I agree with Ken's (and Dennis's) assessment.   Not only with our vanagon
derivatives but I've seen
many a used car purchaser lament the problems of owning a used car after
paying next to nothing
for it and expecting it to run like brand new.   There is no "fix-all"
solution for any car for that matter.
They wear out like any other piece of machinery...

Steven
91 Westy

On Wed, Jul 18, 2018 at 9:31 AM, kenneth wilford (Van-Again) <
kenwilfy@comcast.net> wrote:

> Dennis and list,
>
> Everything has bugs.  Just look at the Subaru forums if you doubt this.  I
> remember when people were first talking about doing the Subaru conversions
> and that they were going to be the magic bullet to trouble free Vanagon
> ownership.  Yes there were benefits of going that way and the more modern
> fuel injection is a major plus.  But there are also new issues that the
> community deals with on a daily basis.  Now that it has been around for
> over 10 years, they have probably mapped out "the usual suspects" like we
> do in the VW Waterboxer world, but that took time.  This new system will
> have quirks and issues I am sure.  And it will take time for folks to
> figure out the weak spots and recognise them when they crop up.  So go into
> this with the understanding that spending $3000 isn't going to give you a
> magic carpet that will never leave you on the side of the road.  Hopefully
> it will be more reliable but that remains to be seen.
>
> Ken
>
> On Wed, Jul 18, 2018 at 1:13 AM Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > As a person who owned a Vanagon from new the original Digifant is buggy
> at
> > best. As a person frequently servicing these the rebuilt parts are not
> > consistent, the O2 sensor selection and installed location is bad, and
> the
> > system does not adapt to changing conditions including engine wear,
> > altitude, or fuel quality. The price of this kit is high but many
> > aftermarket fuel injection kits for muscle or classic cars are up there.
> > The fact that they now have the CARB approval is a real benefit for
> anyone
> > living in any of the states that now follow the CARB including New York.
> > The one gripe I do have with this kit is the need to re-use the fuel
> > injectors along with some other parts.
> >
> > This cost could make a great down payment on an engine conversion. As Fun
> > Bus has just completed another Florida run turning 338K I know the day
> will
> > come that I have to do something. I am struggling yet again with another
> > failed idle speed controller and it does not run quite right just after
> > startup. Weighing options.
> >
> > Dennis
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
> > Of kenneth wilford (Van-Again)
> > Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2018 5:17 PM
> > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> > Subject: Re: Anyone seen Gowesty's Digifiant replacement?
> >
> > Jim,
> >
> > Not really sure why this was needed.  I can supply rebuilt ECU, rebuilt
> > idle unit, new wiring harness, new distributor, etc. for way less than
> > this.  The digifant system is actually very reliable.  Instead, lets
> create
> > a new system out of parts, and use you as our test subjects...  You can
> bet
> > that it will have it's own issues that folks will start a new forum
> section
> > just to talk about.
> >
> > I personally think they came up with this because they were having
> > failures with their high compression engines due to the fact that the
> > digifant system doesn't have a knock sensor.  If you have one of their
> high
> > compression engines, this could be a great way to go, but if you are
> going
> > to spend that much money, why not do a Subaru or some other conversion?
> >
> > Having OBD II on a waterboxer would be cool, but is it worth $3k?
> >
> > Just my opinion,
> > Ken
> >
> > On Tue, Jul 17, 2018 at 5:06 PM Jim. Felder <jim.felder@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > > I'm happy with my diesel westy, but I might have kept my Carat if I
> > > had
> > > this:
> > >
> > > <
> > >
> > > https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.g
> > > owesty.com%2Fproduct%2Felectrical%2F23981%2Fgowesty-engine-management-
> > > system%3Fv&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cac2e9af99c104d7738ff08d5ec2ab1a2%7C84df9e
> > > 7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636674590467257481&sdata=d0pDl8UI
> > > iCdrS6NJcdPVoJHVDpN4TyKKIIrFnFKdiBk%3D&reserved=0=
> > > >
> > >
> > > Ultra-pricey but probably a great idea for people with good
> > > waterboxers whose Digifant electronics are going bad.
> > >
> > > Jim
> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Thanks,
> > Ken Wilford
> > John 3:16
> >
> > https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=
> www.vanagain.com&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cac2e9af99c104d7738ff08d5ec2ab1a2%
> 7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636674590467257481&sdata=%
> 2Bw4n0XH%2BoEutwoUkyD9UzN9TcKvDKktfdEy8YijFCJI%3D&reserved=0
> >
>
>
> --
> Thanks,
> Ken Wilford
> John 3:16
> www.vanagain.com
>