1985 rebuld

[AWPGTI]

1985 rebuild

This car was my daily driver...used to take me 150miles 5 days a week to work and back and the entire time getting 41-44 MPG ..Well while driving the car to work, the temp needle started to climb.....I quickly turned around and headed home. When I checked the coolant tank it was empty..I guess you see where this is headed. Next morning i woke up and planned on taking it to a local mechanic when I tried to start it no good wouldn't start and starter was smoking. Towed the car to the mechanic who stated the obvious car needs a starter and you might have a blown head gasket. i took the car home and a friend and I decided we would pull the head and what lurks.
Day 1: Nothing crazy just draing the fluids in preperation of a possible rebuild.

this is what i found when I started to drain the oil.....

took out about a gallon of so of coolant...guess i found where its going......more work to come


Engine relief Fund supporters, thank you everyone for your support!!!

RackaRacka- $20
dalchri-$25

 

[oilhammer]

Wow, how long have you been running it with the wrong coolant?

I have a complete, turn-key rebuilt engine for that car for $2000 if you are interested. Early A2 1.6L solid lifter engine, same as what that car was born with. Pump, injectors, everything ready to go.

This pic was taken before the injectors and pump were put on:

 

[AWPGTI]

why is it the wrong coolant what was it supposed to be?? This is my first diesel....my other car is a MKIV 1.8t

may be intrested in the engine ill get back to u

 

[oilhammer]

The correct coolant in 1985 is the blue G-11 stuff.

The newer cars use the pink G-12 coolant.

 

[AWPGTI]

wish i would have known never seen blue before gti has the pink stuff ......the coolant the owner before me had in it was the green just figured that was the right stuff......could this caused the head gasket to go ??

 

[oilhammer]

Often times poor quality coolants can cause head gaskets to rot out, as well as other cooling system issues. However, in your case the age of the car also could have contributed. It happens, I would not sweat the coolant thing, just put the correct stuff in when you are done with the repairs.

Some folks go ahead and put the G-12 in the older cars too, since it is easier to get nowadays and will be common with their other cars. I still run, and will continue to run, G-11 in my 1991 Jetta so long as I can still get it. Any dealer can order it in for you.

 

[PDJetta]

Your engine overheating caused the head gasket to fail, most likely because the cylinder head warped. It is difficult to properly repair a head after it warps. I am not sure why the engine overheated in the first place, though.

My advice is to take Oilhammer up on the engine offer, especially if the car has over 200,000 miles because in addition to putting a different head on the car, the block should most likely be rebuilt and with a high milage engine, this means boring the block to oversize and installing new pistons (with rings). Prices and work add up quickly. Also, your injection pump probally will need new seals, as well.

--Nate

 

[oilhammer]

Just some info on the engine I have:

It is out of an early 1986 Golf. The car was sold without and engine (and later tooefed). I totally went through this engine in the hopes of some day finding a worthy A2 to put it in, but so far have not found one and have plenty of other projects.

It was bored one size over and has new KS pistons, all new KS main, rod, I-shaft bearings, new wrist pin bushings. The head was professionally redone by the local shop I send all my stuff to that has done literally hundreds of jobs for me over the years. All new German parts throughout.

It has a new Febi oil pump, new Geba water pump AND housing, new OE lower plastic timing belt cover, upgraded one-piece valve cover gasket, new Contitech timing belt and tensioner, all new Rienz seals and gaskets throughout.

The block was hot-tanked and chemically stripped and repainted, all steel parts were media blasted, primed, baked, painted, baked again (oil pan, valve cover, etc.).

It has a remanufactured starter, new Mann air filter and oil filter, new oil pressure switches, rebuilt vacuum pump, and almost all the hardware was replaced or cleaned and refinished.

The injection pump was professionally rebuilt by DFIS in Oregon (the preferred Bosch shop on this forum) and the injectors are genuine Bosch reman (not some Chinese or Indian crap), and all the steel delivery pipes are new.

 

[VWWV]

Liked the tie-strap holding the grille on....I use a black zip-tie on my 86. Re: the bumper....I use @Forever Black.......Works for all the faded plastic and rubber. Best I've ever found.

 

[AWPGTI]

yeah i would like to switch to single round headlights, I plan on returning this car to the work horse it once was and just repair some of the rust

belive or not this car has 70,000 miles on it maybe 80,000 and that was confirmed by a working odometer and a trusted seller....im very disapoted that the head gasket blew but most cars arent even on the road after 25 years let alone being driven hard ever day

 

[AWPGTI]

has anyone delt with this place.... http://www.vwdieselparts.com/center.htm

i plan on buying a head from them and a few other parts if i find the head is warped and may also buy it even if its not will have to see.... who do you guys use to get the injector pump resealed it was leaking for awhile....but even at that the car still got between 41-44 mpg every time

 

[PDJetta]

I tell you, you could not even rebuild the motor and IP for what Oilhammer is asking for his. That appears to be the best option.

--Nate

 

[oilhammer]

You do not need a head. They can always be fixed. Local shop here has the big oven to bake them in until elastic and puts them in a press plate fixture to get them back straight if warped. Do it all the time. A genuine VW head is FAAARRRR better than any aftermarket head.

 

[AWPGTI]

how would you ship an engine and whatwould u think that would cost???

 

[oilhammer]

I would need your old engine as a core, how about I ship it via the trunk of my car for the cost of fuel.

 

[AWPGTI]

ur gonna drive from st louie wow..... too ny long island??

 

[oilhammer]

ur gonna drive from st louie wow..... too ny long island??

That is where Long Island is, right, New York? Hey, I love to see an old A2 brought back to life.

 

[Tom W.]

Go for the new engine- I own 2 A2's- $2000 for this engine is just about a give away price.

 

[dogdots]

I would need your old engine as a core, how about I ship it via the trunk of my car for the cost of fuel.

It's only a 16 hour (or so) drive from your house. Fill up before you leave and fill up again in PA then you're there. I wish I had some free time I would offer to ride along

 

[Honeydew]

Do it man- that is a great offer and price, and you'll know the engine will be perfect.

 

[AWPGTI]

if i was to get that engine which is very convincing I would need to get a hoist

 

[Turbine Suburban]

Maybe for a little more, Oil will put it in?

I know, I've been drinking....

 

[AndyBees]

Hey, back in July, I drove 28 hours "round trip" from Southeast Kentucky......... straight to Reading, PA for a Turbo 1.6 and then northeast of Philly to pick up a NA 1.6 engine,.....about 1600 miles.

By the way, Oilhammer, the 1.6L Turbo engine that was advertised here in the Club from Reading has Solid Lifters.......... and needs a complete rebuild....project one day!

 

[Dimitri16V]

the green coolant won't eat the headgasket. that engine is a good deal, though.

 

[Tom W.]

I've rented engine hoists before- cost abt $15/day. No big deal

 

[AWPGTI]

I figured the could be any perticuler place

 

[Tom W.]

rental of engine hoist

Just call around to the equipment rental places. I ofund one on my second call.

 

[AWPGTI]

Did some cleaning on the engine this should make it alot easier to work on

 

[coalminer16]

If you want a good engine to last a long time get Oilhammer's as once you have all the parts and labor and special tools that will be the cost (depending on what you value your time). But rebuilding an engine can be a good learning experience as well to understand these engines (and help with future trouble shooting on it). An engine hoist can be bought for about $200 and comes in handy for the clutch jobs and to even lift the head off (with manifolds attached and bent over it can be heavy). The only other tools really would be a seal puller and one of those hammer presses to press the intermediate shaft bushings in and out with (and timing belt tools if you don't already have those). If you plan on repairing this you can check the head by laying it down on a piece of flat glass to check warping. Because of the internal leak of coolant I would pull the mainbearing caps off and check for damage. You can check the wear tolerances with plastigauge (a string of plastic that crushes when tightened to a measured width, it goes over in the bentley manual). If the head is good and bearings in spec then replace the gaskets and run I would say for a cheaper fix unless the engine was really tired. If the head is warped careful to who you send it to so it doesn't get ruined. I use Parts Place for a good share of my parts http://www.partsplaceinc.com/ but I wouldn't get there new head (learned the hard way there). I should have rebuilt my old head. As for the pump rebuild they do exchanges (or used to at least). You could drop some more money and get a Giles pump. Costs more but has better HP and MPG as he tunes them individually. Otherwise a good injection pump rebuilder should be able to do the pump. Don't go to cheap on a rebuild though. If it doesn't leak now though don't worry about it yet. Just my two cents. If you want a quit turn around and a long lasting engine Oilhammers would be the best then. And for the cost of fuel to deliver you can't beat. He could even help install if everything was set up and agreed upon price. Shipping for my 1.9 TD aaz from CA to WY was about $300 or so one way (no core) just to give you a shipping cost. I sold my 1.6 NA and it was about $250 to ship. Hope that helps. If you take the engine out now would be a good time to check and replace the clutch as clutches are cheap on those older ones (do the tranny seals as well).

 

[AWPGTI]

oilhammer sent u a PM.....lets do it !!!!