Date:         Mon, 12 Jan 2004 06:55:56 -0600
Reply-To:     "Warren.K.Lail-1" <wlail@OU.EDU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         "Warren.K.Lail-1" <wlail@OU.EDU>
Subject:      Re: AVP Engine for 88 WBX
Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Thanks to those of you who replied.  I have to take the blame if something simple was missed.  I began the process of pulling the head without first doing a compression test.  I now know it was dumb and it is a mistake I will not make again (nothing like experience, eh?).  The job quickly went beyond my toolkit and abilities (and I didn't have a compression tester), and that is when I called in the mechanic.  So he's totally clear.  In fact, he's a great guy who did everything he could to help me out of a jam.

However, because the history of this engine is unclear, and now partially disassembled anyway, and because I regularly take LONG (read cross-country) trips, I'm thinking this may have been a blessing in disguise. I don't want to spend the bucks, but when an engine's specific history is unknown, one can't go wrong, I don't think, by installing a good rebuild.  One additional thing I plan to do is to replace very water and gas line on the entire vehicle, bumper to bumper.

Warren
88 Westy

<I recently purchased an 88 waterboxer that had a lot of work done on it previously.  However, on my way across Tennessee during the holidays, it gradually lost power and when I got to my sister's home it was running on three cylinders.  I had the benefit of finding a great local guy by the name of Glenn Hines who came and towed my newest prize to his shop about 90 miles east of my sister's home.  I thought I had a head problem, but Glenn told me that the head looks great and he could see no damage to or near a piston, and that the pushrods were straight.  In fact, he told me the head looked almost new and that the rings had not even scored the top of the cylinder wall.

Question:  Could a collapsed lifter cause the severe power loss (when I remove the #4 plug wire the engine does not change at all) or is this something more serious?  Before Glenn removed the head I changed out the spark plug to no avail, and the oil light never came on.  Any ideas?  Otherwise this bus runs strong!>