Maggie Dew follows this list, I believe.  Maybe she will respond.  They live in Ponca City, Oklahoma, and use the same mechanic I do, Darrell Cook in Norman, Oklahoma.  The RoadHaus has a Subaru engine in it now.  mcneely

---- Stuart MacMillan <stuartmacm@GMAIL.COM> wrote: 
> I was following Larry's posts back then and his $3500 2.2 waterboxer blew up at 18,000 miles:  http://gerry.vanagon.com/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0310B&L=vanagon&P=R7057&m=230908  After multiple failures he went to 2.1 pistons with no better luck:  http://gerry.vanagon.com/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0405A&L=vanagon&P=R10386  I quit searching the archives after this post.  Anyone know how Larry is doing these days?
> 
> I'm done with the WBX, it isn't designed for continuous duty.
> 
> Stuart
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Dave Mcneely
> Sent: Saturday, September 08, 2012 6:54 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Low compression, more test results-busaid inying used vans!
> 
> How many of us, except for those who are able to do all the work on their vans themselves, don't have a $20k (or more) van?  Wife and I now call ours the $1M van.  Even those who do the work themselves, if they put in one of the engines sold by rebuilders, end up with a figure something like you mentioned.  Take a look at Larry's RoadHaus van payout, and that was 10 years ago and doesn't include maintenance since.  mcneely
> 
> ---- Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM> wrote: 
> > As I have said in the past the most important part of purchasing a 
> > used vehicle is to find out why it is/was for sale. For some reason 
> > the past/current owner no longer wants it!
> > 
> > Since you only had this a few months you now know one reason. I doubt 
> > this "just" happened. Depending on what you paid and how you go about 
> > the conversion and then all the other stuff to follow you too may soon 
> > have that $20K Camper.
> > 
> > Dennis
> > 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On 
> > Behalf Of Stuart MacMillan
> > Sent: Friday, September 07, 2012 10:52 PM
> > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> > Subject: Low compression, more test results
> > 
> > Well, for those who have been following by email thread about making 
> > the mistake of checking compression on my 140k mile original engine
> > (90-150-100-130) I’ve done some more tests.
> > 
> >  
> > 
> > 1.       Valves were zero lash or 1 turn in, no valve noise, timing dead on
> > 
> > 2.       Manifold vacuum is 12” Hg with ±1” tick (should be steady 17-21)
> > 
> > 3.       No detectable vacuum leaks (propane test), all vacuum hoses new.
> > 
> > 4.       22% leak down on #1, could hear leakage all three places, but
> > exhaust and intake were louder than the dipstick, with the exhaust 
> > being the worst.  (Should have used the decibel meter on my iPhone, 
> > but I didn’t want to get it greasy ;-) ).  Didn’t bother testing the others after this result.
> > 
> > 5.       Does not burn oil (in 1000 miles at least)  Plugs that came in it
> > were clean.
> > 
> > 6.       PO installed reman AFM recently
> > 
> > 7.       Idles smooth (as any of them anyway), runs well, no coolant leaks,
> > but has poor acceleration and poor gas mileage (~15 mpg highway). 
> > 
> >  
> > 
> > Looks like it’s got some leaking valves. No surprise this rig is worn 
> > out, I assumed it was, but I could drive it home at least.  I hope I 
> > can get a few thousand more miles out of it so I can save some dough for a conversion!
> > 
> >  
> > 
> > Sometimes ignorance is bliss, but never for long.  I waited until 
> > after my planned summer trips to check the engine condition, so I was 
> > blissfully ignorant on purpose.  I’m still planning a couple of fall 
> > trips nearby though.  What the hell, I’ve got AAA premier.
> > 
> >  
> > 
> > Stuart
> > 
> > ’85 Westy, purchased in May
> 
> --
> David McNeely

--
David McNeely