Input on an 83 water-cooled

[bdsobel]

Have not posted in a looong time...anyway I have my 80 Westy (New York based van), love it...but am out here in San Diego now and found a beautiful 83 water-cooled Westy. Very clean interior and zero rust, 73k original miles, second owner but he only put 4k miles on it. Runs very smooth but I am worried about it being the first year water-cooled engine. are they problems? he tells me it has never had a problem and has constantly been maintained, and that does show. but overall, would I be in for much more $ for repairs than I would with my air-cooled 80?
I am looking to get a nice rust free clean CA westy back to NY within the next year or so.
any input would be great
thanks

[weinerwagen]

You might want to read the articles on www.vanagon.com on the head issues. It's all about care and owner service

I own a bunch of these water cooled, including the 1.9's, they are great, yah they have head issues...but the previous owners did not take care of them

the heads get corroded from bad anti freeze that eats away on the head surface, causing rust that will form leaks

i have one with 225K on the clock, the heads were removed and cleaned once, re surfaced, put back on,.,,, I have another one I bought from a crook in Van Nuys that has been a problem child, and only recently have I plugged all the vacuum leaks, got the run-ability issues worked out, it has 117K on it...with new AMC heads on it now

you will enjoy the power and the quietness of the waterleakers, just use good anti freeze and have a ball...now, wanna talk diesels??????

[Alan Brase]

I really question the theory of wrong antifreeze. Of the 4 waterboxers I have, 1 was bought new by my brother, and he got the dealer to put new heads on it within 2 to 2-1/2 years. WHERE DID THE WRONG ANTIFREEZE COME FROM? Hannover, that's where! In 1995, I bought it from him. Somewhere along the way, I drained the antifreeze and refilled it with Sierra. Sierra has no phosphates, but is not recognized to be the RIGHT STUFF by the faithful. This damn thing STILL DOES NOT leak. (Doesn't have such hot oil pressure, though!)
I've redone the heads on 2 others with mixed results. One thing I did notice was that there is definitely black silicone oozing out of the joint on the good engine. I think that keeps the oxygen away better than just the gasket, and that just may be the secret. (This stuff comes in the elring gasket kits.)
Now if you want to talk diesels, I've got a few opinions on those, too.
Al
69 doublecab (and 6 Vanagons)

[weinerwagen]

I agree about the anti freeze, I've been using WALMART stuff for years on both gas, diesel and now the waterboxers...

yeah, when I tear down an engine I get all that corrosive crap, but once its cleaned up, rebuilt and replaced with good anti freeze no more problems

my diesels have over 100K on the clock, all run Walmart generic coolant
one just made a 600 mile trek from SOcal TOWING a 88 Jetta with a tow dolly,

I figure if the head was weak, it would have blown....but it didnt! So what works for me....
_________________
Retired attorney--Tort King.

[Alan Brase]

One thing I forgot to mention: All antifreeze comes with corrosion inhibitors.They don't last forever. Changing antifreeze every two years would be a good way to keep them working.
Al
69doublecab