Off to the repair shop.

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Wendy said:
He’s pulled and rebuilt our VW’’s engine many times but I suspect the MH engine is a bit more complicated ❤️
Click to expand...
I think that if I had to pull and rebuild an engine once, if something happened to cause me to do it again I would throw it away and just buy a new one.
 
phil-t said:
Not many extended service plans that cover the drive train on those - maybe. Hope the best for the OP.
Click to expand...

Here is what my plan covers.​

Engine Assembly​


Engine assembly coverage includesbut is not limited to:
  • All internally-lubricated parts including pistons, pins, and rings
  • Connecting rods and bearings
  • Crankshaft and main bearings
  • Camshaft, followers and cam bearings
  • Push rods, valves, springs, guides, seats and lifters
  • Rocker arms, shafts and bushings
  • Timing gear, chain or belt, tensioners and retainers
  • Eccentric shaft
  • Oil pump
  • Engine head(s), engine block and cylinder barrels
  • Turbo Charger
  • Water pump
  • Mechanical fuel pump
  • Oil pan
  • Intake and exhaust manifolds
  • Engine mounts and cushions
  • Engine torque strut
  • Timing Cover
  • Valve cover(s) harmonic balancer
  • Flywheel (flexplate) and flywheel ring gear
  • Vacuum pump
  • Dipstick and tube
  • All pulleys
 
MikeCoke said:

Here is what my plan covers.​

Engine Assembly​


Engine assembly coverage includesbut is not limited to:
  • All internally-lubricated parts including pistons, pins, and rings
  • Connecting rods and bearings
  • Crankshaft and main bearings
  • Camshaft, followers and cam bearings
  • Push rods, valves, springs, guides, seats and lifters
  • Rocker arms, shafts and bushings
  • Timing gear, chain or belt, tensioners and retainers
  • Eccentric shaft
  • Oil pump
  • Engine head(s), engine block and cylinder barrels
  • Turbo Charger
  • Water pump
  • Mechanical fuel pump
  • Oil pan
  • Intake and exhaust manifolds
  • Engine mounts and cushions
  • Engine torque strut
  • Timing Cover
  • Valve cover(s) harmonic balancer
  • Flywheel (flexplate) and flywheel ring gear
  • Vacuum pump
  • Dipstick and tube
  • All pulleys
Click to expand...
Sounds like you have it covered. Good luck. Please let us know how it turns out.
 
Previous owner replaced the Allison Transmission on our Pace Arrow at 30,000 miles. Covered under the Good Sam Coverage. Transmission replacement in 2016, $8,000. Deductible $1,000. We bought the Good Sam Coverage and paid about $1,000. We cancelled after the first year. So far we're about $5,000 ahead. That said, it's a guessing game and one that can be very costly if you lose.
 
Wendy said:
He’s pulled and rebuilt our VW’’s engine many times but I suspect the MH engine is a bit more complicated ❤️
Click to expand...
Not really, everything's just bigger and heavier on the motorhome engine. Actually the mechanics are a bit simpler because in a motorhome engine the cylinders are an integral part of the engine block vs. being separate parts on the VW engine and the crankshaft comes straight out of the bottom instead of having to split the case in half. However, finding sparklies (metal flakes) in the oil is pretty much a deal breaker on a rebuild. No way to get them all out of the oil passages meaning a rebuild will likely also fail soon.
 
Wendy said:
He’s pulled and rebuilt our VW’’s engine many times but I suspect the MH engine is a bit more complicated ❤️
Click to expand...

Lou Schneider said:
Not really, everything's just bigger and heavier on the motorhome engine. Actually the mechanics are a bit simpler because in a motorhome engine the cylinders are an integral part of the engine block vs. being separate parts on the VW engine and the crankshaft comes straight out of the bottom instead of having to split the case in half. However, finding sparklies (metal flakes) in the oil is pretty much a deal breaker on a rebuild. No way to get them all out of the oil passages meaning a rebuild will likely also fail soon.
Click to expand...

At one point when my siblings and I were in junior college we were like a 4 bug family. A bus, a squareback and a couple of bugs, actually. There was an outfit is SoCal called "Cost Plus 10" which indicated the mark up on bug parts was 10%.

What makes the bug easier is that a top end overhaul kit came with 4 pistons and rods, 4 cylinders and a couple of reman heads. If you wanted you could save a few bucks by buying the head kit which came with valves, seats and springs.

We could "overhaul" a vw engine over a weekend, easy. I'd definitely say the bug overhaul is way simpler than a bock cylinder type engine.

I get Lou's point however that once you have a big block engine on the bench it's a matter of following all the steps until everything is done.
 
My brother was a VW bus nut for a while, wore as a badge of honor that he could pull an engine in 3 hours or some such figure. My response was I would rather own a vehicle I didn't need frequent engine changes. In a past life I had to work on a beetle and the good news is it was straightforward to fix and parts plentiful. Much like my brother's buses, the problem with that is it needed constant work. I don't love my cars that much and beetles are definitely an acquired taste.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM
 
When I lived in SoCal, I made regular trips across the desert on I-10 and commonly saw lots of VW's running in packs. I also saw lots of packs of VW's pulled into turn-outs or lined up along the side of the highway while 6 guys were all under one car fixing something that broke. I guess looking at it that way, it's nice to have that many people working on your car who all know what they're doing.
 
We’re currently a 3 VW family - Sunshine our yellow 73 bug, a camper van, and a Thing and a half.
 
If I could do it without breaking the bank, I'd trade my Wrangler for a Karmann Ghia. Unfortunately now all the Ghia's are either rust buckets or $30k.
 
I own a 1972 VW Westy hardtop with a Type-4 2056cc massive. The big problem with the early bay window buses was they used the T-1 engine vs the far better T-4 engine. The T-1 market is littered with Chinese aftermarket junk. When I rebuilt the engine in my bus I spared no expense especially with the heads. Only (2) head builders I'd even allow to touch Type-4 heads (Len Hoffman or Adrian - Headflow Masters).

Roll forward to today the parts scene for the T-4 isn't looking good. Not many after market options compared to the T-1 and what is available is either used or a decades old NOS part. So my days are coming to a close in the ACVW scene. I'm the only other owner of the bus which was originally my grandfathers. Was with him when he bought it new. Still have all the paperwork.

I ended up putting together...

2056cc
AA biral 96mm P/C kit
42x36mm re-worked new AMC heads
Porsche swivel adjusters
73 Web cam w/solid lifters
71mm stroke
40mm Weber IDF (47.5 idles and 125 main jets, 190 air corrector jets, 28 vents
Bosch SVDA w/ Pertronix
NGK B5ES plugs
3 rib 002 trans

Pic of the bus: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1310059.jpg
 
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