Help Please!

« **on:** August 30, 2006, 02:01:07 PM »

Hi all! I'm new to this site and I have a big problem. My 74 sunbug is dead. I was heading to my friend's home in Knoxville on July 3rd when around Riceville the smoke started and the power left...

Can someone please help me to get it started so I can find out what the damage is?

I'd just had $300 worth of work done the previous Friday (a new Bosch blue coil, chrome air cleaner, new distributor & spark plug wires, etc...) So I'm not sure why it broke down so soon....

Thanks.
Alice

Bugnut · « **Reply #1 on:** August 30, 2006, 05:42:12 PM »

overheated? bad rings? Somebody set your timing goofy and overheated it?
Hold on there someone with half a brain and some knowledge will be with you shortly. :lol:
p.s. I aint it. I'm mostly good for runnin over innocent telephone poles.

Zen · « **Reply #2 on:** August 30, 2006, 06:11:44 PM »

Quote from: "74 sunbug"

I'd just had $300 worth of work done the previous Friday (a new Bosch blue coil, chrome air cleaner, new distributor & spark plug wires, etc...) So I'm not sure why it broke down so soon....

Quote from: "67bugnut"

Somebody set your timing goofy and overheated it?

:? There is no way of knowing without looking, and it could be a lot of things . . . and I really hate to say this . . . but the first thing I would be suspicious of is too much timing advance. If so, you might have some serious damage.

Did the person who did the work on it have lots of experiance with air-cooled VWs? The reason I ask is that I grew up surrounded by GM vehicles and before I was a teenager I was turning wrenches on them on a regular basis. After high school I took a year of auto mechanics at a local tech school and for the next 20 years did all my own mechanic work and a little along on the side for other folks. Then I got a Beetle. The first year I spent trying to "unlearn" all my GM mechanicing skills. Just because someone is a top notch mechanic doesn't always mean they can work on an old VW. They are really pretty simple, but they are different from water cooled cars. Now that the bad news is out of the way, you've come to the right place. Regardless of how bad the damage is, there is enough knowledge floating around here to help get your Sunbug back on the road.

Is the engine locked up? If not, will it still run? If it runs, does it make unusual noises now?

« **Reply #3 on:** August 31, 2006, 12:37:49 PM »

I belive it will crank but my mechanic (a local certified VW mechanic) took the burned up points and hasn't had a chance to return with new ones... It cranked after we got it home on July 3rd though so I don't think it's locked up.

One of the valves is very tight but the others are okay, he said. Does it sound like it needs to be rebuilt? That's what I'm afraid of.

Would it be better to rebuild or just replace the engine completely? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Alice :cry:

Jason · « **Reply #4 on:** August 31, 2006, 01:53:43 PM »

Somebody go wake up the God father. :lol: :lol: :lol:

« **Reply #5 on:** August 31, 2006, 04:54:38 PM »

Calling Dr. Bombay...Dr. Bombay...come right away!!!!!

Ret.Bugtech · « **Reply #6 on:** August 31, 2006, 07:02:37 PM »

Hard to say whats going on without a hands on look see. Tight valves are usally caused by overheating due to high timing. First thing I would do is run a compression check. Do this and get back with us with the numbers.
Where is the smoke coming from. Out the oil filler pipe ? tail pipes?
I don't want to speculate just yet and lead you down the garden path Standing by !

Bugnut · « **Reply #7 on:** August 31, 2006, 08:05:26 PM »

ooohhh! I might win a cookie? If it's timing do I get an extra forune cookie?

Ret.Bugtech · « **Reply #8 on:** September 01, 2006, 12:10:44 AM »

No cookie. We will let you come up to the big house and play with the older kids.

Valve Question 101. Can you tell me why a overheated VW exhaust valve loses clearence even after cooling down ?

A correct answer will get you that cookie. :lol:

Jason · « **Reply #9 on:** September 01, 2006, 07:24:00 AM »

O.K. I'll geuss When the exhaust valve gets hot it shrinks letting the adjustment move so when it cools down back to normal size its tighter. :-k [-o< :-k

« **Reply #10 on:** September 01, 2006, 09:31:15 AM »

I'm not a mechanic. Maybe I didn't explain my request completely, what I was really wondering is if someone could come by (it's in Ringgold) and look at it...give a quick diagnosis, if that's possible and and let me what's wrong. And approximately how many $$ it will take to fix, etc....

As I said, my certified VW mechanic has the burned points and rotor (I think that's all)...I'll call him again and ask him to return all of the parts he has...I don't believe his schedule permits him to help me at this point. I keep getting the runaround as to when he can return...but I understand he's very busy right now...

Ret.Bugtech · « **Reply #11 on:** September 01, 2006, 02:34:49 PM »

Uh ? Why would your points and rotor be burned up if this was a new dist.? Even if your engine blew up like Mt. St Helen I wouldn't think it would burn up points/rotor. If you want someone to figure out what happened, your engine will need to be complete so we can try to start it up.
Who did the last work ? coil ,dist. etc etc. I would think he would be the one to check it out. How about running your " Certified VW Tech" down and let him check it out. If they don't want to help you out, I will try. I'm not fond of house calls because it seems that I never have the right or enough "stuff" with me. Let me know what the status is on getting your parts back and the let the games begin.

Zen · « **Reply #12 on:** September 01, 2006, 06:45:02 PM »

Quote from: "Ret.Bugtech"

Valve Question 101. Can you tell me why a overheated VW exhaust valve loses clearence even after cooling down ?

Hummmm . . . exhaust valves run red hot normally . . . if they are getting hotter than that and being forced opened by the rocker and then slammed shut by the spring . . . the spring is "pulling" on the valve stem and the head of the valve is being stopped by the valve seat . . . and it's glowing hot . . . which makes it soft . . . Hummmmmm . . . could it be that the valve stretches? :oops:

Bugnut · « **Reply #13 on:** September 01, 2006, 06:49:02 PM »

I'm late but Zen maybe wins it stretches due to the heat. I believe maybe the pushrods are the culprit there.Being they strech/expand and not actually the valve? When the cool down there all rattlin around and stuff and your clearances are poo. Been there already.Last year CYW. I believe I called some old guy who was it?

So does that mean I get to come to the big house but still have to sit at the kids table? Do I at least get the big kids cup to drink out of? :lol:

Ret.Bugtech · « **Reply #14 on:** September 01, 2006, 11:40:23 PM »

Sorry Scott, but you are on the right track.
Zen gets the cookie. The valve stretches at the area where the stem starts to flare out to the head of the valve. If you have ever seen the results of a" dropped valve", This the area on the stem where it stretches and finally breaks off. If your ex. valves keeps losing clearance I would be worring a bit about "dropping a valve" or losing a valve seat(type-4).
I have done valve jobs where I could see where the stem was stretching out then drop the valve on the floor and have the head "pop" off. Secs. to "Ka-Boom".
Scott, The only thing I have seen a push rod do is either break, bend or compact on its self (stock push rod). In this case you would gain valve clearance, but anything can happen.
Once the stretching begin its all over for that valve and even when the valve is stone cold you still have minus "0" clearance.
The number one culprit----Ing. timing. There are other causes. "Grass Hopper", You can come to the "Big House" now, but you will have to bring your own "Tippy Tommy" cup. :lol: :lol:

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