5 or 6 psi using what viscosity oil and at what speed.  Also how hot was the
engine? If you were using 5-30 or 10-30 and the engine was hot enough to run
the cooling, things aren't that bad.  Also a slow idle will cause a low
reading.  Try using 20-50 and have the test performed again.  Are there any
other indications that the engine needs work? If your buying an exchange
engine anyway, you may wish to wait until you have a more noticeable problem
unless you are planning on a long trip.  130K on the Waterboxer  alone is
not reason to replace it.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Seastoner <rfergus@RICHMOND.INFI.NET>
To: Vanagon@VANAGON.COM <Vanagon@VANAGON.COM>
Date: Friday, May 01, 1998 5:21 PM
Subject: oil pressure test

I just had an oil pressure test done to see if I need to replace the
long block or just the heads on my 85 Westie...the test showed what
the mechanic called seriously low readings around 5 or 6...he said
that this almost guarantees that the bearings are scarred and that I
need to replace the whole engine. He said that it would be dangerous
to continue driving the way it is because something worse could
happen. I guess the inevitable has occured tho from reading other
peoples postings I had thought to get maybe another 100k out of the
longblock. There's 139k on the van now...Is this an acurate test?
This also is leading me to seriously contemplate the various
conversion options...any advice will be most appreciated...The folks
at AVP said I can upgrade to a 2.1 litre wasserboxer for an
additional 200bucks for the crank. Thanks,
Rick