I have owned many turbo diesel VW's with great success.  The last one went
200,000 miles on AMSOIL 15W-40 changed every 10,000 miles in my 86 Jetta.
No reason to believe it couldn't do the same in a vanagon.  Overheating is
the biggest problem to try to avoid.  Put in a temperature gauge for the
coolant and oil and keep an eye on it when you are pushing a head wind or
hill climbing with a load or high speed highway driving (65 MPH+).  I even
insulated the exhaust side of my turbo charger to minimize heat loss and
reduce spool up time.  don't do this if you are going to use petroleum oil
though!!  It will coke up and plug the oil flow to the turbine and you will
have to replace it.
TEMiller
----- Original Message -----
From: "zolo" <zolo@FOXINTERNET.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, January 21, 2004 8:51 PM
Subject: TDI or not?

If I get a Vanagon with a turbo diesel, would it be having more trouble than
if I bought a diesel without turbo?
I understand it would have more power, but I would not want to invite more
trouble either.  I, as most here, dream of a Westy that does not need
fixing...  One would say; dream on...
Any comments on this issue?
Zoltan