Dustin Jones wrote:

>I'm glad to be back on the list, here is the scoop on my 91 Vanagon Carat.
>On my way home from Virginia Beach, I threw a rod and blew a hole in my
>block (possible because I had a head gasket leak that I neglected ???). I
>towed the van to PA ($450 ouch) and saved my money. I bought a used block
>from a local listmember, and had a mechanic put on brand new
>heads,seals,gaskets......the works (Baum's in New Cumberland PA, excellent
>mechanic). As of a week ago I have been driving the van and all seems well.
>I have been checking the oil level and all fluid levels religiously.
>Anything else I should be doing to make sure everything is OK? I have a oil
>pressure kit from volks cafe lined up and will be installed hopefully next
>week.  Thanks for your help in advance, its good to be back in the saddle
>again.
>
>
>
>
What weight oil are you running, and is it dino or synth? How many miles
now? Have you gone through the break-in mileage and done the oil change,
filter change. What oil filter are you using? The right answers are
important.

Have you read up the information about bearings, rods, and stretching
rodcap bolts on Bob Donalds website. Good stuff. Most - but not all -
rod failures in the 2.1L WBX occur when the rod bolts have stretched
sufficiently to allow the rod end cap to go oval, thus allowing a loss
of oil at the bearing. Result: the bearing runs dry, the metal first
galls then gets really hot then seizes. The sudden stoppage in a moving
mass is going to break something and most times it a rod which when no
longer restrained flys through the case. Bob offer's a solution.

Regards,

John Rodgers
88 GL Driver