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Thu Dec 31, 2009 5:01 pm

my old bug had a gex engine in it when i bought it, dont know how many miles were on it, i drove it two years before i sold the car, it never blew up. i guess i got lucky, im sure they make one that runs once in a while.

Thu Dec 31, 2009 5:02 pm

years ago gex built a pretty good engine. but that was YEARS ago. i had a gex 1835cc back in the 80's that i put over 60,000 miles on. it probably would have lasted longer, but i was young, and didn't really keep up with scheduled maintenance on it. back then i had several friends that ran gex motors and all of them were good.

now flash forward a couple of years and gex products went down hill BAD. anymore, most gex motors are only good for core! if that.

i'm with glenn. drive it till it gives and then get a good motor. until then save your money. at least in so. cal you will be able to find vw parts easily!

Thu Dec 31, 2009 5:43 pm

hoghead5150 wrote:
i'm with glenn. drive it till it gives and then get a good motor. until then save your money. at least in so. cal you will be able to find vw parts easily!

You must have missed the OP's last post. It already gave. Put a bullet in its sump and put it out of its misery. The 5 minute run is about right for a GEX engine. On the bright side, there wasn't a lot of suspense.

Someone on here posted something about some junk parts they couldn't use for rebuilds, and the GEX guys came in and bought the lot.

Samba members ought to take out a two-page glossy ad in HVWs about GEX.

Thu Dec 31, 2009 5:47 pm

Pelikan wrote: I talked to my father (the super is at my parents place; they let me use a port in their garage to work on it). He had one of his mechanic buddies come over and run the engine, after I told him what they were saying about GEX on the forums. Apparently it was only running on three cylinders because the spark plug wasn't seated right, or something along those lines. Within a few minutes, a part in the oil pump was sheared off, and it lost oil pressure.

So that's where my GEX is at, after about five minutes of run time. I'm putting some strong thought into salvaging what I can off this engine, and building up a 1776 from new parts, or having a cost effective long block mocked up. I'll probably have about $1000 to work with, so hopefully I can do it for that.

Tear it down--if the oil pump already grenaded, you've got metal floating around in there and will ruin what MIGHT be salvageable if you run the engine again.

Post up pic's. And, I'm sorry--even if you "should have known better" or done your research, that really sucks. I bet you paid a fair bit for that engine.

Fri Jan 01, 2010 8:31 am

Pelikan wrote: I talked to my father (the super is at my parents place; they let me use a port in their garage to work on it). He had one of his mechanic buddies come over and run the engine, after I told him what they were saying about GEX on the forums. Apparently it was only running on three cylinders because the spark plug wasn't seated right, or something along those lines. Within a few minutes, a part in the oil pump was sheared off, and it lost oil pressure.

So that's where my GEX is at, after about five minutes of run time. I'm putting some strong thought into salvaging what I can off this engine, and building up a 1776 from new parts, or having a cost effective long block mocked up. I'll probably have about $1000 to work with, so hopefully I can do it for that.

Friendly advice: Do a search for "Empi" before you go buy anything.

Fri Jan 01, 2010 8:47 am

andk5591 wrote: OK - I do not have any personal experience with GEX - only what I have seen here and I doubt if EVERY engine that they build is bad, but you do see quite a few nightmare posts here.

A few? You seriously need to quit being offended when people here state the truth about schlock artists like GEX, EMPI, and the like.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30033
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=196644
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=92079
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=163641

Fri Jan 01, 2010 9:56 am

Pelikan wrote: I talked to my father (the super is at my parents place; they let me use a port in their garage to work on it). He had one of his mechanic buddies come over and run the engine, after I told him what they were saying about GEX on the forums. Apparently it was only running on three cylinders because the spark plug wasn't seated right, or something along those lines. Within a few minutes, a part in the oil pump was sheared off, and it lost oil pressure.

So that's where my GEX is at, after about five minutes of run time. I'm putting some strong thought into salvaging what I can off this engine, and building up a 1776 from new parts, or having a cost effective long block mocked up. I'll probably have about $1000 to work with, so hopefully I can do it for that.

Sorry to hear about you getting "GEX'd" - wow, GEX motor died after 5 minutes of run time? Must be some kind of new record? :shock:

Good luck with your rebuild & hope you have a great New Year!

bnc

Fri Jan 01, 2010 9:58 am

katalla wrote: my old bug had a gex engine in it when i bought it, dont know how many miles were on it, i drove it two years before i sold the car, it never blew up. i guess i got lucky, im sure they make one that runs once in a while.

...it did run once... for about 5 minutes before unleashing Hell in the engine bay -

bnc

Fri Jan 01, 2010 11:00 am

Best bet now--as everyone is saying--tear it down and start anew.

You're talking about a budget? Time to lose the mechanic and learn about your car. It sounds like you're already pretty well in the know, so save that coin and buy some handcleaner!

Oh, and my advice for a student (I graduated from Portland State '08, at 35 years old) is to run a stocker. Cheaper on parts, less wear and tear (power equals heat), and better on fuel. A stock 1600 DP with a header and decent carb set-up will make more than enough power for day-to-day use. And it'll keep those costly traffic tickets down, too.

Bummed for your loss, but live and learn. As Glenn says: Cheap-fast-reliable... But you can only pick two. Cheap and reliable can be done (I've been doing it for years), but you've got to realize that cheap means doing a job once, so always buy the high-quality part the first time...

Good luck!

Fri Jan 01, 2010 11:48 am

Bart Dunn wrote:
Samba members ought to take out a two-page glossy ad in HVWs about GEX.
Yep ... the 5 minute run time could be the headline. I had a GEX 40 horse long block way back when GEX was out here in Ca. (remember their roll-up poster with the bikini girl and the spotless long block?). Well, the crank snapped a few thousand miles into it's life. GEX moved out of California for a reason. Baldwin Park (their home while in Ca.) became just a bit too easy to find. Their unresolved BBB complaints (no better BBB references in Arkansas BTW) and face to face visits with angry customers, drove them out of Ca.

P.S. Nice avatar Fitz

Fri Jan 01, 2010 12:04 pm

So that's where my GEX is at, after about five minutes of run time.

only 5 minutes eh ?? :(

Too bad it wasn't five minutes of setting a new, never to be broken land speed record instead of in a car port.

Fri Jan 01, 2010 12:18 pm

If anyone's in the appropriate line of work (military, mob, etc.) put high explosives here.

Fri Jan 01, 2010 12:24 pm

I bought a GEX back in 1999 for the '73 Ghia, and despite the myriad of crappy reviews, that long block ran great for the 8 years I drove it. I hated how they painted the case, because the paint doesn't last long before it starts to peel off. I wouldn't but a GEX again, though - just because of all the bad reviews that I read on TS. It didn't even leak oil, either. Maybe I lucked out.

Fri Jan 01, 2010 2:40 pm

clearsurf2001 wrote:

P.S. Nice avatar Fitz

Thanks Man!

Fri Jan 01, 2010 2:52 pm

whobba wrote: I bought a GEX back in 1999 for the '73 Ghia, and despite the myriad of crappy reviews, that long block ran great for the 8 years I drove it. I hated how they painted the case, because the paint doesn't last long before it starts to peel off. I wouldn't but a GEX again, though - just because of all the bad reviews that I read on TS. It didn't even leak oil, either. Maybe I lucked out.

Maybe the case paint was holding the oil in? :lol:

bnc

Fri Jan 01, 2010 3:46 pm

Bart Dunn wrote: If anyone's in the appropriate line of work (military, mob, etc.) put high explosives here.

I thought they built enough of their own grenades. :wink:

Fri Jan 01, 2010 5:29 pm

HeidelbergJohn4.0 wrote: Bart Dunn wrote: If anyone's in the appropriate line of work (military, mob, etc.) put high explosives here.

I thought they built enough of their own grenades. :wink:

Too long on the time-delay fuses.

Fri Jan 01, 2010 10:21 pm

Bart Dunn wrote:

Too long on the time-delay fuses.

On the contrary: Five minutes seems ideal for a quick getaway.

Fri Jan 01, 2010 11:04 pm

Bart Dunn wrote: If anyone's in the appropriate line of work (military, mob, etc.) put high explosives here.

Did anyone else notice that they are located across the street from a cemetery???

This is indeed a case of irony...so I did learn something in high school english. :lol:

Sat Jan 02, 2010 5:50 am

I must have one of the other lucky Gex motors , was in the car allready and car was cheap , motor has been run for many years allready and its a VERY strong 2180cc .. Im happy so far ..... but i do need to get rid of the stock heater boxes and put on a bigger carb ?