Hi Nathan,

We've had aircooled vanagons and baywindow buses in the family for
over the past 10 years or so. Mom & Dad migrated to watercooled a
couple years ago but I still have an aircooled bus and Dad's work
truck is still an aircooled vanagon.

They're very reliable as long as you don't push them too hard. A few
suggestions:
- Don't expect to fly up hills at 70 MPH. Take your time, and
downshift if the revs start to drop. Lugging the engine reduces oil
flow and cooling fan rpms.
- Install a cylinder head temp gauge. Pull back on the right foot if
the temps pass 450F
- Expect a cylinder head to last about 50000 miles before needing
work. The bottom end should be good for at least 150,000 miles before
a rebuild.
-Make sure all the tinwork and seals are complete and properly
installed. Air leaks in the cooling tin will make for a hotter-
running engine.

Happy Trails,

Greg Potts
1973/74/75/77/79 Westfakia "Bob the Tomato"
www.pottsfamily.ca/westfakia
www.busesofthecorn.com

On 14-Nov-06, at 3:44 PM, Nathaniel Poole wrote:

> I really like the AC powerplant but concerned
> about reliability issues. I posted the same question on Samba, and
> found
> that some folks take the issue of engines very seriously, even
> personally.
> Some are rather offended when I express my concern regarding the AC
> engine's
> shortcomings, while other folks think the Subie is the only way to
> go. What
> is really needed is more factual info to decide if it's worth
> shoehorning in
> a Subie or just keep the AC and trust in God, keep a rabbit's foot
> on my
> keychain, sacrifice a goat and make sure my CAA membership is in good
> standing.