bah wah wah to driving hard. But not changing oil when needed, driving
short distances, lots of cold starts cause lots of wear. I have seen
in my limited experience, little cylinder wear on my vehicles with
200,000-300,000 miles. I usually drive an hour or more every time the
car is started. I use Mobil synthetic oils. I do not live in a harsh
cold envronment.

I have seen oil consumption drop significantly in my Toyotas from
quarts per oil change to no adds when I do my own oil valve stem
seals. Last valve job I let someon else do the valve stem seals and
the consumption is excessive. i need to remove that head to change the
seals this summer.  On a Volkswagen I would remove the head, look at
the cylinders for excessive wear, plastiguage the bearings, and take
my chances. If the valve cover does not show lots of sludge and it is
an engine that does not have known oil consumption issues then it is
probably ok.

I installed an Audi 2L in my 84 gti. It had cylinders that were more
worn than the engine I was replacing. It actually did fairly well on
oil inspite of the cylinders starting to look worn like a Chevy. Back
when I was a kid in Ohio it seemed that other kids would pull the
heads off Chevys. The valve covers would be covered in gunk. Cylinders
would always have a nasty ridge. I do not recall anyone removing a
head or valve cover where things were clean. It could have been dino
oil, cold weather and short trips that made such a mess. I have not
been around motor heads working on Chevys since I move down to Georgia
where the climate is not so harsh. I do not know that I have ever seen
a 100,000 mile Chevy taken apart down here but I hang around with
different kind of people now. I do see cars that are 20 or more years
old and many seem to run ok. Some are mosquito foggers but not many.

Speaking of snake oil. Back when I lived up north by brother's auto
mechanic instructor would have good luck running a quart of auto trany
lube in the crank case for a few miles. How many miles I do not know.
The detergent in the tranny lube would free up stuck rings I guess.

Tried to repair, but botched an electrical problem.  3 failures.  High beam
indicator led (required for safety inspection due this month), and two
backlight incandescents.  The "seat"s for 2 lights for the backlighting of
the instrument panel was worn beyond repair.  Tried new incandescent bulbs.
Its part of the the film panel wiring that attaches to the back of the
instrument panel.  Solder just raises and parts even further.  Can't find
replacement.  Swapped various leds for bright light indicator, and reversed
polarity on each to verify it wasn't in backwards.  No workie.  In the
process, the analog VDO clock don't work now.  Checked fuse, its good.  I
lost my patience with the entire thing.

Time to put in pasture until I can find replacement instrument panel, and
rebuild engine.  Did find a place on the internet where they rebuild VW
instrument panels.

The engine smokes a little. But, uses alot lately.  2 quarts disappear in a
month.  No apparent oil leaks.  Found 2 disconnected vacuum hoses that
attach to what looks like an air vacuum bottle reservoir.  As viewed from
the front, its just right of the engine.  Have to look in the Bentley for
its purpose.
Dave