Re: Rebuild engine '88 Fox

bah wah wah to driving hard. But not changing oil when needed, driving
short distances, lots of cold starts cause lots of wear. I have seen
in my limited experience, little cylinder wear on my vehicles with
200,000-300,000 miles. I usually drive an hour or more every time the
car is started. I use Mobil synthetic oils. I do not live in a harsh
cold envronment.

I have seen oil consumption drop significantly in my Toyotas from
quarts per oil change to no adds when I do my own oil valve stem
seals. Last valve job I let someon else do the valve stem seals and
the consumption is excessive. i need to remove that head to change the
seals this summer. On a Volkswagen I would remove the head, look at
the cylinders for excessive wear, plastiguage the bearings, and take
my chances. If the valve cover does not show lots of sludge and it is
an engine that does not have known oil consumption issues then it is
probably ok.

I installed an Audi 2L in my 84 gti. It had cylinders that were more
worn than the engine I was replacing. It actually did fairly well on
oil inspite of the cylinders starting to look worn like a Chevy. Back
when I was a kid in Ohio it seemed that other kids would pull the
heads off Chevys. The valve covers would be covered in gunk. Cylinders
would always have a nasty ridge. I do not recall anyone removing a
head or valve cover where things were clean. It could have been dino
oil, cold weather and short trips that made such a mess. I have not
been around motor heads working on Chevys since I move down to Georgia
where the climate is not so harsh. I do not know that I have ever seen
a 100,000 mile Chevy taken apart down here but I hang around with
different kind of people now. I do see cars that are 20 or more years
old and many seem to run ok. Some are mosquito foggers but not many.

Speaking of snake oil. Back when I lived up north by brother's auto
mechanic instructor would have good luck running a quart of auto trany
lube in the crank case for a few miles. How many miles I do not know.
The detergent in the tranny lube would free up stuck rings I guess.


On Tue, 08 May 2007 02:27:42 GMT, "dave AKA vwdoc1"
<vwdoc1@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Hmmm
Part of the engine's demise is probably you not driving it hard. Sorry but
I can be blunt at times! <g>
These engines are meant to be driven!
If you "baby" them then they start burning oil and losing power. At least
that is what I conclude from seeing vehicles with oil burning issues. I
prefer to purchase 8-10 year old VWs with mileage over 100,000 miles since
they are probably broken in then.

You might want to try soaking the cylinders overnight with some compounds
that might clean up the debris that might be causing the rings to stick =
oil burning. SeaFoam may work but I think that there are other snake oils
out there.
Also the valve guides or their seals might be causing part of the problem.

I have seen several "driven" VW engines that show no age even after 230,000
miles. One of them is my '83 GTi engine. <g>
I have also seen a few "babied" VW engines that had very low mileage and
were consuming oil with Gusto! lol
These engines are meant to be driven with attitude!!
The triple electrode spark plugs can last 40K miles.

Yeah I have replaced too many of the inline 4-speed transmissions in the
Audis and VWs. :-(
Even had to change one 5-speed trans in an '87 Audi. So the 5-speeds are
more durable IMHO.

BTW I have only had to do one serious repair on my '83 Audi 4000S ('83 GTI
engine) and that was to replace a leaking cylinder head gasket. I have
owned it since 1991, when I "rebuilt" it, and it has been reliable and
basically troublefree for these 16 years and I don't baby it!

Do you need the part numbers for those plastic clips? They might be very
expensive from the dealer too so maybe something similar can be found! Got
any pictures of them?

"Dave" <killurpc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:ujQ%h.7833$Ut6.4374@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Yes. Looked into both 2.0L and five speed possibilities some years back.
My motor simply doesn't have enough oomph to compete with current traffic.
Not worried about that anymore. Moot for me now.

My driving techniques are somewhat different than the usual VW owner.
Don't try to compete or keep up with accelerating traffic. Drive the
posted speed limit. I don't rev the hell out of it. Used Mobil 1 since
94. Changed oil every 6 months. Poured money into the entire fuel system
when I first got it in 92, fuel pump, transfer pump, injectors, all fuel
hoses, fuel distributor. Replaced brain box twice with used models.
Replaced ignition model once. Replaced magnetic pickup twice. Replaced
the fuel distributor again in 2002. Replaced clutch assy in 2000.
Replaced clutch disc and throwout bearing in 2006. Replaced transaxle
with used one in 2006, lost 4th gear, no warning. CV joints replaced
twice. Distributor replaced once with new model. Distributor cap and
rotor always replaced in tandem, about every year. Spark plugs, about
every two years. Was in the Navy for 20 years. VW spent alot of time in
storage while overseas aboard various ships. Varied from 6 months to
almost a year. Getting the kinks out became something I learned well when
bringing out of storage. Right now, she uses oil. Just a hint out of
exhaust. Used no oil period up to 2005.

Dealer gives me retarded look when I mention model and year. They don't
carry the stuff anymore. Nothing for them to look at, in order to see if
it crosses over to latter years nylon retainers for upholstered panels.

Junkyard stuff is no good. The nylon retainers get too hard over the
years. Too brittle to reuse. They break when trying to remove them. No
matter how careful.

Probably learn to upholster myself. Will use stainless steel
washers/screws to hold the panels in place. Trying to determine a good
material for a upholstery backing support vice the cork material VW used
on the vehicle.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: engine rebuild questions
    ... Engine has 120k and has the oil loss problems, ... Should valve guides normally be replaced? ... Your oil consumption problems MAY be due to worn valve SEALS which CAN be replaced without removing the head. ...
    (rec.autos.makers.saturn)
  • Re: engine rebuild questions
    ... Engine has 120k and has the oil loss problems, ... Should valve guides normally be replaced? ... An increase when wet indicates ring ...
    (rec.autos.makers.saturn)
  • Re: Engine fell apart at 59k mi - Why I will never buy another Chry...
    ... engine had been torn down in a dealership's repair shop, ... But as the engine was "off-site" from the dealership ... No oil change documentation was ... Now, as the camshaft lobes were having "issues", what about the valve ...
    (rec.autos.makers.chrysler)
  • Re: How hard is a valve adjustment?
    ... I'm guessing it is just that it needs a valve adjustment, the engine ... it was low on oil and the oil was pretty ... If these are solid lifters or no lifters at all, ...
    (alt.autos.toyota)
  • Re: How hard is a valve adjustment?
    ... I'm guessing it is just that it needs a valve adjustment, the engine ... and very low CO, of about 3.4 g/mi MAX, I replaced the plugs and put new ... it was low on oil and the oil was pretty ...
    (alt.autos.toyota)