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  View original topic: Ticking Motor... now only runing on two cylinders!!! HELP
tim3 Mon Jul 09, 2007 12:44 pm

ok my car started ticking at low rpms sounded like an electril bug zapper ticking really fast at low rpms about 800-1500 rpms... i have been hearing this for about a month.. i did a valve adjustment and found my number 2 cylinder was tight..

so i have been driving it for a few weeks after the valve adjustment.. still ticks at low rpms... aslo it would sort of chatter as i would climb a hill like a bunch of loose bottle caps in a tin can... sounds weird but i have heard the same thing on a newer car when it climbs hills..

and all of a sudden my car starts to lose power slowly as im driving on the freeway.. it starts getting worse and its basically just feels like its stalling out if i give it gas..

i pulled over when it basically could barely hold 50mph in 4th gear.. i checked the plugs on the distributer and the 3 and 4 cylinders are firing but the 1 and 2 cylinders are not firing..

what the hell is the problem.. any ideas..

??bad carb on the 1 and 2 side?? valves fucked??? im really pissed because this is the second vw that has fucking gone under in 3 weeks on me.. i never had had any of these problems ever in my 10 years of owning vws...

KTPhil Mon Jul 09, 2007 12:48 pm

Sounds like valves and timing both need adjusting. If your valves continue to tighten up (especially exhaust) then you are about to loose a valve and rebuild the motor.

Too much spark advance will cause pinging, which you will notice under load. That, too, will soon ruin your engine.

Tram Mon Jul 09, 2007 12:49 pm

Sounds like you have a bad carb or a vacuum leak on that side. The noise you describe going up hills sounds like 'pinging' from the timing being too advanced to compensate for the two weak cylinders. This gives you a "double whammy": both advanced timing and running too lean will overheat the engine. Engines that run too hot tend to require frequent valve adjustments, and eventually self destruct.

If you are using the thin tin manifold gaskets on the heads, this is most likely the source of the problem on that side. Use the thicker cardboard ones.

tim3 Mon Jul 09, 2007 12:55 pm

shit... im using a 009 and timed it like 2 and half notches advanced like that one picture floating around the forums.. im aslo using electric points..

so if its still starts up and idles i might have a chance...

so your saying i have a chance right... lol

sounds like im screwed from what im gathering...

Tram Mon Jul 09, 2007 12:59 pm

tim3 wrote: shit... im using a 009 and timed it like 2 and half notches advanced like that one picture floating around the forums.. im aslo using electric points..

so if its still starts up and idles i might have a chance...

so your saying i have a chance right... lol

sounds like im screwed from what im gathering...

Not necessarily, but you will be for sure if you keep running it with those problems. Hopefully your tick isn't a rod bearing. Maybe you got lucky and a rocker assembly nut came off on that side, or something like an adjuster backed off.

Oh, and get rid of the 009. Go stock if you can find a good dist.

KTPhil Mon Jul 09, 2007 1:00 pm

If it pings, back off the timing.

Adjust the valves again and see if the exhausts are stable.

If you get good news on those fronts, then you may not be screwed. Then check the carbs for air leaks, and if you find and fix one, then you might just get out alive.

I'm not familiar with the carby fasty, so I can't tell you where to look for air leaks, but it seems like manifolds are where to start.

The 009 is not a good unit, but if you back it off some at least it won't burn your engine so fast, at least while you look for leaks.

tim3 Mon Jul 09, 2007 1:34 pm

well sucks for me cuz now i have no cars.. and i got girls, work, and a life to particpate in..

shit..

so how long do i have to wait till i can check my valves.. i dont want to wait over night.. its already been about 2 hours since i turned it off..

Tram Mon Jul 09, 2007 1:37 pm

tim3 wrote: well sucks for me cuz now i have no cars.. and i got girls, work, and a life to particpate in..

shit..

so how long do i have to wait till i can check my valves.. i dont want to wait over night.. its already been about 2 hours since i turned it off..

Do like we used to do at the dealer and run a big fan under the engine for an hour. :lol:

If it's cool enough to touch, pull the valvecovers and see if something came apart on the rockers at least.

tim3 Mon Jul 09, 2007 2:02 pm

ok cool.. i'll take a look at it when it cools down.. and post the diagnostics of the valves..

Russ Wolfe Mon Jul 09, 2007 3:38 pm

If the rocker arm is cool enough to lay your hand on without winching, It is cool enough to adjust the valves.

tim3 Mon Jul 09, 2007 5:38 pm

so the valves were fine.. i and i checked the plug wires again and found that the 2nd cylinder is firing a little bit.. not quite as strong as the 3 and 4th but it does change the idle slightly.. the number 1 cylinder is totally not hitting at all.. there is spark but its not changing the idle when i remove the plug...

but basically the ticking noise is still there and its loud.. but im asuming thats because im right over the motor.. so i guess the best thing to do adjust the timing right.. and see if that does anything.. only problem is i dont have a timing light up here at work cuz i would have already checked it by now...

is there anything that this ticking noise is that would make the car have lose of power when accelerating and it sputters a bit..

the other thing i noticed is the carb for the 1&2 is making a huge vaccum suction noise more so then the 3&4...

should i change my spark plugs???

COFBack Tue Jul 10, 2007 6:34 am

Could the ticking sound be an exhaust leak? It would be more apparent coming off RPM (ie rev the engine a little and let it off). I have a slight exhaust leak on my 71 that sounds like a tick.

Only way to properly time the vehicle is to use a timing light, with the 009 you want to time it at full advance. Get the engine up to 25-3000 RPM and time it to 28 to 30 degrees.

Still sounds like you have right side carb problems though. Check for vacuum leaks with some carb cleaner.

good luck

kombi211 Thu Jul 12, 2007 9:14 pm

how about your air bellows is it intact. If not you could be over heating the car as well? DId you check the carb setting re sync them. Mybe one is a little lean? ANd like was said above check for exhaust leak fix any if you have one. I would go ahead and replace the gaskets for the intake they are cheap. check the balance tube and make sure there is not leak there new hose is cheap and will give you a nice tight fit.

hope you get it fix!

suicidedoordavid Sun Jul 15, 2007 6:13 pm

COFBack wrote: Could the ticking sound be an exhaust leak? It would be more apparent coming off RPM (ie rev the engine a little and let it off). I have a slight exhaust leak on my 71 that sounds like a tick.

Only way to properly time the vehicle is to use a timing light, with the 009 you want to time it at full advance. Get the engine up to 25-3000 RPM and time it to 28 to 30 degrees.

Still sounds like you have right side carb problems though. Check for vacuum leaks with some carb cleaner.

good luck

so i'm using a strobe light to time my stock motor with a 009 and you mentioned to give the motor 25-3000 rpms and time it to 28 to 30 degrees. how do i know where on the stock wheel 28-30 degrees is? i see the first 3 notches wich is where i set the timing for a vac dizzy, but how do i tell where 28-30 degrees is? on a T1 degree pulley, 7 degrees is about an inch long on the pulley... do i measure 28-30 degrees on a degree pulley and then transfer that distance onto the T3pulley? or is there a certain amount on notches that i count that will tell me where 28-30 degrees lies?

KTPhil Sun Jul 15, 2007 7:42 pm

The T3 pulley has a larger diameter, so the inch measurment from the T1 pulley won't work.

Can you measure from the leftmost to the rightmost of the four marks you can see (if you have four)? That is 12.5 degrees, I think. So 30 is two and a half times that length.

Can someone check me on the 12.5 figure?

kombi211 Sun Jul 15, 2007 8:05 pm

well the easiest way to set up the timing. Is to get a timing light that timing advance on it. i think sears sells one for around $60.00 or so .

suicidedoordavid Tue Jul 17, 2007 1:02 pm

KTPhil wrote: The T3 pulley has a larger diameter, so the inch measurment from the T1 pulley won't work.

Can you measure from the leftmost to the rightmost of the four marks you can see (if you have four)? That is 12.5 degrees, I think. So 30 is two and a half times that length.

Can someone check me on the 12.5 figure?

thanks, i'll give that a try.

tim3 Sat Jul 21, 2007 8:10 pm

well so i replaced the hella blackened spark plugs today and the car runs a alot better but it still sputters at high rpm...

i backed off the timming and set the 009 at 3000rpm at two humps/notchs to the right of the last bridged hump/notch..

this made the car idle a bit better.. but i didnt sync the dual carbs yet or check for vac leaks but the 1/2 carb is making a very load vacum noise much louder then the 3/4 carb.. so im assuming there is some sync issues..

COFBack Mon Jul 23, 2007 7:36 am

Definately clean and synch the carbs.
THEN
Re time

tim3 Wed Nov 27, 2013 4:47 pm

found this old thread looking for something else and turns out I never got it fixed but the new owner who I pretty much gave the car too took it in to a shop and they told him the head was loose . they just bolted it back up and was working fine again.. just wanted to post this in case anyone searches for these symptoms.



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