Date: Fri, 18 Oct 2013 01:20:45 -0700
Reply-To: Scott Daniel <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Organization: Cosmic Reminders
Subject: Re: She runs!!!!! Finally
In-Reply-To: <2C629D0D-EB77-41C3-B430-493C888D36C9@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
If it's coolant smoke out the tailpipe ..the anti-freeze smell will be
very distinct.
Unless you put in pure water, which is not a good idea .
is the smoke blue, black, or white ?
if blue ..that's oil.
if rings are stuck ..'maybe' some more running or an additive will help.
what oil is in it now ?
what weight ?
you can check compression or do a leak down test..
those might reveal something ....and maybe not.
but it's an easy test to do that can't hurt.
was the engine turned over now and then while it sat for years ?
To let a piston engine 'just sit' for years...
I have seen pistons and rings so badly rusted to cylinder walls that the
pistons had to be hammered out with a huge drift and a sledge hammer.
And even some that couldn't be gotten out at all.
remove the spark plugs...fill cylinder with coca-cola and let that soak
in a few weeks. Half joking.
if the engine is good there shouldn't be any smoke out the tail pipe
after just a short while of running.
that's two recent stories now about used or mystery waterboxer engines
that smoked after they got running in a 'new' home or van.
and 'just sitting' ........condensation in the engine ...
acids in the oil .....I can visualize bone dry rusty rings very easily.
oil clings to surfaces amazingly well.
If you leave an engine or trans open to drain ....oil will keep coming
out for weeks even...
and ..eventually the oil is not covering the metal parts very well ..
and unless in a very dry or climate-controlled environment ..
moisture will condense inside the engine.
Rust is oxidation of steel .....molecules of metal basically 'go away'
a little bit at a time.
Combine water moisture, metal, and take away the oil protection .....you
have rust or oxidation ..the metal goes bye bye on a molecular level
over time.
or maybe it was filled with say diesel fuel while it sat ..
but most people don't bother to do anything like that.
nice to see you got it running more right !
Scott
On 10/17/2013 4:20 PM, Craig Cowan wrote:
> The lifters pumped up well and I made the final valve adjustment. It's shocking how much that quiets down and smooths things out!
> Anyway, it's running.
> I've heat cycled it 4-5 times (10-15min each time) and set the timing. The idle is rock solid and the system feels smooth and quiet.
>
> However..........
> There is quite defined exhaust smoke. It's hard to tell if its coolant or oil related though. I do expect a certain level of bad smoke for a while since this engine has sat for years, but in the past when I bring one back to life it stops smoking by about now.
>
> What can I possibly test and check?
>
> -craig
>
> On Oct 17, 2013, at 7:08 PM, JimFelder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>
>> To answer the question about priming the lifters, stand them up straight
>> submerged in engine oil. Take a sharp pick with a comfortable handle and
>> press down on the ball in the top of the lifter so the cavity under it can
>> fill with oil. This way, they are already filled with oil when you start
>> the engine and they don't need driving around to get oil in them.
>>
>> Jim
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Oct 17, 2013 at 4:05 PM, Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com>wrote:
>>
>>> The valve adjustment won't affect the time it takes for bad lifters to
>>> quiet
>>> down. Running them lose does add the ability of the piston to bang against
>>> the circlip or snap ring holding it in and then at some point the lifter
>>> can
>>> come apart and you have pieces in the engine. BTDT twice in the past year.
>>> Also adjusting them wrong does effect the geometry of the rocker to valve
>>> stem travel and the screws are wear items. They do get a wear pattern and
>>> should be replaced when adjustment is needed after prolonged use or
>>> changing
>>> of valve parts.
>>>
>>> Dennis
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
>>> Craig Cowan
>>> Sent: Wednesday, October 16, 2013 10:44 PM
>>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>>> Subject: She runs!!!!! Finally
>>>
>>> So I just put an engine in my new 87 2wd. It's out of a manual with 260,000
>>> miles but was supposed to be running good when pulled. I pulled the heads
>>> and replaced them with a better used set, changed the main seal, and
>>> freshened up every nut, bolt, and part that's attached to it.
>>> Today I got it running!
>>> It's run for about a minute. Loud, sounds rough, but does not have a
>>> distinct rod hammering. Heck, it's pretty smooth. May have a miss but I'll
>>> work that out.
>>>
>>> Anyway, I set the valves to be just touching, as I don't know or expect the
>>> lifters to work properly. Anyway, the lifters are seemingly firm, the push
>>> rods are in place (I double checked after running it), and it does fire
>>> right up. What's next?
>>> Should I properly set the valves to two turns past touching, or keep
>>> running
>>> it this way until the lifters can better pump up?
>>>
>>> I plan to do a compression check tomorrow to see that I've got 4 good
>>> cylinders, but expect it to be pretty healthy.
>>>
>>> I'll pull plugs to determine if its running on 3, but I believe I've
>>> probably got all 4 and its just a bunch of valve noise I'm hearing.
>>>
>>>
>>> -craig
>>>
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