Buying advice on 2.1i engine please

[faggie]

how come then kev why my friends engine blew in his carat at 21,000 miles and it had certainly not been abused , and was serviced by vw from new and at the time it was only 4 years old when it let go ,

[kevtherev]

Unlucky I guess
I take back the muppet comment.. Bit cheap that.
I could dig up a dozen stories that would counter every negative one for any engine
Statistics are meaningless on a twenty seven year old engine anyway.
Lets put it in perspective
Abuse = more breakdowns
Non abuse = less breakdowns
Note there's never no breakdown.

Even with modrn engines

[Ian Hulley]

why my friends engine blew in his carat at 21,000 miles and it had certainly not been abused , and was serviced by vw from new and at the time it was only 4 years old when it let go ,

Define 'Blew' ? .... 21,000 from the factory ? Or 21,000 from a recon ? ...

[weimarbus]

Last year i rebuilt an MV engine (would have prefered a DJ 'cause more power but beggers can't be choosers) to go in my 5 speed camper that had a DG 1.9, it is running on the DG carb with LPG and does seem to be better on motorway gradients, the van seems happy at 60mph (3000rpm) but gets noisey and less pleasant to be in at higher speeds. So to answer your question how fast do you want to go?

[faggie]

my old van used to do 100mph in 3rd gear this was definately fast enough on standard suspension

[DubAde]

The trouble with my 1.9 is that it feels most happy at about 55mph so i dont feel like taking it on motorways, does the 2.1 cruise a bit faster?

Also you've got a more powerful engine than my DF which uses a Pierburg carb. I'm wondering if you might have a tuning problem cos my motor is happiest at 100 kph (62.5 mph) and will allow me to get up to 70mph (even 75 occasionally) on the flat.

Mine will get up to 75 but I wouldnt feel comfortable doing it for long. The camper had a few starting and fueling issues when I first bought it, it starts and runs really well now but with last years non-existant summer I didnt get to do many trips, about 60 miles was the furthest. Perhaps I dont trust it fully, I thought the 2.1i would be better because of electronics and fuel injection

[faggie]

just checked my old pictures the van what blew up at 21,000 miles was a caravelle gl not a carat and this was the original engine as it was just out of its warranty , it was serviced and bought new from the vw main dealers in buxton when the engine let go it punched a hole through the top of the engine casing so was replaced by another factory engine at a cost of nearly £3000 , as the owner did not trust the van anymore it was hardly used , the last time i saw the van was a least 5 years ago and had less than 40,000 on clock , this has to be the best caravelle in the country as its immaculate , i originally met the owner when my friend bought a black crewcab from around the corner as he took me round to see this immaculate bus

[Ralf85]

Back to the topic mate.

My old DF engine cruises all day on motorways at 60 on summer holidays and the engine loves it. That speed allows a bit extra to overtake and prevents being squeezed into truck sandwiches. If your current engine is fine, then 60+ is perfectly ok. Still, if you do decide to replace your DG engine, do offer it up to forum members first so it goes to an appreciative home!

Patrick

[mark]

mine is running a factory fitted 2.1 dj and 5 speed aap box, which seems to be the sort after combo, mine has no trouble cruising at 70 and will run away with its self if you let it. I get high 20's mph on a run, its a low mileage engine that up until the last owner was serviced meticulously by the 1st and 2nd owners. last year we had 10 days in Cornwall
petrol costs where similar to our Volvo v40 but timings where up the spout because of serious crashes both on the way and coming home. if properly serviced then you have no more worries than any other car, though saying that my temp sender decided to jump ship on the way home from work, but again that was my fault because if id changed the both the hairpin clips when I changed the temp2 sender then it wouldn't have happen and saved me a bucket full of stress.

while mine is running well it is definitely the best factory fitted option for speed and quite running. though I am looking into something with bells on for when it becomes troublesome, which I hope is a long way into the future.

mark