FWIW, Back in VW's heyday, maybe even today?, a German Master
Mechanic program apprenticeship took 8 years.

Tom B.-are most of those volks gone?

On Apr 18, 2007, at 11:14 AM, Robert Keezer wrote:

> "European mechanics, and especially German ones,
> are better trained
> than mechanics here in the states, by far."
>
> Bull.. Bunk.. and YNSHO
> (your-no-so-humble-opinion)
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>
> Robert
>
> 1982 Westy
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> --- Matthias Kuster <matthiaskuster@VERIZON.NET>
> wrote:
>
>> Ok, so I finally jump in here also, and here is
>> what I have to say (I
>> have 2 SubieVanagon, one Wolfy and one Westy,
>> both 84s, manual tranny:
>>
>> Subaru's EJ22 absolutely rocks in terms of
>> simplicity, reliability,
>> design, power and sound. As for the 2.5 DOHC,
>> might be better to stay
>> away, the 2.5 SOHC again seems to be
>> bulletproof. Mind you  however
>> that it is a lot of work and fiddling with
>> variables and unknowns, no
>> matter what. That's why they are expensive, yet
>> cheap in the long run.
>> Even so I did blow a rod bearing on my first
>> install, at 180000
>> miles, partly maybe because I had overlooked
>> the o-ring on oil pick
>> up tube, and it was burning oil the whole time.
>> Still lasted 20k
>> miles before it went. This first EJ22 also was
>> an 89, which are
>> rumored to have oil control ring issues. Still
>> this is a used engine
>> of unknown origin, me regularly going 80mph and
>> loaded up. Then had
>> to go to the junkyard, find a donor, do
>> compression test, and swap
>> out long block, which took about 3 days (with
>> experience). I'm good
>> to go again with a resealed engine that has
>> 115k miles on it.
>> I don't agree with the Subie being quieter: At
>> idle yes, tooling
>> around town it is definitely louder, and I have
>> the VW WBX exhaust
>> setup. At freeway travelling speeds it's about
>> the same. The rumble
>> is very "boxer", and sounds even better than a
>> WBX (as well as WRX)
>> me thinks. Mine are also louder because I
>> opened up the intake. I
>> have done a lot of soundproofing on the Westy
>> and it is quieter now
>> than any Vanagon I have ever driven. Will set
>> off car alarms when
>> accelerating, easily.
>> Bottom line is: If you can stick to the
>> original WBXers and get them
>> reliable, my hat is off to you. I went through
>> 2 years of absolute
>> nightmares with my 1.9l, two different shops,
>> both recommended on
>> this list at the time, my Wolfy was in the shop
>> constantly, and they
>> both claimed everytime this time it was fixed
>> (under warranty, which
>> means you have to let the same deadbeats get
>> their hands on it
>> again). It sucked. One shop I sued and they
>> ended up selling the shop
>> before I could collect on a possible judgement.
>> Absolute deadbeats,
>> both of them.
>> European mechanics, and especially German ones,
>> are better trained
>> than mechanics here in the states, by far. They
>> have to be. (I know
>> this is a generalization, and there certainly
>> are exceptions). Add to
>> that a finicky design by Oettinger, which
>> slapped plumbing on an
>> aircooled engine and added rubber gaskets, for
>> chrissake, and you
>> have your work cut out for yourself.
>> The Vanagon is an amazing piece of automobile,
>> from the days when
>> Volkswagen still had a spic left of imagination
>> and innovation.
>> Thesedays VW only has those qualities regarding
>> marketing. Their
>> products have been inferior since at least the
>> mid 90s, and Toyota
>> and Honda (especially) whoop their bums. The
>> Honda Element or Toyota
>> Prius are cars VW might have come up with in
>> their glory days,
>> certainly now they seem lost with all their
>> involvement in Bugatti,
>> Bentley. They lost touch with their roots.
>> Maybe Porsche can sort
>> them out, but I doubt they will ever be what
>> they once were again. I
>> doubt there will ever be a book "How to Keep
>> Your Volkswagen Alive"
>> again. Tons of internal company memos however,
>> without a doubt, will
>> bear that title in the next couple years.
>> So for you die hard Vanagonauts, keep up the
>> good work. After all our
>> Vanagons are from a time   worth remembering,
>> and keeping them
>> original makes sense also.
>>
>> UNITY - RESPECT
>>
>> Matthias
>>
>
>
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