William, I had 200,000 miles on my 85GL ...with original engine....and drove it
from Anchorage, Alaska to Birmingham, Alabama......in 7 days....by myself. The
water pump gave up the ghost without warning just 50 miles short of my
destination. If you have a tight engine, all the indicators are good...like
no/low oil consumption, no water leaks, etc. Do a compression check, then go for
it....make your trip. The vanagon is a mechanical thing ( I know, they hate it
when someone says that) and even a new engine has the possibility of blowing up.
You know that something mechanical is laying out there in the future. Just set
aside a repair/replacement reserve. Should take care of any problems. Sounds
like you have a reasonably secure vehicle to drive.

Get on down the pike! (A spare water pump, CV w/boot & grease might be a good
thing to have on board, along with additional coolant)

Best of luck,

John Rodgers
"88 GL driver

WFryer wrote:

> The other day a post from Ken Wilfy commented on expected longevity of the
> waterboxer engine.  As I understood it, he thought that the bottom end got
> tired around 150K and you should think about rebuilding by 175K miles.  I go
> on 2,000 mile trips several times a year in my '86 Syncro with 165K - am I
> pushing it?  I don't want to break down with a blown engine a long way from
> home.  Should I think about rebuilding as a matter of preventive
> maintenance?  The engine has never been apart expect for changing one head
> at about 110,000 miles because it went porous - the deck was fine.  It runs
> good, no oil consumption, gas mileage as good as ever (19-21 mpg).  Opinions
> and experience welcome?  My mechanics engine blew unexpectedly at around
> 130K!