Bitter bitter bitter!  You must have been walking recently, I can tell!!  I
hear you on the Waterboxer and I feel your frustration.  First though, you
are right, it is an older vehicle that needs, regularly, a good going over,
just to check lines, etc, etc.  You have to do this with ANY older vehicle.
You have to love to work on your car too (or have the money to pay someone).

Second thing:  If maintained properly, a Wasserboxer can go a long ways my
friend.  I have 137,000 original miles on mine with original heads.  (I say
this next line tenderly...)  This love of an engine does not...and I mean it,
not exaggerating...does not leak a drop of anything.  Nada.  The only oil I
lose is burn off from use.  The thing is a rock.  And yes, getting your idle
and enrichment or whatever, etc, etc, straightened out can sometimes be
frustrating, but once you get those bugs worked out you (1) know your vehicle
pretty well and (2) with regular maintenance and thoughtful driving, that
motor will run until hell freezes over.    And you made it run that way
yourself.....very satisfying.

There is alot of discussion on these lists and yes, people who are anal about
their buses (like me) and they talk about every little thing it does as if it
were a child.  It may give the impression that something is always wrong with
these things, but i think there's just alot of analyzing and pickiness.
Hell, I haven't listened to my radio in the thing for three days because I've
been working on my '85's vacuum system, timing etc.  All I do is go down the
road and listen to the engine.  And now that I've got it idling like a dream,
the radio is still off......i just wanna hear that motor purr.

Yeah, I think I've got the bug bad now.  I love my Waterboxer.

Dustin
'85 Vanagon Passenger -"Chuba"