Engine dilemma

[Fluffenzepupple]

Well less than 4 months into ownership of my new van i'm not having much luck. First i get done over on a bodywork job (although thankfully got this sorted thanks to the help of 8090!) and now my 2ltr CU engine has gone kaput well, good as anyway, its still running for now but with a suspected cracked head and cylinders 3 & 4 doing sweet FA.

I've had a few people advise the cheapest option would be to buy another van cheap with bodywork issues but a sound engine and swap em over. The problem with that is I don't have cash funds only a credit card to fall back on, I also don't have anywhere to store another van or work on it (not that i'd know how to do it anyway!) and i wouldnt have a clue if i'm buying a good one or not, i might end up with another crappo and be in the same situation weeks/months/year down the line. Plus I need this done relatively quickly as its my daily and who knows when i'd find one another van locally (ish) that fits the bill

So that leaves me with buying a reconditioned one, and holy moley thats expensive. Unfortunately though i think its going to be my only choice. Can anyone give me some advice on this subject?

JK are doing this http://www.justkampers.com/shop/t25/ori ... 10477.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and i was advised Vege is a reliable supplier, but crickey thats a lot of money! I also contacted VW Heritage and they have 1 2ltr Aircooled in stock for roughly the same money, but a longer guarantee. Course on top of this i'll then have labour fees to swap em over and set it up etc

So bearing in mind i'm a novice with no means or tools to do any of this work myself, what would you advise? Am i going to have to bite the bullet and bankrupt myself? Can anyone suggest any other suppliers to try?

All and any advice appeciated as always!

Cheers
Alex

[mm289]

Hi Alex,

sorry to hear about your troubles, but keep persevering. Better to know what probs your van has had and know they have been fixed than swop into another one that could have all the same problems or worse!

The Type 4 engines are reasonably easy to rebuild, but if you are a novice without access to decent facilities then getting someone to rebuild yours or buying a remanufactured one is probably your easiest and quickest way back on the road (although not cheapest )

There may be some well respected engine builders down your way who could do the rebuild for you, not my neck of the woods but no doubt someone else will step in if they have suggestions.

The two you linked too are both remanufactured, not reconditioned engines and hence the price hike. A Recon may well be cheaper but often uses a mix of old and new parts .

If I didn't build my own engines and was doing this for a paying customer I would go with the Remtec (VW Heritage) for a number of reasons.

1.Similar if not marginally cheaper once you take the surcharge off
2. Remtec states new heads, Vege state reconditioned (I would also check if Remtec are using a new Camshaft - the Vege one say recon Cam which I probably wouldn't do myself)
3. Vege have a good rep, although there are a few cases in the last few years of problems, not heard any probs with the Remtec units - again if anyone has any different experiences I am sure they will step in.

Hope that helps,

MM

[billy739]

who diagnosed it?

are they reliable?
hopefully not the same people who did your last one?

a 2.0 engine will run for a very long time unless you have other problems which are usually the cause of the failure , ie carbs / manifold leak / timing out / seals or tin ware missing

if something has caused it to die a new engine may not last long unless it is sorted.

[mark]

hi

the vw engine company £1695 + free fitting. id ring and find out about this further down the ad it states £195 for disassemble and reassemble all ancillaries 0208 692 3326 deptford se8 3dz. cant find a web link and never heard of them before i saw the add. they also offer a pic-up and drop off service



http://www.theengineshop.info/acatalog/ ... 031XV.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

a better deal, i know of a couple of people who have used them only on a exchange basis. i havent heard any complaints ( )

mark

[jason k]

a top end rebuild is not a difficult proposition on a cu.
get yourself a haynes, drop the motor out (dead easy) and go on a learning curve.
im sure there are some members nearby who could lend a hand, if not we are on here to help.
a pair of 2nd hand heads are cheap enough as are pistons and pots if you need them.

[Fluffenzepupple]

Thanks all, some great info and advice here! The cost makes sense now on the recon / re manufactured subject, I think from what MM is saying and from advice I got elsewhere, the Remtec would be the preferable option. I called up a local reputable VW garage for a quote to rebuild my engine, and got the distinct impression they didn't want to do it! Didn't even quote me a figure just insinuated it would be big bucks and pointed me towards the donor van or reconditioned / re manufactured option.

who diagnosed it?

are they reliable?
hopefully not the same people who did your last one?

a 2.0 engine will run for a very long time unless you have other problems which are usually the cause of the failure , ie carbs / manifold leak / timing out / seals or tin ware missing

if something has caused it to die a new engine may not last long unless it is sorted.

I chuckled when i read this, no it was the ex who did the last engine so certainly wasn't going back for round 2

It was an old mate had a look as a favour, top bloke and very reliable. He's well known but i wouldn't like to name him on here, I used to be in the same club as him a few years back but only recently got back in touch (at Santa Cruz!). Thing is he couldn't say 100% that its a cracked head, but all the checks he did point towards that. He said the only way to know for sure is to strip the engine down but his gut feeling is a cracked head.

He did say its quite likely theres a problem with the carb as well, which has contributed to the issue. Basically the left carb is hissing when revved and the whole left bank seems to have shut down, the spark plugs, leads etc are all working but theres nothing going on in cylinders 3 & 4 and its getting very very hot on that side (week old spark plugs were discoloured from the heat, and i'd only been on the one journey!), he was able to pull the plugs and cut off the air supply to the carb and it didn't have any effect, engine carried on running. Explains why the exhaust fumes smell like fuel!

I was going to have the carbs stripped down and rebuilt at same time as the engine just to be sure, although reading a few posts on carbs by kevtherev was thinking about getting some Dellortos, but thats another subject! I was tempted to give you a shout actually Billy after finding out you sorted my old engine and got it running nicely

[Fluffenzepupple]

hi

the vw engine company £1695 + free fitting. id ring and find out about this further down the ad it states £195 for disassemble and reassemble all ancillaries 0208 692 3326 deptford se8 3dz. cant find a web link and never heard of them before i saw the add. they also offer a pic-up and drop off service



http://www.theengineshop.info/acatalog/ ... 031XV.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

a better deal, i know of a couple of people who have used them only on a exchange basis. i havent heard any complaints ( )

mark

Cheers for this certainly a lot cheaper, would be good to hear some feedback from others who've used em though, might have to do a bit of digging!

[ermie571]

have you looked at Elite VW?

I had a nasty experience of engine shop...do a search on here.

Em
xx

[Fluffenzepupple]

have you looked at Elite VW?

I had a nasty experience of engine shop...do a search on here.

Em
xx

Thanks Em i was a little suspicious of them going by the price - you get what you pay for as they say! I also read somewhere the gold and green engines should be avoided! Must admit though after searching both the engine shop and elite vw there's a mixed opinion about them, but as i don't seem to be the luckiest of people I have no doubt I would be one of those who have a bad experience lol.

I am leaning more and more towards the VW Heritage one!

[sarran1955]

Hello,

2 litre CU eh......

Today's outrageous proposition,

Get compressions and oil pressure checked.

If oil pressure ok, and you're not in a tearing hurry, I'll rebuild your motor for a lot less.

The snag, you'll have to either risk driving it here to FRANCE , or stick the motor on a pallet.

A few videos,

http://www.youtube.com/user/sarran1955/videos" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


I don't know what you do for a living, but I need another bathroom building, I've got all the stuff, and can offer cheap ski ing.

Any way, its worth a thought,

Cordialement,

[andisnewsyncro]

Sorry to read of your problems and I can't be a lot 0f help. All I can say is I bought a Remtec 5 years & 50,000 km ago and its not missed a beat, no probs with emissions and a top performing, well sorted engine. Ok, so mine is a 2.1 wbx but if the standard is the same across the board, you won't be disappointed. Hope it works out for you

[Fluffenzepupple]

Sarran thank you very much for the offer, my boyfriend is a plumber as it happens... but i don't think we'd be able to make it over there for some time, we have a house move, possible job loss and a few other trials to get through in the next few months, the van certainly wouldn't make it that far either! Thank you all the same though

Cheers for the feedback too Andi I think Remtec is going to be the supplier of choice, had a chat with a very helpful guy from VW Heritage today so just weighing up my options before i proceed!

[waltraud]

A couple of extra thoughts.

I've had a remtec from VW Heritage before and it lasted well and they seem like a decent company. When I shopped around and ralised the cost or the engine and then the cost of fitting i realised that if i had gone staright to a reputable garage to get it fitted they would probably get the engine cheaper as at trade prices and also then you would to some extent have the engine and its fitting gauranteed by the same suppier. You are right about getting what you pay for, Elite are cheap for a reason and if you go there then fair enough but remember you might need another engine in less time/miles than getting something prioperly and substantially rebuilt. I would personally ask someone like Billy739 on here and perhaps a few others if they can find / locate a really good s/h low miles unit OR if not then ask Laurie Petitt if he would build your own or another 2ltr unit up for you, he's the man. hwerever you are based get a few recommendations with a reliably consistent thread running through them about the genuine nature of any professional mechanics so as not to be dissapointed. good luck. Tim

[waltraud]

Megabug can also offer some competitive prices. Might be worth checking on Vzi for anyone with a decent engine also. T

[Fluffenzepupple]

Thanks for the advice Tim, I think I might give Laurie Pettitt a ring, haven't heard of him before but did a search and he has an amazing reputation (as I'm sure you know), couldn't find a single bad word about the guy! Now that's the kinda work I can trust!