Bernie Bergmann,
I know I have taken my time getting around to this but I just figured it is way past due. I just wanted to express my gratitude to you and your shop for the fantastic job you did in the building my 2498 motor back in 2009. In the past two years I have had this motor, I have driven my rail all over the place, from the Florida keys to the Tennessee mountains. Other than basic maintenance, I have never had to put a wrench to my motor and I have never had a single problem with anything. Last week I turned 60,000 miles on this motor and while thinking about that I realized I have never taken a few minutes to thank you for building this motor for me.
I have read on the WWW at a few sites, people discussing the high flow fan kits you build for these motors and some people saying they would not work well enough to keep the engine cool. These people just do NOT know what they are talking about. My last motor was a 2210 with the basic VW fan and shrouds. That motor ran a constant temperature of 180 plus and would heat up quickly in traffic situations. My new 2498 runs a regular temperature of 160 and has never been over 180 degrees it's entire life. I live in Florida and spend the summer months driving my rail all over the place. Even sitting in heavy traffic on hot blacktop, this new fan design keeps my motor cool and my head from the worries I had before with the heat of my old motor.
Last month while doing a clutch job on my rail, I had the motor out and decided to remove the cover and take a look at the alternator. everything looked great and then I noticed the bolting system mounting the alternator and fan. At first I was thinking that it must be designed to give extra streingh for mounting the alternator, then Suddenly it came to me that it's the design you put into the bolt system that diverts the air flow evenly to all cylinders and that is what keeps this motor so much cooler than my old 2210.
I can not tell you how much more enjoyable it is to cruise around and not have to worry about engine heat. These past two years have just been a pleasure and it's all due to you, your shop and the new design on the fan kit.
One more thing I would like to add about the HYDRAULIC LIFTERS. Some engine builders say that hydraulic lifters are not good in the T-1 VW Engines. I have news for them, I have driven some 60000 miles , and have NEVER heard any of the usual rocker noise or any other klick, klick rockershaft noise.
I have never even removed the valve covers on my engine or ever had to adjust the valves in 60k miles. I simply do not understand why any engine builder would say a negative word about the hydraulic lifter system.
I am really impressed and once more extremely pleased driving this engine for the past 60000 miles.
I have included a couple of pictures of my rail in hopes that you can show it off to the world on your website. I took these pictures today after spending the morning detailing my rail for a trip to Daytona tomorrow for bike week. It will be a 220 mile trip one way and I'm sure it will be a pleasure as always. Thank you again and hope to meet up with you in person some time.
-Ed Oesterle Crystal River, Florida
