Vanagon Waterboxer Engine Built for Remote Travel - Is the WBX still relevant??

Check out why we chose to keep the WBX engine as well as some tricks and parts we added to help in longevity and reliability. Parts list below
Oil Cooler Parts List:
Oil Cooler-
Tru-Cool L7B ENGINE OIL COOLER
I bought it from Amazon but it is no longer available. I am sure you can search for it somewhere else or for something very similar.
Parts from Improved Racing
- RaceFlux Viton Racing Hose -8AN - 6 feet
- Mocal Sandwich Plate 3/4"-16 qty 1
- RaceFlux AN 120 degree Double swivel seat hose end size -8AN qty 2
- RaceFlux Straight swivel hose end fitting size -8AN qty 2
- RaceFlux 90 degree Male NPT to AN flare adapter 1/2" NPT to -8AN qty 2
- RaceFlux 3/4" ID Aluminized Kevlar heat sleeve 3 feet
The Spal fan I had on hand but any oil cooler type fan will work as long as it fits on the cooler you bought. Use a relay to wire it to a switch.
Rocky Jennings Enterprises
rockyjennings.com
Oil Filter cover-
Not available on Amazon anymore but it is from a Honda Fit. It is called an Oil Filter Cooler.
Engine Grounding block
amzn.to/2VS0jnu
Grounding Wire
amzn.to/3hJmBQ4
Engine Lights
amzn.to/3lHEBLJ
These are Amazon affiliate links. We earn a small commission when you buy from this link and it really helps us out. Very much appreciated :)
#wbx #subieswap #tdi
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[@oldgadfly8398]

Nice work. Lots of ingenuity and thought.

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Appreciate the kind words and thanks for watching! nate

[@paulbaldwin9906]

Well done presentation kid. Ingenuity is a good thing.

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Thanks it's been fun building it up!

[@bradsmith1200]

Very informative and great video Nate. I really dig the homemade oil cooler! I hope to install one someday soon, the mount hood hills are a killer.

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Thanks Brad, the oil cooler turned out pretty slick. Glad to have it on there. Let me know if you need some guidance on the oil cooler install. nate

[@planetmarrs5239]

A lot of great upgrades and ideas…..thanks….

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Thanks! nate

[@douglaslosey6501]

Great video!

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@loveliftadventure5864]

Great video!!!! 🙂🤙

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Thanks buddy! nate

[@tbrusselle]

I wish you could open up a shop in SoCal!! Thanks for the great videos, Nate!

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Haha! Not sure that is in my future but I'll keep you in the loop! :) Thanks for watching! nate

[@charlesmaroon8819]

Hello. 91 2WD Westy here. You offered a number of well thought out preventative improvements and I will adopt some of those ideas right away, in particular the oil filter cooling fin for protection. I added a tail/stop/turn signal LED lightbar ($15 EBay and sealed) to the outward facing edge of the rear tool shelf and wired it into the wiring bundle at the left front of the engine compartment. The fit and appearance is perfect and adds a great 3rd high mount stoplight. Being seasoned with VW's I also cleaned and improved every grounding connection I can find. I found an SPST rocker switch at the local hardware store ($7) that fits into the switch blank on the gauge cover on the dash. This was a very easy retrofit that required only a minor filing of the blanking hole and it looks factory installed - this may become an engine immobilizer switch in the future. Always looking for ways to improve the reliability of the van. Lastly, I, too, am convinced that the WBX is the right engine choice when the time comes. Thanks again!

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

That's a good idea on the tail/stop light, I might look into that. Every Vanagon needs a kill switch! Too many are getting stolen. Thanks for watching! nate

[@TIMWHY2]

Nice! Time for you Baldwins to go camping!!

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

We have another epic trip in the works very soon! nate

[@willemmaas9813]

The ground wire setup is neatly done. To finish it off, I would shrink the heat shrink insulation sleeves on the lugs.

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Thanks! Nate

[@stephenrogers9664]

Another great entertaining video. I honestly didn’t even think about an oil cooler thank you. I’m not a fan of getting rid of my VW 2.1 motor. I’ll be rebuilding her when I’m ready as putting a Subaru engine is like putting a cats heart in a dog. It’s just not right

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Oil cooler gives great peace of mind when climbing those long hills. Long live the WBX! nate

[@robertmuckle2985]

Couldn't agree more! If I were to upgrade from my 2.1 or my air boxer, I would go diesel OR consider an electric option! Subarus are a half measure upgrade and fuel economy isn't even that great ...after spending all that $$

[@markhpluygers2226]

I get the idea of a Aluminium header tank, but I really trust my eye with a good quality plastic version. You can see everything from unwanted bubbles to the level and quality of the SP coolant. A tiny detail but we differ. The oil filter can be exchanged for a shorter version, so no protection will be needed & most of us change the oil too much...... Looked fun. As with anything T3, if it's hanging below the belly, it will get knocked off!... The Syncro's have plenty of protection anyway! Nice Vid. Thanks

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

If there was a good quality plastic version, preferably an OEM tank, I would agree with you. Ours developed a small crack and by that time we went through two aftermarket caps and were done with poor quality plastics. I haven't had a need to see if there are bubbles and the coolant gets changed every two to three years anyway. We now use a shorter and wider filter because we put on the GoWesty exhaust and it does not fit with the sandwich adapter and the stock filter. Thanks for watching nate

[@LindseyandDannyVanlife]

Nice work man. Oh.......and sweet shirt. -Danny

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Had to rep the DOB!! :) nate

[@LindseyandDannyVanlife]

@@ThatBaldwinLife I haven’t had the honor to put it on yet, can’t wait. I hope your having a good week brother. -Danny

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Sure am, looking forward to camping together again soon! nate

[@LindseyandDannyVanlife]

@@ThatBaldwinLife me too. I’d love to get together soon. I see you are like me and like to explore the forest around you. Let’s meet up! Last time was just an appetizer. -Danny

[@andreasdahl717]

Yepp, 1.9 DG WBX :D Runs great now

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Nice! nate

[@kiniyaro]

Thank you so much for this video and your other repair videos! I really appreciate your thoughtful approach. BTW what oil temp gauge do you like?

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Thanks! We use VDO gauges for everything as they were the OEM gauges for 80’s VW’s and they generally match the style. And they are great gauges. Nate

[@mopedinthemalverns6661]

That was really inspiring. Almost a new engine really. We've done nothing to our 1.9 other than maintain it as per VW and (since your video...) filled up the gearbox with the right amount of oil. Here in England it doesn't have a sressful life and fuel is so expensive we don't take it far. I change the fuel filters quite often and mainly try to stay on top of rust by plastering everything on the underside with old sump oil. Do you do anything to mitigate against ethanol? Our classic Toyota has just sprung a catastrophic leak due to a gasket failure from ethanol.

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Yeah it is basically a new engine. Since we drive to some remote places, we wanted to replace items that might fail and be hard to find on the road. Ethanol is a tough one. Best we can do is to put on fuel lines that are compatible with ethanol and keep an eye on things. We haven't had an issue with it yet on any vehicle but I did on my KTM enduro. nate

[@robertmuckle2985]

I had a worsening head seals coolant leak that I abated with Subaru coolant Conditioner...and it completely fixed my issue! I couldn't recommend it more highly! ....and my issue was on a newly rebuilt 2.1 WBXr.

[@ericschmitt7369]

Hey Nate, WBXer here as well. Great insights. Man the importance of the grounds is so critical. I'd like to add the starter ground - thx. How did you connect it to the frame? Did you have to drill? Also I only have one 0guage ground from my block to the body. I will look at adding from the head as well. I'd also add how critical it is to make the gearbox ground a thick gauge ground. Did you do anything special with the star grounds under the dash? I replaced mine and the connector ends. Cheers!

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

There was a hole already in that area for the starter ground. I just removed any paint and put a bolt in it. The gearbox ground is critical but the stock size wire is adequate. The starter ground makes the gearbox ground redundant but I feel it should still be there. When I removed the dash last year to replace the heater core, I took the grounding trees off and scuffed them up clean. thanks for watching! nate

[@2xixaaxu]

I am curious about your water and oil seperator...could you pls put a link of where to buy or detailed information..thanks

[@RockOcean]

Great video! Do you have some numbers on how well the oil cooler is working? You said you were sometimes reaching temps over 240F does it ever go over 220F now you have the cooler and fan installed?

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

We rarely see any temps above 220 now and that is on long, slow climbs in the summer time. Like 2nd gear grinds up steep passes Nate

[@strangefinder]

Aloha. My 1.9 crapped out on me and I'm replacing it with a 2.1 and keeping the old 1.9 EFI. How did you connect the ground tree to the battery negative? Direct to the post or at the ground point in the battery box? Thanks for all of your awesome videos.

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

The ground tree is connected to the engine with the factory style ground strap and is also connected straight to the negative post of the starting battery via a 4GA ground cable. Hope that helps and good luck with the swap! nate

[@geffenberg]

Nate - excellent video! Do you have oil temp/pressure gauges? Also, parts list for cooler would be great!! Thanks!! Jon

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Yea we have a oil temp gauge as well as oil pressure. The oil cooler parts list is in the description! Thanks! Nate

[@bmetzker5813]

How much HP are you getting from that rebuild from Rocky; and what HP could you possibly get form any modifications ? Thx B from Honolulu

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Not really sure as he does not provide HP numbers. GoWesty has some info on their WBX engines and do show some dyno numbers. nate

[@2xixaaxu]

HI...thank you for the information...I am curious about the oil cooler that...is it the oil that flows in the cooler or water?

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

It is an oil cooler and the oil flows from the oil pump into the cooler and back. nate

[@2xixaaxu]

@@ThatBaldwinLife thanks. and what abt the stock oil cooler?is it still in use?

[@2xixaaxu]

@@ThatBaldwinLife since oil flows through the cooler, so it means..you must add more oil into engine..right?

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

The stock oil cooler isn't a traditional cooler as much as it is a heat exchanger. It is there to warm up the oil faster when first started and it can loose some heat during driving but the temperature difference between the oil and coolant is not enough to make a difference in oil temps. Yes we still have it in use. nate

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Yes you would add a bit more oil in the system which is a good thing. nate

[@robertmuckle2985]

Placing lighting in or above your engine bay is not that helpful as you'll ALWAYS be creating shadows with your head, body, or hands while struggling in some hard to reach location. Anyone that does wrenching of any kind today (and wants to remain sane) will wear a LED headlight to focus directly on the task at hand. I wear my headlamp so often, I realized it was on my head at Costco the other day!LOL

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Don't disagree on the shadows but the light up there is super helpful regardless. We keep headlamps in the van for camping anyway and if I need to use one while working on it, I will. Thanks for the feedback! nate

[@11secghia]

Ive used my lamp mounted above the engine for more that wrenching, plus you open the rear hatch and the whole rear area is lit!

[@Unexpectedperspectivesnow]

But WBX already as an oil cooler? Albeit small.

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

The stock heat exchanger is not really an oil cooler as it is an oil pre heater. It is designed to heat the engine oil from the engine coolant to aid in faster warmups. The water temp in the van when normal operating temp is higher than the oil temp so while driving, it actually heats the oil a bit. Not much to be concerned about but our oil cooler is just that. Designed to cool the engine oil when needed. It runs off of a thermostatic valve that only opens after 180 degrees F. nate

[@truckrodhoodlum]

Tdi all the way. F subajunk

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

TDI is on our radar for a potential future swap...... nate

[@truckrodhoodlum]

@@ThatBaldwinLife if you need some pointers I can help I put a 14 ckr in my syncro at 50deg

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

thanks!

[@rick-kx7gy]

Isn't that VW engine actually a Wasserboxer ?.Not a waterboxer .

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

A boxer engine that is water cooled. Spell/say how you want! nate

[@rick-kx7gy]

and from what I've read it was a Mr. Wasserboxer that designed that engine .@@ThatBaldwinLife

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Isn’t wasserboxer just the German for waterboxer? Wasser is water in German. 🤷‍♂️ Nate

[@mrflamewars]

Depending on one of these mills for your survival is suicidal. Don't do it!

[@ThatBaldwinLife]

Sounds like you have had a bad experience. We like our WBX and it takes us to some pretty remote areas. nate