nearly wrecked me.
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91 Westy.

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[Love My Westy]

I am kind of in the same boat as HackAl. I have an 86 Weekender with 170,000 miles with the original 2.1. It is still running strong and I can just keep driving it, but my tranny has started leaking from the seal where the bellhousing attaches to the tranny. I talked to my mechanic about rebuilding the tranny and we called the rebuilder he uses. They wanted to know what engine I wanted to run with their tranny rebuild so they wouldn't have problems with it. I have been thinking about a FAS non turbo 2.0 but I haven't fully decided on that or just going with a GW2.2. I did my own head gaskets at 108K miles and they have not shown any signs of leakage.

So what I have is a tranny that needs work but is forcing me to make engine choices for the future. One thing I did find out is that the warranty on the tranny with a Subie engine is much shorter due to the dramatic increase is HP.

[ThinkingD]

May be a bit far but with the exchange rate Quebec might be a consideration. I had a VW 2.0 from a 2015 Jetta (132,000 km) installed turn-key for $7,500 + tax in fall 2022, (I think it is a bit more now). This guy is on his 75th conversion like this, mine was his 71st or 72nd.

https://mecaniquemartin.com/

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87 Titian Red Westfalia 2.0 VW I4 SOHC manual Ottawa, Ontario

[16CVs]

Don’t drink the Kool Aid. If your van was running fine and blew a head gasket then put ahead gasket on it and keep going. It would be good to know oil pressure as a baseline.

If you we doing it yourself I’d re use the heads After some clean up and keep going. I think conversions are great as an enthusiast and compotet wrench turner.

I have both a WBX and a Subaru 2.2 in Ca and most days I prefer the WBX. What is the finished cost of a conversion now A days?

My
0.2
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1987 Syncro Westfalia Triple knob (bastard)
1989 Syncro Tristar Triple knob "Swedish"
2013 Jetta Hybrid a true "Zwitter"
Samba member # 14980
Call anytime number 650 722 4914 .
Keep Your van running and upkept tastefully for the love of the hobby.
Don't let your van end up in an "abortions" thread.

[skills@eurocarsplus]

[khughes]

[4Gears4Tires]

[Sodo]

$7500 would leave a few bucks for a gearbox rebuild. Wouldn't that be nice?

At 169,000 your gearbox might still have some good parts in it.
If it's been maintained.
If some serial-maintainer-owner changed the oil every 15-30k or something, the gears and R&P could last almost forever (with 90HP).
Then all you need is new hubs, synchronizers, bearings etc.

But almost nobody maintains a transaxle (at all), just the nutcases.
Many owners still have the original 35 year-old oil from the factory, grinding everything up to scrap metal.
The Owners manual states that the gearbox oil does not need to be changed, and most owners complied.
And as such, most gearboxes were 'used up' by the previous owners.
And many subsequent owners did the same in the 2nd 100,000 miles, so by now, they're all too far 'gone' for just new bearings, hubs, sychronizers.
Your gearbox is a little 'lucky' in that nobody has yet hung a big engine on it.
Especially during it's geriatric stage.

Anyway, the condition of your gearbox is worthwhile to know.
The 3rd/4th gear hub should be replaced somewhere around 150k miles or it can destroy the whole gearbox.
It's like a 'timing belt', in a way, a widely known maintenance item for about 20 years now.

And there's that danged front ground strap, beckoning amperes to pass internally across your bearings (very high-precision rolling elements).

All that said......I just talked to a guy who has 410,000 on his gearbox, about 250 of that with a Subaru 2.2. But it's noisy right now and he's taking it to Ken Porter in the SF Bay area.
You should never drive a gearbox on an antique vehicle 'until noisy'.
That's ruining stuff (geniune German OEM parts) that are irreplaceable.

Does the shifter move when you accel/decel going down a steep grade?
Put one finger on the gear lever and check this.
Note the distance of movement in BOTH 2nd gear and 3rd gear.
And for this test - your shifter bushings have to be in decent condition, easy-shifting, & well lubed.
Prob should squirt the shifter slider bushings with oil before the test.
A new gearbox should have zero gear lever movement.
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'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[ThinkingD]

Yes dropped off the Van for a month and paid $7500 + tax on pickup and drove it home. New timing belt, water pump, and coil pack on motor. Fly by wire pedal and ODB2 port at dash.
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87 Titian Red Westfalia 2.0 VW I4 SOHC manual Ottawa, Ontario

[MarkWard]

[HackAl]

Just a quick update: Andrew has it now. Preliminary reports looks good. Hopefully just a gasket replacement, but we'll also replace water pump, thermostat, hoses, etc. while we at it. Will also change transaxle fluid.

More to come.
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91 Westy.

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[HackAl]

Just to close the loop on this thread, I retrieved the van this past weekend from Flint European Automotive. It is running tip-top now.

Andrew replaced the head gaskets and a bunch of other components that were beyond redemption. He installed an oil pressure gauge kit that I purchased from Van-Again.

I was very impressed with Andrew's guidance, execution and follow-through.

Thanks to everyone who provided help and suggestions here. Very much appreciated.

Al
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91 Westy.

Ever consider temporarily trading your van? Join the list.

[jlrftype7]

[dabaron]

awesome Al, now it's time to camp!
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1991 Vanagon GL Camper
i had no idea i wanted to be a mechanic
"burnin oil and cookin coils" -- Destructo

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