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Date:         Fri, 22 Jan 2010 10:36:13 -0600
Reply-To:     John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
Subject:      Re: ThreadJack: MY Rebuilt Engine is another saga...
Comments: To: Sheilah Rogers <sheilah@SHEILAH.ORG>
In-Reply-To:  <5E47A372-358A-422B-88C7-2A35B9FC69C6@sheilah.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

On these WBX engines, it's not worth the effort to port and polish the heads _unless_ you are going to do a whole lot of other stuff to gain a significant degree of performance improvement. The cost effectiveness just isn't there.

John Rodgers Clayartist and Moldmaker 88'GL VW Bus Driver Chelsea, AL Http://www.moldhaus.com

Sheilah Rogers wrote: > Curious timing, this post. Thank you for posting an update. It's so great (as a newbie to this list) to be voraciously reading and consuming as much as I can on most of these subjects, especially when one of them is happening to me right now! > > My mechanic just told me that both valves in cylinder 3 are leaking (by ~20%). I bought a factor rebuild in 1999, just a mere 40k miles ago. Yes, I'm bummed. > > I found this out after asking the mechanic to run a compression test only because my dad thought it'd give me peace of mind since I was afraid to plop down ~$3k for an unrelated work order (which includes some other Must-Do fixes now). SOOO now, here I am, looking at $3k plus valve work. You might say my head is spinning a bit. > > Thanks for posting the follow-up to your own, Bryan. i'm going to go search the archives for your prior thread on the subject. If you care to give me anything that might help me find your previous discussions, eg: Month / Year that this discussion took place, I would be appreciative. > > > In case anyone's interested, here's the current plan/approach: > > 0/ Decide if all this money is worth the cost and love I have for Vanna. Figure out how to finance it. I guess this last sentence highlights my tendency... > > 1/ Mechanic doubts the heads are corroded because there's no visible gunk/coolant and they're so "new". So hopefully, he can bypass new heads. If the heads are corroded... well, perhaps I'll save that thought if new information necessitates it. > > 2/ He will take apart the old heads (I'm assuming there are only two) and port/seal both of them. I hope this is what will prevent losing (another) engine, or at least valve, for awhile. > > 3/ He offers something called Porting at two levels: the better Porting also involves some Polishing ~> yields better mileage and power. I need to figure out whether to do one or the other (or not). > > 4/ Though I've never overheated my engine that I know of (at least not on this rebuilt engine), I will become even more scrupulous about changing my oil every 3k miles or slightly less often if it's winter (non-synthetic, no Penzoil, yes to Castrol 20/50) - I'm in San Francisco, no snow, not so much freezing temps here. In all fairness, I believe I've been pretty good about oil changes anyways. > > 5/ I will search the archives to find anything and everything I can about valve, heads, and porting. > > 6/ I will eat copious amounts of chocolate and pretend all this work and $ is Okay. I will also feel like a traitor while I search online for Chinooks for sale. Oh wait, I did that last part yesterday. > > 7/ I'm considering a local weekend class I heard about that teaches fools (and I use that term lovingly) like me a bit more about the vehicles they drive. > > > s. > > > > > > > On Jan 21, 2010, at 2:53 PM, B Feddish wrote: > > >> If you missed our last episode, here is review. I bought a 1.9 from Chris at >> JordanVW about 18 months ago for my mechanic to rebuild for my '83 wc Westy. >> Why did I buy a new core when I already had one? Because my mechanic is so >> slow that I knew he would take forever to rebuild it and I did not want my >> van rotting in front of his shop with the engine out. I also bought some >> good slightly used AMC heads from Ken at VanAgain. My mechanic had a heart >> attack right after getting the engine apart and is out of commission for >> awhile. I was going to head down to Annapolis to get an inexpesive rebuild >> after that and posted such plans with some questions to the list. I got a >> barrage of emails with all kinds of suggestions, etc. Jim Arnott forwarded >> my email to Stan at Boston Engine (who I met this past summer at a RI >> campout) and forwarded it to Gary (From Boston Bob's) at Suburban Engine. >> Lots of emails went back and forth then after he agreed to rebuild a 1.9 I >> mailed it up to him in 3 big boxes. My fingers were crossed as he said the >> case needed to be able to take a new set of bearings but it turned out OK. >> I got squeamish about having the original valves on the AMC and Gary put on >> some "better breathing" German ones. I don't to kick off that debate again, >> it was just cheap insurance. >> >> OK, now I have an engine sitting up in Cambridge, MA that Gary probably >> wants out of his shop. I'm going to have to plan a trip to go get it. My >> wife wants to come so we'll probably spend more on a mini vacation then if I >> just had him ship it here. sigh... OK, how am I going to get this engine in >> the back of my van? I have several options. One is a current list member >> here was so adamant about me not getting a cheap rebuild that he said he'd >> come to my house and put a good one in for free. He may regret offering >> that as I may take him up on it. :) I'd help or course. The other option is >> me putting it in by myself. That could be difficult. I guess what I would >> like to know is if there are any shops within say 75 miles that could put it >> in at a reasonable price? None near me will do it. I'm in the western >> suburbs of Philadelphia. What are the odds that Benny Boy is traveling south >> this month and is dying to do a 1.9 R&R? :) :) >> >> I appreciated all the rebuild ideas everyone like "Get a 2.1", "Do a >> Subaru", etc. but you have to remember I already bought a 1.9 core, I was >> not going to go spend another $400 on another core. And why did I do another >> WBX? Because it is the least expensive route at the time and my current one, >> rebuilt in a local garage, lasted 12 years and always got me where I wanted >> to go. >> >> I will have running 1.9 that needs a water pump and head gasket leak fix for >> sale shortly for cheap... >> >> I also will have the 2.1 core that I got from from Ron this past summer. >> It's down to the case (but has issues) and I'll be offering that free in a >> separate thread. >> >> Thanks, >> Bryan >> > > >


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