On 1/12/08, Allan Streib <streib@cs.indiana.edu> wrote:
> My sensibilities are that tossing a Zetec after 100K miles should not
> be necessary.  However if you really can get a long block with under
> 10K miles for the prices Jim was talking about then you really have
> to question the financial wisdom of ever doing a major repair.  We
> seem to have arrived at the disposable engine.

You are right, it isn't necessary. But if you also fail to consider
the benefits of doing so, you're missing out on a whole new realm of
potential, and indeed could be wasting time, effort, and cash. While
the term "disposable" is likely abhorrent to most in vanagonland, the
fact is, that the engine is still recycled... it isn't "thrown away"
like a coffee cup, or piece of cheap furniture. While there is
something to be said of maintaining those things that are truly
valuable and irreplaceable in life, if the cost of doing so comes at
the expense of your actual time alive, and the resources with which
you live, then the argument begins to fade. moreover if the threshold
at which something becomes replaceable shifts, you *must* reevaluate
your position or risk losing the validity of the original decision.

In which case are you more likely to succeed with your van? In one
where you can be self sufficient? Or in one in which you depend on
others? Can you remove and replace an engine? Yes, guys that have
never done more than an oil change can be educated in short order to
do this, handle a timing belt? Less so, depends on the complexity of
the implementation. Do a head gasket? Yes, but perhaps a total novice
shouldn't be touching it... rebuild the whole engine? Certainly not in
the vast majority of cases. There are threads on boards all over the
web littered with failures of this type. Keeping the risk exposure
down, leaving the riskiest most involved tasks to others unless you
plan to dedicate enough time, energy,and competence to properly
conduct yourself are all things that people already do when it comes
to cars.. the mere discussion of engine conversions on vanagons should
not warrant a shift from this common sense. The real issue is, this
has not existed as an actual possibility until now... so it's new, and
it draws immediate skepticism. Totally understandable, but it's going
to take a lot more than skepticism to stop the progression,
realization, and acceptance of this approach.

Jim Akiba