Date: Thu, 29 Aug 2002 20:32:38 -0500
Reply-To: Stan Wilder <wilden1@JUNO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Stan Wilder <wilden1@JUNO.COM>
Subject: Re: Type 4 Necromancy?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
I feel that I need to offer a follow up on this.
It is important to recognize the cause of an engine failure or identify
an oncoming problem when you see the signs.
In most cases you encounter a part that failed but in other cases you
find leaking heads, valves about to drop off the stem, rocker adjusting
screws heavily pitted and valve seats that are loose but not dropped.
Most of the potential failures to Type IV engines are internal and
diagnosis is simple because you can hold the broken part in your hand and
cuss at it.
The most common problem I encounter in about ten Vanagon engines is a
dropped valve seat or a seat that has been driven back into the exhaust
port.
The second most common problem is that the builder missed the alignment
pin on #3 main bearing and has caused the bearing to become egg shaped.
This causes a newly rebuilt engine to fail within about 5000 miles.
The installation of an oil pressure gage at the time of rebuild would
alert you to ever decreasing oil pressure and disassembly of the engine
early on could save the engine.
If I were shopping for a used Vanagon I'd prefer to have a Vanagon with a
20 to 30K engine in it. Lets face it, its most likely going to run
another sixty or one hundred thousand miles if it was built good enough
to get as far as twenty thousand miles.
I don't say this for controversy but I find as many dropped or recessed
seats in the other cylinders as often as in #3 cylinder.
When I find broken rings and broken piston lands they occur mostly on #3
cylinder that is know to overheat under severe use.
I've never seen a rod sticking out of a Type IV block but I have seen
bent rods on #3 cylinder when it heat seized.
Often compression checks scare the bejesus out of us but in reality low
compressions are often caused by leaking cylinders to head seals or
leaking valves. A valve seat that is getting loose can also cause low
compression readings.
Many of these discovery scenarios cannot be accomplished by a novice
since the signs are subtle or so imperceptible to the untrained eye that
they are easily missed.
If you are taking your vehicle to a professional to get *little engine
noises* diagnosed I'd suggest that you leave the vehicle over night so
the person diagnosing the potential problem can run the engine through
the warming cycle on his first morning assignment the next day. Many
ticking noises seem to go away as your engine reaches operating
temperatures simply because the problem area is buffered by oil reduced
friction.
If anyone wishes to have any specific pictures of failed parts I'll be
glad to supply what I can with my opinions as to the reason for failure.
I encountered a piston so heavily seized in #3 cylinder that I had to
break the cylinder off with a hammer. Its educational to find out how
tough the Type IV cylinders are but the shattered cylinder parts are
never saved around here for conversation value.
Many of the parts that fail are so heavily encrusted with grease, carbon
and whatever else might be local; it is near impossible for a thorough
examination without first cleaning them.
I hope this clarifies my statements on taking and saving or showing
pictures of broken or failing parts.
I just don't see any reason to revisit someone elses misfortune.
I've been very fortunate that I've never had a engine disaster in my
Westy. I've given it a fair amount of abuse and am confident that the
Type IV engine is very durable as long as its potentials are respected.
At Last, finished.
Stan
On Thu, 29 Aug 2002 16:41:59 -0500 Stan Wilder <wilden1@JUNO.COM> writes:
> Jeez! ?
> You guys want pictures of dropped valve seats, seats dropped back
> into
> the port, cams run flat, #3 Main bearing that missed the pin, #2
> main
> bearings hammered out, bearings spun in the case, seized pistons
> with
> cylinders that had to be broken off with a hammer, Pistons that ate
> small
> valve parts, heads that detonated, 1700 rods bent pushing a 94mm
> piston
> at 5500 rpms, cylinders that are scored from broken rings and
> collapsed
> ring lands.
> I can give you all of those but I can't furnish the bucket for your
> tears.
> If you want to chronicle broken parts that is great.
> I consider even taking pictures of those events as a waste of time
> since
> you'll know what they are as soon as you see it in your own engine
> ...................... and you'll know exactly why the part failed.
>
> Stan Wilder
>
> On Thu, 29 Aug 2002 11:09:17 -0400 "G. Matthew Bulley"
> <gmbulley@BULLEY-HEWLETT.COM> writes:
> > I am currently disassembling a stock, 1982 Type 4 motor that
> > apparently
> > suffered from lots of abuse (few oil changes, sat up for some
> > years,
> > then was restarted, was operated (either) without the foam
> > cooling-tin
> > seal in place, or with some tin missing, apparently NEVER had the
> > valves
> > adjusted, had massive oil leaks for a LONG period of time, etc.).
> > The
> > junkyard grease-pencil on it *looked* like it said 32,000 miles.
> On
> > clean up, it looks more like 320,000 miles (which I cannot
> > believe).
> >
> > I have the ability to take digital pictures of this motor, record
> > observations, and *could* post to a website if this is of
> interest
> > to
> > enough folks. It is kind of a hassle, but I've also been where
> lots
> > of
> > you T4 owners are, wondering what's going on inside the motor,
> and
> > wondering what certain types of failure look like. Pictures of
> shiny
> > new
> > motors abound, failure pix are rare.
> >
> > P-mail. If it's a handful of folks, I send pics p-mail in the
> > coming
> > days. If it's heaps, I'll make a site.
> >
> > Developing business and guiding change since 1996,
> >
> > G. Matthew Bulley
> > Bulley-Hewlett
> > Marketing & Communications
> > Business: www.bulley-hewlett.com <http://bulley-hewlett.com/>
> > AIM = IExplain4u
> > Phone: +1.919.658.1278
> >
>
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