Date:         Wed, 31 Jul 1996 16:29:11 -0400
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         David Carment <dcarment@ccs.carleton.ca>
Subject:      GEX

A lot of anecdotal evidence is being bandied about GEX quality. Everyone
will have their own experiences to relate all of which is important in
deciding to buy from a company.

Briefly, here was the problem I encountered at 20,000 miles.

The no.3 intake valve seat had been pushed *into* the cylinder head by at
least 5 mils or more. This is different from the usual dropped valve seat
phenomena. In the estimation of the mechanic it was best to replace both
cylinder heads because although no. 3 was low  (only 60psi) the other three
were not much better (110 psi a piece). A leakdown test showed that rings
were not the problem nor was  an overheated cylinder head  the  likely
culprit. I can say this  with certainty, the problem seemd to gradually get
worse over the course of several months and had it continued it is very
probable that damage to one or more pistons would have occured either
through overheating or debris flying about the engine.



What causes a valve seat to be pushed in? An answer to that  might provide
insight into the question of GEX rebuild quality (and possibly an error on
my part as well).

Cheers - DC
David Carment
Centre for Security and Defence Studies
NPSIA
Carleton University
Ottawa, Ontario
K1S 5B6
voice: (613) 520-2600-6662
fax: (613) 520-2889