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Sat Feb 01, 2014 9:25 pm

so i thought i had this all figured out with the shop that rebuilt my motor but nope.. they claim its my carbs causing my motor to run weird becuase at first i thought my 1&2 were not firing so i believed them when we did a compression test on #2 and came out at 120+ (should of had them test all the cylinders infront of me).. with more testing tonight i found that #2 is firing, and that in fact #1 and #3 are not firing..

I don't have a compression tester which sucks cuz i could find out right away if it was bad compression.. however i did do this i swapped the plugs from the bad cylinders to the new ones NO CHANGE... i then swapped the wires and NO CHANGE.. so yep leads me to believe something is seriously wrong.. im rulling out CARBS but correct me if im wrong here?? I dont believe stock 32 pict solex carbs would only allow one cylinder to fire because duh they are single barrel carbs...

My plan is to check the valves tomorrow morning and to go an buy a compression tester.. I really want this to just be bad plugs but sounds like the latter right?...

Sat Feb 01, 2014 9:38 pm

(Oh and TRAM i know you are going to suspect the gasket at the manifold to the head.. im going to take the manifolds off right now)

found this thread but mine is doing this even when i give it throttle..
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4...mp;start=0

I pulled it up to 2.5-3k rpms and pulled the #3 and #1 and zero change in the way it ran.. plugged them back in while holding it there and again zero change.. repeated this and still no change at idle or mid throttle.. ughh

Sat Feb 01, 2014 10:30 pm

tim3 wrote: (Oh and TRAM i know you are going to suspect the gasket at the manifold to the head.. im going to take the manifolds off right now)

found this thread but mine is doing this even when i give it throttle..
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4...mp;start=0

I pulled it up to 2.5-3k rpms and pulled the #3 and #1 and zero change in the way it ran.. plugged them back in while holding it there and again zero change.. repeated this and still no change at idle or mid throttle.. ughh

Bet you find metal gaskets... :o

Sat Feb 01, 2014 10:54 pm

3&4 (3 is on the left)

1&2

No metal gaskets or loose manifold nuts, but def found some shmeg & wet gaskets on both.. also the manifold balance tubes are crushed/ plugged.. that would explain idle possibly but not at 3k rpm right?

Sat Feb 01, 2014 11:01 pm

Here is a pic of the balance tube shut off.. welded shut on both manifolds.. why? Lol wtf for

Sat Feb 01, 2014 11:13 pm

Looking at my pics i saw this? Why is there oil by the number 1 plug?

#3 is clean:

Sat Feb 01, 2014 11:23 pm

Pull the plugs and let's see what they look like by cylinder.

Sat Feb 01, 2014 11:45 pm

#1 top right oily only on the outside.. leads me to believe the oil i spilled from the oil bath earlier today might of contaminated this area.. doesnt look like it could of reached this area though from my pic

Oil spill from bath earlier today:

And i cant tell if the oil is coming from the cylinder or the spill?

Sun Feb 02, 2014 1:45 am

That oil at the plug looks like it's coming from the plug hole because the plug was not tight.

You NEED a balance tube with those carbs (and any single barrel carb set). I would cut off the nipple and drill/tap for a hose fitting and run a balance tube.

Also, once you get everything together, start the motor and spray carb cleaner around the gaskets to reveal any vacuum leaks.

Sun Feb 02, 2014 2:14 am

If you don't have new cardboard gaskets, soak the old ones in ATF for an hour to swell them up before installing. If you have new ones, soak them in ATF before installing as well.

This was an old, old Mercedes trick for carb gaskets. I've never had a leak doing them this way.

Sun Feb 02, 2014 10:58 am

Nate M. wrote: That oil at the plug looks like it's coming from the plug hole because the plug was not tight.

You NEED a balance tube with those carbs (and any single barrel carb set). I would cut off the nipple and drill/tap for a hose fitting and run a balance tube.

Also, once you get everything together, start the motor and spray carb cleaner around the gaskets to reveal any vacuum leaks.

The number one plug was pretty easy to take off. Id agree it was loose. Where can i find a hose fitting that would work? I can drill tap whatever, but not sure where to get a good fitting :/

Sun Feb 02, 2014 11:07 am

I'd use a 1/4" NPT hose fitting with the appropriate sized hose (like a 1/4" or so hose).

Sun Feb 02, 2014 11:14 am

http://m.autozone.com/autozone-mobile/en/accessori...?id=976393
(Edit) i posted this with out checking for a new post)
Something like this? Says MNPT which im assuming means male in front if npt?

i didnt know this tube existed :/

Sun Feb 02, 2014 10:21 pm

So I installed a balance hose from one intake to the other and it did help a bit. If I pinch the balance tube it slows the idle down so i know its doing its job.. So the verdict is #3 is back at it again and firing at idle. when i take the plug wire off of #1 is doesn't give a noticeable change in idle still.. what is strange though if i take off the #4 wire from the cap it dam near almost kills the motor.. I still haven't checked the valves, but that is my next step now..

Oh and I got a used "loan" compression tester from auto zone, but no matter what I do all the cylinders come in at 90 psi.. I even tried this on my vanagon which i know has 130 psi and it showed 90 with this tester.. Im guessing this tester is bunk.. I held it cranking for a long time.. cold and warm all both cars showed ~90psi.. lame...

Sun Feb 02, 2014 11:37 pm

When doing a compression test, you need ALL plugs pulled, the motors warm and the throttle pedal at wide open throttle (WOT). If any of those are not done, it will read low.

Sun Feb 02, 2014 11:51 pm

why do you need to have the pedal WOD? for lubrication? I did have all the plugs pulled on the cold test but yeah it wasnt warm..

when it was warm at the shop they only pulled the #2 plug and it read ~120psi.. anyways i am reading that #1&#3 cylinders dont work as hard as #2&#4 for some reason at idle.. a balance tube did help a bit so thanks for steering me in that direction..

Mon Feb 03, 2014 5:54 am

So you are still driving this Tassi engine that is making bad noises? Better take the compression test and then tear it down and fix the wobbly fan or whatever! Tassi might build good engines, but not be familiar with bad Type 3 fans. I do think that Tassi should do the labor for free this 3rd time. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5...p;start=20

Mon Feb 03, 2014 9:05 am

The motor isnt making any noises any more we figured out what was going on at tassi last week. The issue with tassi is they may have built a good motor but they did a terrible job putting it back together before they handed it off to me.. i am going through everything i can on this motor and at this point it seems to be running fine. I might be a bit paranoid about this motor for a handfull of reasons based on tassi's actions, but i think im getting close.

Mon Feb 03, 2014 9:29 am

The throttle should be wide open so the engine can get the maximum supply of air for the compression test. Otherwise it will read too low, as Nate says.

Just curious, what turned out to be wrong with the engine?

Mon Feb 03, 2014 9:38 am

are the carbs in sync?