Help!! 1982 Westy

[CQ]

I need help and reassurance here!! I recently bought a 82 Air Cooled Westy, and was told I will be needing an engine soon. I just talked with a well known mechanic in the area and he told me I made a mistake purchasing this vehicle, that these air cooled ones are terrible and are prone to overheat. I have a 72 that I believe is the same base engine but runs fine. Did I make a big mistake here? That I will have to run synthetic oil (cooler) intall an Oil cooler and a temp gage, and dont let it go past 200 Degrees F.
Can I find a decent rebuilt engine in the SD area that wont pull the wool over my eyes and give me a cheap rebuild? Some one tell me it will all be ok and and these thing are indeed great vehicles, my plan is to keep this one forever since I finally got a pop top.

Thanks for any help.

[RCB]

I run in a 1982 air-cooled Westy and I think its a fine machine. Its not a barn burner but Im never in a hurry to get anywhere...if I am I just leave a little earlier .

I do use Mobil 1 synthetic oil 20-50 and change it and the filter every 30 or so thousand miles. Bosch 7504 (W8CC) plugs and Bosch wires.

Like anything, if its cared for and maintained it will serve you well. Your mechanic probably has seen a few air-cooled Vans that need new engines. Most likely the previous owners ran them into the ground.

Lots of Sambanistas have air-cooled Vans/Westys and I hope they chime in with their opinions, be they good or not so good.

You do need a good engine seal, no vacuum leaks, new fuel lines. The FI system and all its parts and pieces need to operate properly.

What you dont need is a lead foot or the urge to travel at warp speed, other than that I think they are a fine vehicle.

Happy and safe trails to you

[Randy in Maine]

But keep in mind that these engines do work really hard in the Vanagons. That hard work can generate significant heat at the cylinder heads and it is useful to track that heat in order to keep it under control.

A thermally compensated gauge like this is money well spent....

http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=...prd347.htm

If your engine is indeed tired and needs rebuilding, might want to go over here and TALK with Adrian. Tell him you are a vanagon and and want improved heads and want to do it right. You are likely looking at about $3500 or a little better by the time you are done. Good work costs money.

http://www.headflowmaster.com/

[joeboxer428]

After much research, I bought an air cooled instead of a water cooled, and I'm glad I did. The Vanagons all together tend to be a bit problematic, but the air cooled is a simpler engine without the frequently breaking coolant stuff.
I am currently out on the road, driving across the country in mine, and patience is very important with these vehicles. I have driven 2200 miles so far with no overheating to speak of, but I'm going no faster than 55-57 MPH. My mechanic in Spokane told me that if I keep it 55 and under, I will double my chances of making it without breaking down.
With that said, I have broken down. The #3 cylender is the closest to engine heat, and therefore is almost always the first to go in these engines. When I bought mine, the compression was weak in #3 compared with the others, so I knew that I was going to have to deal with that eventually. I had to have the #3-4 heads done and the valves re-seated... to the tune of $1000.

As finicky as these vans can be, I assure you they are worth every penny. Just expect little things to break here and there, and go in with your eyes wide open. As long as you know what to expect, you won't be surprised when something happens. Research these threads as much as you can, and if you're not mechanically inclined like myself, buy repair manuals and get familiar with the basics, because I guarantee you'll be getting your hands into the engine at some point. Vanagons require love and commitment from their owners Good luck!
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"Be the change you want to see in the world" -Gandhi

'83 Air-Cooled Westy "Frank"

[CQ]

Thanks for all the great words. I feel much better about my investment now. Can't wait to get her road worthy!

I did call Adrian and will be going with him I have heard nothing but great stuff about him and I spoke with him over the phone for aboput 10 minutes he seems very knowledgable.

[Randy in Maine]

Suggestion:

While the engine is out, invest some money to get the alternator and starter rebuilt at the local "auto-electric" guy.

Send those injectors off to www.crusinperformance.com or www.witchhunter.com to have them cleaned and calibrated

Clean and paint all of the tinwork and get the heaters to work correctly.

Clean up & paint if needed the engine bay while there is no engine in it.

Start getting new vacuum lines and fuel lines in it.

Re-pack the CV joints.

All of that stuff will make your van more reliable and easier to work on down the road.

[CQ]

Thanks Randy,

Yeah I was planing on cleaning up that area, quick question on the injectors is it worth cleaning them or am I better off buy 'new' form Bus Depot they seem to like 30 some bucks.

[Randy in Maine]

I sent mine to crusin (actually I have sent about 5 sets there over the years) for around $100. Send them the cold start valve also.

They come back with new short hoses and injector seals.

Rich does a nice job.

Witch Hunter also does a nice job they say, but I have not used them.

[DWC]

Although my current Vanagon is water cooled, I did own an 81 air cooled for years. Maybe I was lucky, I never had engine or transmission problems.
When I sold it it had over 130K on it.
The cylinder head temp sensor on the #3 cylinder is a great idea.
I kept my eyes on that sensor especially on long trips. Whenever it started getting hot I'd just slow down. Guess it worked.
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83.5 Westy Waterboxer
71 Squareback
81 Westy
59 Panel van

[RCB]

[RCB]

[reluctantartist]

I went with the aircooled Vanagon too and I don't regret it....mine had over 150k on the engine before needing to be overhauled which happened because of the cooling fan bolts shearing off causing it to overheat, otherwise I think I could have made it to close to 200k on that engine as the compression up to that point was still very good on all of the cylinders. I have heard of other people getting over 150k on these engines too when they are maintained correctly, not bad for a 1980's engine. It is really important to make sure the engine compartment is air tight and the thermostat works this is where most people screw up.

[CQ]

Thanks again for all the advice.
I just purchased the vehicle a little bit ago and was told not to drive because the engine was blown it smoked in the Grapevine then it stall when hot and will not restart until it is cold again.

So I did a compression check on the cylinders and all within spec (Cyl 1 115psi, Cyl 2 80psi, Cyl 3 110psi, Cyl 4 75psi).

So I decided to drive it and put some gas in it and drive back home until it died and I could not start it again. Then I noticed fuel leaking from the tank. So maybe this leads me to think it is a fuel problem , besides the safety factor, could a not sealed tank cause the engine to not run right? Pitter patter and not start for a bit.

[Randy in Maine]

Maybe although you are really at the wear limits for your type 4 engine.

Do you own a fuel pressure guage yet? This thing will not start or run until it can maintain 26 psi at minimum in the fuel rail.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/VDO-153008/

Make sure you own about 3-4' of 7mm fuel pressure line and some good clamps and then go here...

http://www.itinerant-air-cooled.com/viewtopic.php?t=213

[CQ]

Yeah I know I will be needing an engine soon then but hopefully this one will last me some to get it smogged and enjoy the Van for the summer, so I can save up some money to get the engine with out too much pain.

Thanks for the tips on the fuel system. I just ordered the gauge you suggested. I did check the fuel pump and it is getting juice and an at least turning, took me a bit to realize that there is only juice while you are cranking the the car. Which I don't get how that is, because how does it work after teh car is running?

[Randy in Maine]

The nickel tour is that the fuel pump starts up using 1/2 of the double relay and is powered up via the starter. Once the engine starts, the fuel pump is operated off the AFM adn switches to the other side of the double relay for power.

Been here?

http://www.itinerant-air-cooled.com/viewtopic.php?t=5460

[ttamasle]

[CQ]

Yes I agree slow and steady does win teh race. I currently drive my 72 Bus and have gone pretty much up and down Cali in the summer just camping. And at time I feel it really wants to go I always try to keep it under 70 and make all my camping spots about 3-4 hour long trips.
Thanks again for all your help guys, the Vanagon is at the shop I am hoping the mechanic will work some miracles and tell me the engine is ok, and will last a little bit longer, or else I will go see Adrian.

Tomorrow is a big investment day... maybe.

[CQ]

OK here is the update on my 1982 Westy. Came back from the shop and the what I feared the worse is now true. Diagnoses = New Engine

So here is the low down on what I am going to be doing per my Sambista buddies. Let me know if I am missing anything or should add to this.
-Long Block from Adrian at HeadFlow
-Either New, or send injectors to get cleaned per Randy suggestions.
-Fuel Tank Seal Kit (it is leaking)
-New Fuel hoses/ Filters
-Alt Belt (it is a 2 year old alternator)
-Engine Head Temp Gauge
-Engine Seal, and clean area around Engine to body interface.
-New Plugs/Wires/Cap/Rotor

So now my question is am I missing anything, and remember I dont want to be putting in tons of money quite yet since this is already going to break my budget. But any critical suggestions you guys can think of would be appreciated so I can not ever think about the engine again (well at least for another 150K miles

[FNGRUVN]

Have you looked into getting a "Camper Special" engine from Jake Rabi? A little more money, but I hear it's well worth it. Do a search on this forum and in the Bay forum to find out more info. 82westyman put one in his vanagon and really liked the results.

The VW Pro Training Manual is a great resource for troubleshooting the fuel system. It explains the theory of operation and breaks down each component's function and how to check. You can view this book on Dogpilots website or get lucky and find a hard copy on ebay.

You might want to think about installing a good oil cooler and a oil temp gauge. Lots of good info on this in the archives.

Check out some of my gallery pics for some inspiration.
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"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote." - Benjamin Franklin