My first (bought new) Vanagon GL went 212K miles before throwing a rod,
so I don't disagree about the basic reliability.  I ALWAYS used the blue
goo and clean (not distilled) water as coolent.  I had to change the
water pump three times during it's lifetime, the third one only a year
before the rod went.  That works out to not much more than 60K miles
each. More irritating was having the power steering actuator die every
60K and having the dealer tell me that that's what happened with all of
'em.  After the second one went, rather than pony up $600+ for a rebuilt
I just took the belt off the PS pump and ran the thing without.

The problem is getting a decently rebuilt engine. Around here they're
about $4K.  I make my living off my rolling toolbox.  I can keep up with
routine maintenance no problem, but cannot tolerate breakdowns.  That's
one reason I got a straight Vanagon as a replacement.  Very simple under
the hatch, including no PS. Frankly, I'd rather pop off a couple of easy
access plastic covers and replace a couple of $30 dollar belts than
change a PS rack, or a WBX water pump.  I'd also like to not have to run
at such high throttle settings to get around the hilly San Diego
freeways and canyons.  I don't need a hotrod van, but in the interest of
reliability it's better for an engine to spend most of its time at 40%
than at 80% throttle.  So for the same money I'm gonna go with 130hp
instead of another 72hp.

Ed

John Lunetta wrote:

>The waterboxer is a fine engine and reliable if properly maintained. A couple of tips: Always use the right antifreeze and distilled water. Change the oil and filter every 3000 miles, and use VW oil filters or at least mann/mahle brand. Don't let small problems and strange noises go unattended. And lastly don't drive it like an american muscle car. John 90 vanagon gl --170,000 miles original engine.
>And I don't know why any one would want to use a subaru engine that has two timing belts that have to be replaced every 60,000 miles along with the water pump. Not cheap, I know I had a subaru, 3 timing belt changes in 206,000 miles.
>