Club 80-90 Forums

having a few hours to spare yesterday I decided to start on the suspension upgrade ( been waiting ten days for the AVO springs to arrive from Brickwerks ) As the rears dont necessitate the spring removal to fit the shockers ( new shinny bilsteins ) I cracked on and done those... dedusted and adjusted the rear brakes while I was there..all good.

Filled with a lovely warm feeling inside that all was well with life VW related I decided to change the stuck thermostat... how hard could it be ??...

So VW in there wisdom when deciding to adapt the air cooled unit to a wasserboxer, they got a six year old to design the plumbing... I can just see the crayon drawing now, lets put the thermostat upside down in that bit, very close to the exhaust and for good measure lets make the bolts that will hold it in out of cheese.

long story short... 2 sheared bolts holding the housing , several split pipes that look like they hadnt been removed for 27 years, a damaged waterpump housing ( crow bar required to try and persuade the housing to separate from the water pump)

I now had 3 sheared bolts, along with sheared exhaust studs that have been blowing for ages, only thing for it was to remove the engine so that I can do a proper job of fixing everything.

Ever taken an engine out one of these on your own with no hoist and only 1 trolley jack ?? my advice is DONT ... everything hurts today ! not just my head from trying to work out whether to buy a new SS exhaust, drill the studs , replace the water pump and thermostat housing along with various water pipes... or to take the plunge and fit another engine.....

The thing is my 1.9 dg has only done 92k and is a sweet little runner... money is tight, and I really dont want the van of the road all summer... so should I spend around £800 on fixing the wbx ( shinny SS exhaust and water pump etc )or probably closer to £2k on something else, maybe a Subarau ( I would love this option ) or a GTI ?? advice , sympathy hugs all welcome please....

It depends if the SS exhaust is a 'wish' or a 'need' and seems to be the biggest part of your budget and somehow it crept in after a list of things that had broken. Can't you sort out the studs? Whether steel or SS, they still have to be done. In the end, the decision is yours anyway. If money is tight, I'd say the answer is clear - concentrate on the broken bits.

pionte wrote:several split pipes that look like they hadnt been removed for 27 years

That, to me, says "This is a fundamentally reliable cooling system".

As Covkid says - sort the actual problems. THEN decide whether you want to convert or upgrade, at leisure. Unless, of course, you're just trying out the justification on us, before hitting the missus with the polished version...?

even thou you had a tough time with the van
i found your post very funny
imagining you cursing the "frell" out of your van
i would say keep your sweet little engine that you know so well

Thanks guys for the virtual hugs of support....

wise word about the cooling system Adrian, I hadnt thought of it that way , but i certainly hadnt looked at it in the 5 years that I have had the van so maybe it is actually well designed...

and CovKid, you are correct aswell... the studs definitely need doing, there is a horrible mis match of studs and bolts and a little liquid metal holding a old but intact tubular assembly that I guess would at a push still pass as an exhaust system... I do like shinny things though... but so does the bank manager and along with Greece, Cyprus and myself he say's NO.....

So I am almost certainly going to keep the Dg... although I dont think that I have the kinda fond feelings for it that you have for yours ladybird

I have spent many a happy hour today looking at various webites , Brickwerks, Just Campers VW heritage etc trying to piece together exactly what system I have... IE late or early, my van was registered 03.01.1986 so was right on the cusp of the changeover... from research I think that I have an early water pump... and a metal thermostat housing that bolts directly onto the water pump, now Brickwerks dont apear to sell the housing, just the plastic ones... Heritage show it in a picture but dont list a number for it, and the research appears to suggest that just the syncro has a metal housing but looks different.. But it looks like I have a later style header tank. But that could have been changed im guessing over the passing nearly 3 decades ! confused doesnt really get close.

I will have to read some more about .

But thank you again for taking the time to reply., with these vans its good to know that we are not alone..... hello, anyone there....hello...

As for the silencer, if that side of things is early, you could always do the bike can conversion (cheap) - in the WIKI

You have my sympathy, can be confusing initially....regarding Housing and Water Pump, if you can't separate then saw off Water Pump leaving a surplus (where they join) and then carefully file off remainder to expose Housing face.
I also replaced all Bolts and Washers on the system with Stainless, less chance of corroding and then shearing off.
Take your time, it's worth it!
Atb,
Chris