Club 80-90 Forums

I'm used to nursing diesel engines but now run a 1.9 DG Petrol.

Mines an '84 Westy with 100,000 miles on the clock. I bought the van in May this year and all i've done is had the carb tuned and a basic service.

The engine is oil tight (no drips) and water tight. It uses no oil or water - i've covered approx 3,000 miles since buying the van and it's never give me any bother.

I've just completed a 700+ mile trip from Shropshire to Cornwall and back - cruising at 70 - 75mph on the motorway and getting around 29ish mpg.

I have no history with the engine what so ever and the push rod tubes look original so i'm guessing an original motor (engine code same as old service book).

What is the expected life on these engines? I want to go France next year and bought the van with the thought of having to put in a new engine but this currently runs like a dream!!

Should i be saving my pennys or are these good for 150,000+ ??

Fully Loaded Cali' wrote:- cruising at 70 - 75mph on the motorway ..

What is the expected life on these engines? I want to go France next year and bought the van with the thought of having to put in a new engine but this currently runs like a dream!!

At that sort of speed I would start looking now!!
60-65 is easier


well serviced they can easily return 200K

and getting around 29ish mpg at 70 - 75mph

.
yeah right

Is it the original engine??

Time is the major factor.. with coolant changes not done.. if its had the correct concentration of coolant and its been changed every 4 or 5 years all its life (with regular oil chnges etc) then easily they can do 200k+... but more often than not the coolant doesnt get changed and the concentration is kept up (only topped up with tap water.. ) and corrosion eats away at the head studs...

Oh and yeah, depending on what gear ratios it has, then 75 is pushing a 26 year old engine a bit hard...

Mine has covered 180k k/m, and still runs sweet. While looking to buy my first Syncro, i seen loads for sale with mileage as high as 600k k/m, and were still selling at high prices.

Depends on how well they were looked after.

I think VW rated them to 100k miles, but if you were to change the oil regularly and made sure that it was running regularly rather than sitting about and also ensured it was in tip top condition at all times, who knows how far you'd get.

The piston rings and liners and the big end bearings are probably going to be the limiting factors. Not much that can prevent those wearing out at some point.