Rattling engine. Crankshaft regrind?

[NickF]

Just registered my recently purchased1986 vw caravelle 1.9 petrol watercooled. Towards the end of an enjoyable week motoring around Cornwall recently i noticed the oil light coming on intermittantly. It went off when accelerating. (also noticed an oil leak when marked on a slope.) Dropped by a local mechanic who listened to the engine and detected a rattling from the engine and mentioned the dreaded words - the BIG END. It is the original engine and has done 118,000 miles with a regular service history. He has suggested regrinding the crankshaft to prolong the engine's life as an option. Considering this, or possibly a reconditioned engine. Any suggestions would be very welcome. Thanks.

[Red Westie]

Crankshaft re-ground and re-shelled, oil pump replaced etc etc but to get that far requires a total engine strip so basically the correct way to go about this is to check all parts for serviceability:
Pistons
Rings
barrels
heads and valves
camshaft/followers and push rods
rocker arms and shaft
Flywheel and clutch
bushes and bearings
Engine mounts
Exhaust

In other words if the engine is being taken completely apart, do the job right and get it all done as needed.

Martin

[NickF]

Thanks for your advice, Martin.

[Mr Bean]

I had my oil light flicker occasionally in really hot weather and fixed it with an oil cooler. 18 months later it came back. I got a rebuild (fitted) from Elite for under £1K and that was real nice until the timing gear rivets failed and wrecked the engine. Credit to Elite though as they collected the van and did another rebuild with the two year warranty intact and that seems to be fine having done quite a few long trips. I understand that this rivet problem has been seen before. I love the van to pieces but in addition the gearbox and ECU went duff at around 120,000 miles. They say that flat four is tough like old boot but claims for VW reliability/longevity don't wear with me. Or maybe I was just unlucky...
Cheers
Wolfie

[tee3peeo]

Hi NickF,
I have a similar problem,
did you compare the price of a regrind to the cost of a new short engine?

T3PO

[kevtherev]

hang on Nick
big ends are heard with the engine under load
did he do that?
oil lights are suggesting a number of things, but not an engine death.

[toomanytoys]

Hold on a second...

IF the big ends were rattling that much so you could hear it, then it WILL have thrown a rod out of the case by now... Low oil pressure usualy stems from main bearing wear... which inflicts more wear on the big ends, which normally one of decides it doesnt like the dark and makes a break for freedom and makes a big hole when it does...

Back to basics..
What oil has been used? these engine do not like anything thinner than a 15w40 bog standard mineral... so worth changing.. worth using a 20w50 if its tired and a little smokey..
IS the oil pressure switch working correctly? a few quid for a new one (or 2 on later models, Get them from Brickwerks as best quality) can eliminate a simple faulty switch..
If oil change and new switches dont cure it (and assuming that wiring etc is ok) then a hot oil pressure check should be done..

At 118k miles it should not be worn out.. unless its been badly maintaned and run low on oil... (yes there are exceptions but low possability..)

Now.. the wbx (1.9/2.1 petrols) are not like conventional engines, you cant just "regrind" the crank and slap it back together... the engine has to come completely apart, which brings another set of issues and parts that must be replaced........... if there are serious engine problems then its far far better to get a rebiult engine.. if you local garage say they can fix it for a few hundred then I am afraid they dont know what they are letting themselves in for... many have been there and done that before... the "about £250 to fix that leaky head gasket mate" usually turns into a bill for over £1000, by whch time you may have well fitted a recon engine... so crank etc is gonna be far worse...

Where abouts in the world are you too.. might be a specialist of member that can have a look...