What a sight, one Vanagon pulling another. First impressions were pretty good, no rust and it was strait. The deal was done. Gordi had told me that the previous owners had it looked at a garage in town and the mechanic said there was something wrong with the head. I had it in my mind that I was going to junk the diesel engine in favor of the GTI motor, but I figured I see how messed up the motor was.
Most people know that diesels are noisy.
But when I started it up I thought that someone had thrown rocks in the crankcase. I checked the oil and drove it over to the shop where I work to put it on the lift and check it over. I barely made it there, and I didn't make it home. I didn't know it then but the oil cooler had sprung a leak and oil and coolant were mixing together. Oil pressure was barely enough to keep the light out and after about 5 minutes run time the engine overheated.