I'm rebuilding a 2.1 that had 227,000 miles--no leaks and didn't
burn--that my wife fried for me when it threw all its belts. If it
hadn't been for that, it might have made it to 300K. The bearings were
in excellent condition when I took the engine apart. Cam showed no
wear. The oil pump was near the end of the wear limit but far from
gone. Cylinders had original cross-hatching.

Jim

On Sun, Aug 10, 2008 at 2:23 PM, Mike Collum <collum@verizon.net> wrote:
> They do last longer than one would believe by reading of the woes posted
> to this list.
>
> My '85's 1.9 had 210,000 miles on it when I pulled it and put in a
> Boston Bob 2.1.  The old 1.9 was still starting easily, idled well, ran
> smoothly, got 20 mpg at 63 mph but was burning a quart of oil about
> every 500 miles.
>
> One of my '84s now has 213,000 miles and is still going.
>
> Mike
> Houlton, Maine
>
>
> Rob Durham wrote:
>>
>> Hi Friends,
>>
>>    Yesterday Bhoom, our 1990 Westfalia, passed 200,000 miles on the
>> original engine. For years I have heard stories about the long mileage WBX
>> engines but never really believed. Started worrying around 100,000 miles.
>> After all it is a four banger and it works hard for a living. I now believe.
>> You hear a lot of criticism of the vanagon engine but 200,000 miles speaks
>> for itself.
>>
>>             Rob
>>
>