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Date:         Fri, 10 Jul 2015 17:09:09 -0700
Reply-To:     Stuart MacMillan <stuartmacm@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Stuart MacMillan <stuartmacm@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Weird engine noise update (LONG)
Comments: To: Marc Perdue <mcperdue@GMAIL.COM>
In-Reply-To:  <CAEwp_cROhZvL==rnbRaJqFmc8MSYBFER-cBYjVLp=M+sFhCNcA@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Mark, I would not let them tear into that engine without trying to pump up any flat lifters with a drive. If your engine was running fine when you quit driving it, it's unlikely that a piston or rod broke while it was sitting.

Seriously, that "unusual noise in cylinder 1" is probably a very flat lifter.

At the very least, get a second opinion.

I would not let any shop tear into my WBX under any circumstances. If the engine is truly bad, you'll want a replacement from a production rebuilder who has experience with these engines, replaces the valves in the AMC heads, and uses top quality parts. You should also get a 12/12 warranty.

Go Westy is one option, and there is a good production rebuilder in Seattle.

Just my $0.02.

Stuart

-----Original Message----- From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Marc Perdue Sent: Friday, July 10, 2015 3:35 PM To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM Subject: Weird engine noise update (LONG)

Not much to say; apparently my Vanagon guys were waiting for me to give the go-ahead before tearing into the engine. Communication is important.

In any event, there is an unusual noise in cylinder 1 of unknown origin. They talked about an engine rebuild. Not prepared to make that kind of commitment without knowing the cause of the noise and what it would take to fix it.

Being as the engine rebuild option was being put out there, I decided to look into some engine replacement/rebuild options. Being as we haven't had a good tire thread in at least a day, I thought I'd start an engine options thread.

My Vanagon guy, Keith McDonald, says he can do a balanced and blueprinted engine rebuild for me for something along the lines of $4-5K. I assume he would keep my engine for a core, but don't know. I assume this cost is installed, but don't know. What I do know is that they did a video of one of his rebuilt engines running on a pallet, unrestrained, and not moving around on the pallet. They said they sent the video to Shaun (sp?) at Bus Depot and that he was impressed.

I personally have no solid idea of what "balanced and blueprinted" means. I'd love to be enlightened on this. I do know that my engine definitely would go running off of a pallet if unrestrained.

Bus Depot has a rebuilt engine for under $2K, plus a core charge, shipping, etc.

GoWesty has a number of different options, price not including core, shipping, etc.: 1) 2.2L for about $4.3K 2) 2.3L for about $5K 3) 2.45L for about $5.7K

I could sign on to Bostig's RG6 build for Winter 2015 with a deposit of about $1.7K, total non-installed price circa $6K, not including engine.

Subaru conversion for who-knows-how-much.

So, I have no idea how much an install of any of these would cost if I was having somebody else do it and I don't have the proper facilities and/or time to do it myself. On the surface of it, the Bus Depot rebuild looks good just looking at cost. But is it balanced and blueprinted? Should I care about that?

I was hoping that the time to install a new engine was a long way off, and it may still be. It is kind of frustrating that I'm having this kind of issue at 170K miles on the 3rd engine. Now, the quality of the 2nd engine rebuild was definitely questionable, but this one is a Boston Bob engine with maybe 50-65K miles on it, and I've tried to baby it.

Sigh... Marc Perdue


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