You Asked:

>A question to all:
>
>In this age of 75mph speed limits does anyone beat the heck out of their
>van the way I do when doing highway driving?
-----------snip-----------
 Any thrown rods, smashed valves etc. out
>there?  What kind of engine life (mileage) can I expect out of this
>great ole '85 Vanagon?

Funny you should ask!  Our '88 Waterboxer did throw a rod 2 weeks ago.  96K
on the engine, running synthetic oil, always warmed up before driving in the
winter etc.  We did however make some *fast* highway cruises.  3 hours at
80+ was not unusual.

When she let go, there was no warning at all.  No coolant problems, no oil
leaks or pressure problems just big time knocking.  I am now in the midst of
the "what now" question.  Not going to do a waterboxer again.  Looking at
Golf engines and Subaru engines.  Seems either would be an improvement.

For what it's worth-

Gary