Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2003 15:18:52 -0800
Reply-To: Tom Young <tomyoung1@COMCAST.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Tom Young <tomyoung1@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: No compression
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
From: "Skip Emmert-Keaton" <skip@SKIPEMMERT.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Monday, December 15, 2003 1:10 PM
Subject: No compression
> The verdict is in. I took the '80 Westy to Meyer's in Vegas when it
sounded
> like it was running on three cylinders. (This is the van I bought about
two
> months ago with 80K miles). There is no compression in the #2 cylinder.
> They want $650-700 to put a new head on it.
What do you mean when you say "it sounded like it was running on three
cylinders"? I've run on 3 cylinders when I've forgotten to attach a spark
plug wire and there's no "sound" associated with that situation, just less
power. Were you hearing some sort of banging, the whistling of some sort of
obvious leak, or what? Also, what was the mechanic's best guess as to the
cause of zero compression in #2?
> 1. What are the probable causes for 0 compression in #2?
Being fairly general, the cylinder isn't holding compression because there's
a "hole" somewhere in the system. Probably the most common causes of
significant "holes" are valve heads that separate from valve stems or valve
seats that come out of the head. If you're hearing a banging that's coming
from this head then my guess would be dropped seat.
> 2. Which of these are likely to be repairable with a Bentley and average
> tools by an average schmuck (me)?
If the problem is only a head problem with no consequential damage to piston
and cylinder then the answer is a new or rebuilt head. The average schmuck
doesn't rebuild heads, he sends it out to people that do this for a living.
Heads run in the $170 - $450 range depending on whether you go the rebuilt
route or choose new.
> 3. When does one rebuild vs. replace?
If you have a head problem that's so bad you've got zero compression you're
going to "replace" with new or rebuilt. One exception might be a stripped
spark plug thread - most competent machinist can fix that - though I'd think
you'd have told us you keep finding the spark plug from #2 sitting on top of
the head if this was the case.
> 4. What should I plan on this costing out of pocket?
If you're dong the work yourself the biggest cost will be for the head.
Figure, maybe, around $30-$50 for incidentals (exhaust and intake gaskets,
pushrod tube seals, valve cover gasket, some new hardware for the head and
exhaust system, and so forth) and you've got a ballpark figure, assuming
you're not renting tools. Of course, you'll likely find that the thermostat
is shot, since most of them are.
> 5. What else should I do while I'm there (assuming there's anything I can
> do)?
Impossible to answer since it depends on your tolerance for the unknown, how
happy you'd be to drop the engine again in a week, how much money you have,
how soon you want to drive this car again, and on and on. Probably you
should inspect the clutch, throwout bearing, flywheel surface, pilot bearing
and check endplay. Many folk's will say you should replace the front and
rear main seals "as long as you're in there." You might want to pull the
other head and see what's what over there. And the list goes on and on.
> 6. What kind of specialty tools might be necessary?
If you're dropping the engine, completely stripping it down to a long block
(really not necessary if you're content to only do one head), removing and
replacing one or more heads and then reassembling, you don't need much in
the way of "specialty" tools beyond what most people have if they work on
cars a lot. A floor jack's nice, ramps are nice, a torque wrench is a
necessity, feeler gauges (or, better, a dial gauge) are required, and then
the usual assortment of wrenches, screwdrivers, etc. If you replace the
pilot bearing then an inside puller is a Godsend.
> 7. Could this be related to the van's hot start problem (it has a new
> starter and a starter relay)?
If you're saying the engine turns over OK but has difficulty starting when
hot, then, Yes.
