Heads need to come off - worried...

[Donald360]

Our van (1.9 DG) was lacking power and was puttering away like an old tractor when trying to accelerate. Did a compression test and found one of the cylinders was well down compared to the others, so we have a strong possibility that there is leakage at one of the valves.

I have been reading old posts on cylinder head removal and I am starting to get worried. I was hoping to do this work myself and only have to pay for gaskets and any machining and replacement valves. However I am concerned now that I am about to open a huge can of (very costly) worms and I'm wondering if I'd be better paying the extra now to get a replacement engine instead of forking out for refurbishment.

I would really appreciate some guidance from members that have been faced with similar choices. I would love to fit one of Morco Mansi's beautiful engines, but am more realistically looking at an Elite reconditioned unit - are they really as bad as people say?

Cheers
Donald,

[Ian Hulley]

am more realistically looking at an Elite reconditioned unit - are they really as bad as people say?

Cheers
Donald,

Donald many of us have Elite engines and have no issues whatsoever, others who don't have them seem to find issues though The biggest complaint is their turnaround time which is glacial at times apparently.

Ian

[kevtherev]

I would take a replacement engine. plenty about.
Then with the old one out remove the head(s) using a lot of heat on the head nuts.
once off you could fix the engine up and sell it to recoup some of the money

[Ian Hulley]

I would take a replacement engine. plenty about.
Then with the old one out remove the head(s) using a lot of heat on the head nuts.
once off you could fix the engine up and sell it to recoup some of the money

For what it's worth in your situation I would do the same, there seems to be a fair few 'known good' DGs cropped up of late.

[eatcustard]

My Elite engine is fine

As Ian has said expect a long turnround for an engine

[mm289]

Hi,

in my experience (based on a 2.1) the "big" risk with the heads is simply that of snapping studs. the actual process is pretty simple, although much easier if you have the engine out of the vehicle.

The costs depends what you find and what you intend to do. As mentioned in my reply to boris89 https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=79405 I would do a leak down test first to try and confirm exactly what the cause of lack of compression is - valves, rings, seals.

The cost of repair then needs to be thought about. Gasket set costs anywhere between £60 -£110 depending what you need, most of the "pro" engine builders seem to recommend replacing the exhaust valves as a minimum (£15-£20 ea), then you have pushrod tubes if you damage them, etc. If any of the "metal" needs replacing (rods, pistons, liners) then you are looking at bills that mount up very quickly.

Reference the Elite VW engines I can't comment on anyone elses experience. In my own case the engine has covered 10,000m in 5 years since being rebuilt and has had to be stripped for loss of compression and noise. To be fair, the vehicle had had very little use in recent years so that may be a cause of issues. What I am finding as I go along is a bit of a mixed bag e.g. crank has been used before (not necessarily a big problem) head steads have been re-used (a definate no-no in my book) and hence one has snapped so far, lot of play on crank big end and main journals. I would have to say there is nothing in the engine that looks particularly "new" e.g. cylinders and liners, so am wondering what the rebuild actually did apart from replacing seals perhaps. I know the PO had overheating problems so maybe it was just the top end seals leaking - don't know.

I guess my view (not as a WBX expert (yet) I would hasten to add) would be it depends on your original. If it is an original VW <80,000m and has always been great then I would be inclined (if you are confident on your skills) to strip it and rebuild knowing your are putting together a strong engine. If it is unknown history and 140,000 miles I would look at a Marco or Vega exchange who both seem to use more "new" components.

Seems to me the option with Elite works if you want your engine refurbished (as oppossed to rebuilt) to extend its life - but I would be asking what new parts they intend using etc.

HTH, just my pragmatic view and not trying to create a big debate on any given supplier so I hope I haven't offended anyone

Cheers,

MM

[Donald360]

Thanks for the replies so far. Definitely given me food for thought. I think at the moment a 'new' refurbished engine is beyond what I can afford, so it looks like a toss-up between taking my heads off and doing the minimum necessary to get the engine going well enough for a couple more years (hopefully), or buying a second-hand engine and hoping it's a half decent one. I think I should start saving up for a better replacement in the future however.

So if anyone knows of a 'good' 1.9 dg for sale, let me know.
Cheers,
Donald.

[dave friday]

Hi,it might be worth posting on www.thesamba.com for their comments,also check that the valves on the low cylinder are opening fully.Is the engine fairly quiet? is the plug on the low cylinder wet/oily?
Good luck.

[kentishvanman]

Hi,
You have a pm
Don

[Donald360]

First thing I will do is check tappet clearances, as that can be done first with the engine in situ. I've been told that valve wear can close the gap to the extent that the valves are not opening properly and can make a huge difference to performance and compression. I'll let you know how I get on.

Cheers
Donald.

[kevtherev]

No
first thing I would do is find out if you have hydraulic tappets
Are you aware of their properties?

[Donald360]

Ok. Thanks for the heads up re. hydraulic tappets. Is there an easy way of finding out what type are in my engine?