our 1.6 td went about 180kilometers  before a vbelt threw some debris into
the timing belt cover
causing  a slip ... causing more failure ...
the mileage then was about 38 miles to the gallon ..
the new 1.9 installed by eric at wagen works will require some final tweques

but overall we are happy ...
lastly there is no need to have the sort of troubles with a diesel that are
spoken of
i would say that if the previous owner required a new engine every 50k then
they were not paying attention to timing belts
and a few other things ...
using the previous owners experience as your experience suggested is poor
logic
just like thinking about acquiring a standard transmission vehicle and
discovering that the previous owner replaced the clutch every 10, 000 miles
so you decide that you are not going to purchase a vehicle that requires
such major part replacement so often ...
with out investigating that previous owner drives with foot on clutch as a
resting pad for foot ...

get your self the diesel .... drive it carefully
look after the engine ...
enjoy the ride ...
yours

On Feb 18, 2008 5:31 PM, Edward Duntz <eduntz@hotmail.com> wrote:

> I've really got to talk myself out of an '82 diesel Vanagon. One of the
> ones that I'm looking at has had several rebuilds in its lifetime, like
> three or four. I really don't want to bu a vehicle that I'm going to have to
> spend another few grand on in two years.
>
> How long have owners of 1.6 NA diesels typically gone between rebuilds?
> They seem to last well over 200K in a Rabbit, Golf, or Jetta. I know the
> Vanagon makes the engine work so much harder, but how long can I expect out
> of it?
>
> Thanks,
> Ed
> PS. If someone finds me a nice Golf or Jetta diesel with little rust
> within 300 miles of CT, I can stop posting all these diesel Vanagon
> questions! Thanks again.
> _________________________________________________________________
> Connect and share in new ways with Windows Live.
>
> http://www.windowslive.com/share.html?ocid=TXT_TAGHM_Wave2_sharelife_012008

--
roger w
There are two kinds of jobs in the world:
Picking up garbage and telling people things.
Successful people do both, with the same good attitude. (riw)
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