TheSamba.com :: View topic - Ran great out the door. Now? Not so much.

Sat Oct 19, 2013 3:31 pm

I just bought a 82 westy with a manufactured 2.1L with less than 2k miles on the motor. Ran fine when I bought it yesterday. I'm driving it home made it 450 no issues, pulled good/went up hills strong (easily 50-60mph I never broke 65mph up or down hill). than it suddenly felt like I was running half an engine(30-40mph up hills) I limped into a small shop. We found cylinder 1&4 were not sparking. Pulled the plugs 1 smelled of gas, 4 had oil on it and smelled burnt. We replaced them with no change. Also replaced the cap with no success. Still idled faster than normal and sounded like it was miss firing.

The mechanic said he believes its either a bad value or cylinder head issue. I still have 500 miles to go and no real choice but to drive it since his shop can't do that kinda work and its a Saturday night.

Seems weird since they rebuilt the engine 2k miles ago.

So my questions:

Anyone ever had these issues?

What is the difficultly level to pull a cylinder head on "flat top" engine?

Could it be anything else easy before I dive into cylinder work?

Any VW shops near savanna GA?

Thanks for any help.

Sat Oct 19, 2013 3:40 pm

Did he Do a compression test?
Check the valve adjustment?

Run an engine 500 miles on two cylinders! Iffy, it will probably cost you an engine.

2.1 is water cooled,
1982 was 2.0 air cooled, could have been rebuilt as a 2.1 air cooled?
Maybe a very late 82 was water cooled but a 1.9
They offered a water cooled diesel in 82...... Someone swap it out for a 2.1?

Whatever engine..... If you cannot make it run......Tow it home, don't drive it!

Air cooled heads are "easy" to pull.....no hoses, no water but cooling tin is a PITA, water cooled, not so easy but doable.

Oil in the cylinder? Not a good thing!

Dave

Sat Oct 19, 2013 5:44 pm

Get AAA and have it flat-bedded (is that a verb?) home. I wouldn't drive it on two cylinders, unless you're planning a replacement.

Sat Oct 19, 2013 6:25 pm

I agree with Corwyn on the AAA and ask them how long is the waiting period.
Explain your situation and take it from there.
Good Luck

Sat Oct 19, 2013 10:56 pm

Not sparking or not firing/carrying any load? If there is no spark then it is an electrical issue and should be easily and cheaply fixable. If you have a spark and aren't getting any power out of the two cylinders then you have something else wrong. You can do a quickie compression test just by turning the engine over two full revolutions by hand. The compression should feel the same on all four cylinders. If one or two have noticeably less compression then you have probably had some kind of head or piston failure that will require further investigation.

You can also pull the injectors out from the manifolds easily and see if they all are spraying when the engine is cranked. Don't catch you van on fire while doing this. :cry:

Probably going to be the cheapest in the long run to rent a U-haul truck and a flat bed and tow her home.

Sun Oct 20, 2013 5:05 am

Hmmmm.... Sssssssshhhhhh.........It's very Quiet from one needing quick advice!

Or.......
He did NOT like the unanimous advice given and chose to bully through?

I think he may have motored on his way, probably destroying his engine! :shock:

Dave

Sun Oct 20, 2013 10:56 am

Sorry, I didn't answer back. No I took your guys advice and pulled over. Been weighing my options. Not to many at this point. There is a local mechanic I'm waiting to take it to, to do a proper test. If he can't figure it out it will cost me about 450$ to haul it back and have someone else fix it. Not what I wanted to spend that amount of money on when the seller and his mechanic told me it was road ready. Anyone know a good VW mechanic in Corbin, KY? Or Savanna, GA if I have to hall it home?

I'm gonna run down the mechanic who put the engine in as well to see what was done with the heads, or if there was a warranty on the motor. I wouldn't think a motor with 2k miles should be having these issues.

Thanks all for the convincing....disappointing experience to say the least.

Sun Oct 20, 2013 3:01 pm

Glad you heeded the warnings! Do a compression test, that will tell you a lot right off the bat. I'm surprised mechanic #1 didn't do one while he had the plugs out.

Tell us, what engine? Air cooled? Water cooled?

Sun Oct 20, 2013 3:51 pm

18Vanagonfan wrote: Still idled faster than normal.

Might have a vacuum leak somewhere

Sun Oct 20, 2013 4:11 pm

Ya I don't know how much mechanic #1 wanted to dive into it. But it is an air cooled engine. And unless I heard wrong, they did say it was a new 2.1. So maybe "new" to them means less miles, rebuilt, pulled from a later year or somewhere in between. Thanks for the idea about the line, tomrrow when this mechanic jumps into it ill ask him to check that out.

Sun Oct 20, 2013 4:46 pm

18Vanagonfan wrote: I just bought a 82 westy with a manufactured 2.1L with less than 2k miles on the motor.

Seems weird since they rebuilt the engine 2k miles ago.

Back in my Air Cooled days it was rare to find a VW where the seller didn't advertise a "rebuilt" engine. But, "rebuilt" means different things to different people. To some, rebuilt means a tuneup. To me it has always meant to split the case and rebuild from the bottom end up.

Sorry to hear of your problems. Good luck.

Mon Oct 21, 2013 5:20 am

Update #1- number 4 cylinder has 45lbs(lbs is the correct measurement?) of compression all others 130. Took off the valve cover and out rolled a nut from the rocker arm assembly. It was sheered right off. Ill keep you posted.

Mon Oct 21, 2013 5:22 am

18Vanagonfan wrote: Update #1- number 4 cylinder has 45lbs(lbs is the correct measurement?) of compression all others 130. Took off the valve cover and out rolled a nut from the rocker arm assembly. It was sheered right off. Ill keep you posted.

THAT is very encouraging!

To fix rocker arms is a "simple" fix as compared to a stuck or burned valve.

Stuff like this happens to old items.
Was it the rebuilders fault? Could be...... Maybe not, it may have just "happened".

Hopefully the fix is quick and simple.

Dave

Mon Oct 21, 2013 8:54 am

45psi is about what you would expect to find if the intake valve was not opening at all, so you may be in luck.

Mon Oct 21, 2013 8:57 am

Final update for this Saga-
The mechanic found an old vw head in the back and matched it up and installed The bolt. Interesting to note the the two bolts holding down this rocker arm assembly were shorter than any of the others on any if the rocker arm assembly's. also the nuts were of a finer thread than the bolt they were on :shock: . Anyways the previous owner was very helpful and so were the mechanics who installed it(they did not build it), To help figure out the timing. Either way it is fixed and if you are ever in Corbin, KY, home of the first Kentucky Fried chicken,and need help look up Owen's big truck auto shop. Friendly and bent over backwards to help me.

Ok I'm onto Ft Stewart, GA. If any of you who convinced me to pull over are ever in my neck of the woods, look me up on here and ill buy you a drink.

Thanks again

Gabe

Mon Oct 21, 2013 9:24 am

18Vanagonfan wrote: also the nuts were of a finer thread than the bolt they were on :shock: .

Sad that this kind of repair gets done, but I have seen it over and over. Poor repair practice causes a large percentage of breakdowns and often leads to abandonment of otherwise good vehicles.

I once bought the FI system off of an absolutely mint looking Bay Window bus that had just been towed into the wrecking yard the day before. The system included a just installed "rebuilt" AFM from a major supplier. When I installed the FI system on my engine, the engine would barely run, so after much trouble shooting I pulled the cover off the AFM and saw that it was a mess inside. The major rebuilder had never even popped the lid, just cleaned the outside, stuck on their sticker, and repackaged it, leading to the abandonment and stripping of the primo Bay Window bus I had taken the FI system from.