This is going to be my first post on the subject of this pain in the backside throw away engine! first don't through it away it can be rebuilt and run afterwards! i brought one of these for my son thinking vw 68000 miles should do him for a couple of years, err wrong answer! after going through the same as everyone else who has had one of these and that has not been regularly serviced (THIS IS THE BIG KILLER, NOT SERVICED ON TIME AND DECENT OIL) we performed all the usual checks engine compression timing checks (we had replaced the timing chain as a matter of course as you would a belt) add oil to bores recheck everything! in the end the option suggested to us was scrap the car or get a replacement engine, well the rest of the car was to good to scrap, unfortunately trying to source a decent second hand engine proved almost impossible without paying £400 - £500! Having rebuilt engines before i decide to give it a go despite what the manual says you can't dismantle the bottom half of the crank case, (you can, just need to be careful). all the parts are available to rebuild it, rings, bearing shells, valves and valve guides. the main thing to note is that even though we originally had good compression and even better when oil was added to the cylinder bores, the main cause of our engine problem was the oil control rings allowing oil past and burning it in the combustion chamber this affected the emissions and the computer then tried to compensate causing more fuel to be burnt along with large amounts of oil. anyway back to the rebuild separating the the two halves of the crankcase if done in a similar manor to the cylinder head (diagonally and working in) undoing each bolt a small amount at a time then repeating until they are all loose, lift away the bottom half and now you can get at the end caps for the pistons (a bit at a time again). the main thing now is to examine all the dismantled parts check what needs replacing and what can be reused, best advise you've got it apart replace the lot IE bearings and piston rings. initially i thought the whole thing was shot as the play in the crank end float and piston lateral movement in the bores was a lot more than what i was used to seeing in engines (even a totally worn out engine), on first inspection the piston rings don't even appear worn and are not stuck to the piston or gummed up but believe me they are shot! Don't forget to deglaze th cylinder bores pay particular attention to the cylinder head, the hydraulic tappets were pretty much all stuck. after all the valves were removed the whole head and block were taken to a local garage for a dip in the cleaner (not 100% needed but makes life easier) all the valve guides were replaced (again this wasn't 100% needed ) but what the hell i didn't want to do it again, so in went new valves. reassembly took time as there are no specifications availably for this engine (beg and plead with vw as much as you like it ain't going to happen) so with patience and gentle use of a torque wrench it has been resembled. bear in mind this engine uses oil pressure to tension the chain, THIS IS IMPORTANT! TAKE OUT SPARK PLUGS (THIS MEANS NO COMPRESSION OR STRESS ON ENGINE AND TIMING CHAIN SHOULD NOT JUMP), DISCONNECT FUEL INJECTORS (THIS STOPS NEAT PETROL GOING IN TO THE CAT AND RUINING IT). CRANCK ENGINE FOR AT LEAST A MINUTE TO GET OIL ROUND. now reattach everything and give it a try. 500 miles on and we have just done oil change after running engine in!
I am in the process of writing the rebuild process fully ( it may take some time as i do't have a lot of it!) if any one is interested please let me know.
The Sheep
I am in the process of writing the rebuild process fully ( it may take some time as i do't have a lot of it!) if any one is interested please let me know.
The Sheep
