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Date:         Tue, 20 Mar 2007 16:43:43 -0400
Reply-To:     Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Intermittent smoking and rough running.. Inline 4 conversion
              engine, long..
Comments: To: inua@CHARTER.NET
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed

The VW I4 engines are notorious for bad valve stem seals and worn guides. With the proper tolls, the seals are fairly easy to repalce wit the head in place. The guides can be chaecked at the same time if you are careful. It is also possible that the crancase vent system is not compatible with the engine angle or the crancase is being overfilled cuasing excess carry over through the breather system into the intake manifold. Excessive piston blow by can also cause this.

Dennis

>From: John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET> >Reply-To: John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET> >To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM >Subject: Re: Intermittent smoking and rough running.. Inline 4 conversion > engine, long.. >Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 10:34:18 -0500 > >Blue-white smoke? I'd day you have something that is failing that is >letting oil pass into the cylinder. Could be valve guides, rings, etc. >Anything that has to do with oil control. > >I can't relate exactly to the Cabriolet motor, but what you describe >sounds much like symptoms my WBX 2.1 was having before it burned a >piston. After I tore it down, I saw where something had happened and the >cylinder wall was scored way down one side and the top edge of the >piston was melted through. Had I a bit more knowledge of the engines at >the time, I might have caught the problems before major damage occurred. > >I suggest that you do a "leak-down" compression test. You can often hear >air leaking past valves or rings by listening to the exhaust and at >some point along the air intake system. > >Good luck, > >Regards, > >John Rodgers >88 GL Driver > > > >Don Hanson wrote: >>Hi all, >> >> Recently I've re-commissioned my Vanagon (with a 1.8 l '92 Cabriolet >>motor conversion) after about 3 months of non-running storage. All was >>good, for a few trips, and it is a pleasure to be back into a Van, but >>something is not right sometimes..Here's the symptoms for anyone >>interested in helping me figure out what could be wrong.. >> >> I sometimes get big clouds of smoke and rough running on startup. >>Continues for a short time, perhaps a minute, maybe a little less. >>White-ish smoke, but a bit blue, too.. This usually happens after the car >>has been driven and is warm and then shut off. I noticed, once, a slight >>hesitation when cranking, like it was 'hydro-locking' slightly, perhaps. >>It also sometimes starts without the smoke but runs like one cylinder >>might be fouled slightly, but after a few seconds it begins to run clean. >>Yesterday, this smoke happened, then cleared up as I drove just a few >>blocks. Shut down and re-started within a few minutes and again, big >>smoke! Got some dirty looks from passers-by, I must say. >> >> On the road, the engine runs strong and burns only a minimum of >>oil...perhaps half a quart per 1000 miles. The coolant level stays ok, >>and there is no oil in the overflow tank or moisture coming out the >>exhaust. No apparent water in the oil. I did have some issues with air >>in the cooling system a while back, but with the help of the list archive, >>got that bled out, without cooking the motor, after replacing hoses and >>waterpumps and boiling out the radiator, etc. >> >> So, something seems to be getting into a combustion chamber somehow, is >>my guess. Perhaps a stuck lifter, a bad valve guide, a blown headgasket >>or cracked piston ring...something that can show up just sometimes after >>startup and yet not effect the performance of the motor when going down >>the road.. >> >> I am planning on changing to a slightly different camshaft soon. I >>would like to order whatever other parts might fix this 'smoke-screen' >>problem to have them on hand when I go into the motor for the cam swap..I >>guess lifters should be changed and perhaps a headgasket, though I have >>not heard much about headgasket failure on the Inline 4 motors as a >>frequent problem.. >> >> Anybody care to hazard a guess? Thanks, >> >> Don Hanson >> >> >>


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