Tuesday, May 31, 2011
N50K or LP6E? In MiliHippy Satin Finish.
I really need some comments on this as i am looking at satin paint at the moment. In green it has that military look without being matt. The blue also has that military quality in satin. What should I do (colour, satin or gloss) ?? also do you agree with up to the gutter line?
Such a soft finish, also will hide any ripples wonderfully.
I like the fact that when she rolls out the shed she will look very clean but not so new?
Being a satin paint it will be very easy to both paint and repair. This has got to raise some opinions. I want your comments please.
Monday, May 30, 2011
VW camper complete side panel repair
So Darren and Gary down this weekend coming, Could be time to send her for sandblast and zinc the lower six inches!!!!!
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Latest update for Elcie
Looking straight if you can ignore the repair line.
Checked sliding door fit.
Loads of welds to clean back, and more welding to do but just starting to feel like it is possible.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
WTF, VW Heritage?!?
So apparently, these KYB GR-2 shocks can fit the front AND rear of, and I quote, "Any type 2 van from 1969 onwards"....
Errrrr, am I being stupid or what?!?! I can't unscrew them or extend them any further... unless there's a secret way. But VW Heritage insist they are for the front and rear!
Any ideas?
Errrrr, am I being stupid or what?!?! I can't unscrew them or extend them any further... unless there's a secret way. But VW Heritage insist they are for the front and rear!
Any ideas?
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Arguing the case fit build vs buy
Arguing the case for build vs buy
......"If you're unlucky enough to have an engine that was casually rebuilt using rods from different weight groups, the difference between the heavy and light rod could be as much as 16 grams. (Engines that have two heavy rods on the same side have a characteristic lope at idle that conventional wisdom says is the sign of a 'hot' engine, mistaking the lope for the valve overlap of a high performance cam.)"......
http://bobhooversblog.blogspot.com/2006/11/vw-free-horsepower.html
......"If you're unlucky enough to have an engine that was casually rebuilt using rods from different weight groups, the difference between the heavy and light rod could be as much as 16 grams. (Engines that have two heavy rods on the same side have a characteristic lope at idle that conventional wisdom says is the sign of a 'hot' engine, mistaking the lope for the valve overlap of a high performance cam.)"......
http://bobhooversblog.blogspot.com/2006/11/vw-free-horsepower.html
Friday, May 13, 2011
Cams, like heads, are a big area, you can really mess up an engine with the wrong cam
Camshafts and the valve train....
"Cams, like heads, are a big area, you can really mess up an
engine with the wrong cam, even more so than with heads. A 1679
with Weber 34ICTs and standard heads will not run with an Engle
FK98 cam.
Cams have two main measurements, the lift, in either millimeters
or inches, and the duration in degrees of the crank. The
duration is the time the valve is opened for, the longer this
duration the more fuel gets into the engine and the bigger the
bang when it ignites. Well, that's the theory, in actual fact
the longer the valve is open for the faster the engine needs to
be running for this to happen, so at idle the engine will not run
all that well. For street use you should not consider anything
with a duration of greater than 290 degrees. The most popular
cam I have ever seen used on the street is the Engle W110, it has
286 degrees and 0.431" (10.95mm) valve lift. Engle also make the
W100 which is often better used on an engine under 1700cc or
heavy weight cars (I use on in my 1776cc crewcab). The duration
of this cam is only 276 degrees which brings the power band down
where a smaller capacity engine needs it.
Remember this: The longer the duration the higher the power band,
and subsequently the lack of power in the lower rev range.
Cam lift is usually measured in inches ('cos most manufacturers
of VW cams are American, despite being for a German car, don't
ask) and either is at the valve or the cam, so make sure you know
which before deciding on one. There are different rocker ratios
as well, the standard rockers multiply the lift by 1.1, whereas
others have ratios of 1.4:1 and 1.5:1, this of course means the
cam lift is multiplied by 1.4 or 1.5 to give full valve lift
(less the rocker/valve clearance, usually 0.004"/0.1mm for inlet
and 0.006"/0.15mm for exhaust, keep this to 0.006"/0.15mm for
both on a <100bhp engine). If you intend using higher ratio
rockers, check the cam card closely and check if you can/should
run a ratio rocker with it. The more lift you have the more fuel
goes in and the bigger the bang when it ignites, so the higher
the lift the more fuel (well, it almost works like that). Most
manufacturers have their popular street cams, I've mentioned
Engle's, Bugpack have their 4062-10, which gives a little less
lift and a little less duration, Scat have the C35, Gene Berg has
his GB297, slight differences, but all much the same. Any of
these cams will work well on the road throughout the rev range,
plus give increased performance over the standard cam. They all
have around 284-286 degrees and about 0.415 - 0.451". If you
want a little more lift without the extra duration, my personal
road choice is the Engle VZ25, but these do work better with
modified heads.
If you insist in going over the 290 degree barrier, then it's
your own fault when it's a bit sluggish in town. Valve lift is
not quite as bad, but please use 1.1:1 rockers as there are very
few road cams that are designed to use a 1.4:1 or 1.5:1 that work
any better than an equivalent one designed to run on 1.1:1
rockers. Still try to keep your total valve lift to below 0.500"
as this is the limit of a standard head. Forget the 1.25:1
rockers, they really don't give enough extra for the price you
pay.
There are adjustable cam gears available, don't buy one. You
cannot set up the cam better that it was manufactured. If the
cam doesn't match the cam card it came with it is either a faulty
cam or a faulty cam gear, so take it/them back. There are also
straight cut gears, these prevent cam lash caused by the
synchromesh type gear, but as you won't be running dual valve
springs, you won't need these either, plus they are so noisy.
Dual valve springs are available to fit any head, don't buy them,
you don't need them for street use and they slow your engine
down. Any extra work you make your engine do, like open valves
with more springs on than they need, will slow it down. A
new set of single springs is a good idea, as this will keep your
valves closed when they should be closed because twenty five year
old springs don't work as well as they did when they were new.
You can buy chrome-moly pushrods, don't. You can and should
consider 'cut to length' steel pushrods, these will return your
rocker arm geometry back to the way the factory made it,
efficient."
SOURCE: http://www.cwgsy.net/private/ramva/tech.htm
Sent from my HTC
"Cams, like heads, are a big area, you can really mess up an
engine with the wrong cam, even more so than with heads. A 1679
with Weber 34ICTs and standard heads will not run with an Engle
FK98 cam.
Cams have two main measurements, the lift, in either millimeters
or inches, and the duration in degrees of the crank. The
duration is the time the valve is opened for, the longer this
duration the more fuel gets into the engine and the bigger the
bang when it ignites. Well, that's the theory, in actual fact
the longer the valve is open for the faster the engine needs to
be running for this to happen, so at idle the engine will not run
all that well. For street use you should not consider anything
with a duration of greater than 290 degrees. The most popular
cam I have ever seen used on the street is the Engle W110, it has
286 degrees and 0.431" (10.95mm) valve lift. Engle also make the
W100 which is often better used on an engine under 1700cc or
heavy weight cars (I use on in my 1776cc crewcab). The duration
of this cam is only 276 degrees which brings the power band down
where a smaller capacity engine needs it.
Remember this: The longer the duration the higher the power band,
and subsequently the lack of power in the lower rev range.
Cam lift is usually measured in inches ('cos most manufacturers
of VW cams are American, despite being for a German car, don't
ask) and either is at the valve or the cam, so make sure you know
which before deciding on one. There are different rocker ratios
as well, the standard rockers multiply the lift by 1.1, whereas
others have ratios of 1.4:1 and 1.5:1, this of course means the
cam lift is multiplied by 1.4 or 1.5 to give full valve lift
(less the rocker/valve clearance, usually 0.004"/0.1mm for inlet
and 0.006"/0.15mm for exhaust, keep this to 0.006"/0.15mm for
both on a <100bhp engine). If you intend using higher ratio
rockers, check the cam card closely and check if you can/should
run a ratio rocker with it. The more lift you have the more fuel
goes in and the bigger the bang when it ignites, so the higher
the lift the more fuel (well, it almost works like that). Most
manufacturers have their popular street cams, I've mentioned
Engle's, Bugpack have their 4062-10, which gives a little less
lift and a little less duration, Scat have the C35, Gene Berg has
his GB297, slight differences, but all much the same. Any of
these cams will work well on the road throughout the rev range,
plus give increased performance over the standard cam. They all
have around 284-286 degrees and about 0.415 - 0.451". If you
want a little more lift without the extra duration, my personal
road choice is the Engle VZ25, but these do work better with
modified heads.
If you insist in going over the 290 degree barrier, then it's
your own fault when it's a bit sluggish in town. Valve lift is
not quite as bad, but please use 1.1:1 rockers as there are very
few road cams that are designed to use a 1.4:1 or 1.5:1 that work
any better than an equivalent one designed to run on 1.1:1
rockers. Still try to keep your total valve lift to below 0.500"
as this is the limit of a standard head. Forget the 1.25:1
rockers, they really don't give enough extra for the price you
pay.
There are adjustable cam gears available, don't buy one. You
cannot set up the cam better that it was manufactured. If the
cam doesn't match the cam card it came with it is either a faulty
cam or a faulty cam gear, so take it/them back. There are also
straight cut gears, these prevent cam lash caused by the
synchromesh type gear, but as you won't be running dual valve
springs, you won't need these either, plus they are so noisy.
Dual valve springs are available to fit any head, don't buy them,
you don't need them for street use and they slow your engine
down. Any extra work you make your engine do, like open valves
with more springs on than they need, will slow it down. A
new set of single springs is a good idea, as this will keep your
valves closed when they should be closed because twenty five year
old springs don't work as well as they did when they were new.
You can buy chrome-moly pushrods, don't. You can and should
consider 'cut to length' steel pushrods, these will return your
rocker arm geometry back to the way the factory made it,
efficient."
SOURCE: http://www.cwgsy.net/private/ramva/tech.htm
Sent from my HTC
BUSH MECHANICS TOP TIPS....The question is how to torque large nuts such as the rear axle nut or the flywheel gland nut without having a torque wrench
What other tips and tricks can we find?
This is a question that comes up pretty regularly so I thought it would
be wise to address it on this page. The question is how to torque large
nuts such as the rear axle nut or the flywheel gland nut without having
a torque wrench. Accurate torque is important for these nuts, and
luckily there is a way to do it without a torque wrench.
First, you need the proper tools. The rear axle nut for the air-cooled
cars is 36mm, and for the Buses/vans it is 46mm. The flywheel nut is
also 36mm on Type 1 engines. So, the proper tool here is a 6-point 36mm
and/or 46mm socket, ideally welded to a 6-foot long piece of cheater
pipe (basically a thick, heavy pipe to give the leverage necessary for
the task). Bob Hoover has a 6-foot long pipe with a 36mm socket welded
to one end and a 46mm socket welded to the other end.
The proper use of the tool can be found through some very simple math.
First you need the torque specification for the particular nut. Check
your Bentley manual. Let's say for the sake of example that the torque
spec for the rear axle nut is 300 foot-pounds. And let's say for the
sake of example that you weigh 150 pounds. Well, you simply divide the
300 foot-pounds by the 150 pounds, and that gives you 2 feet. The two
feet is the distance from the center of the nut that you will apply
force. So go out two feet on your cheater pipe. Make a mark at the
2-foot point and put one hand on either side, right up to the mark.
Then push down and keep pushing steadily until your feet clear the
floor. Don't jump up and down on it or anything like that. That will
give you the proper torque. Then you have to make sure that the hole
for the cotter pin is aligned so go tighter if you have to, not looser,
whichever is closer, to get the holes lined up and there you are.
Now that you know the mathematical relationship, you can simply substitute the real numbers into the equation for the example numbers above.
Source: http://www.type2.com/bartnik/torque.htm
Sent from my HTC
This is a question that comes up pretty regularly so I thought it would
be wise to address it on this page. The question is how to torque large
nuts such as the rear axle nut or the flywheel gland nut without having
a torque wrench. Accurate torque is important for these nuts, and
luckily there is a way to do it without a torque wrench.
First, you need the proper tools. The rear axle nut for the air-cooled
cars is 36mm, and for the Buses/vans it is 46mm. The flywheel nut is
also 36mm on Type 1 engines. So, the proper tool here is a 6-point 36mm
and/or 46mm socket, ideally welded to a 6-foot long piece of cheater
pipe (basically a thick, heavy pipe to give the leverage necessary for
the task). Bob Hoover has a 6-foot long pipe with a 36mm socket welded
to one end and a 46mm socket welded to the other end.
The proper use of the tool can be found through some very simple math.
First you need the torque specification for the particular nut. Check
your Bentley manual. Let's say for the sake of example that the torque
spec for the rear axle nut is 300 foot-pounds. And let's say for the
sake of example that you weigh 150 pounds. Well, you simply divide the
300 foot-pounds by the 150 pounds, and that gives you 2 feet. The two
feet is the distance from the center of the nut that you will apply
force. So go out two feet on your cheater pipe. Make a mark at the
2-foot point and put one hand on either side, right up to the mark.
Then push down and keep pushing steadily until your feet clear the
floor. Don't jump up and down on it or anything like that. That will
give you the proper torque. Then you have to make sure that the hole
for the cotter pin is aligned so go tighter if you have to, not looser,
whichever is closer, to get the holes lined up and there you are.
Now that you know the mathematical relationship, you can simply substitute the real numbers into the equation for the example numbers above.
Source: http://www.type2.com/bartnik/torque.htm
Sent from my HTC
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Sent this to Engle performance cams for a horses mouth response....
I sent this direct
to Engle cams for a technical response......
Hi guys wondering if
you can help with a technical query regarding the Engle 110 cam. I have recently
had a VW twin port(for a type 2 VW 1974) short block built by an engine shop in
the UK (The Engine Shop, TES). They fitted an Engle 110 cam, 1641 barrels and
009 distributor. Otherwise the engine itself is stock AS41 case, stock VW heads
and crankshaft etc. I got the engine back and have fitted it with twin Weber ICT
34's and am running a 4into1 exhaust. The problem I have is that at idle the
engine wobbles at lot, stalls and generally doesn't seem to want to run. Trying
to diagnose the problem (I have checked usual things compression, valve and
tappet clearance, point gap, air leaks, distributor, leads, plugs etc and all
appears normal and within tolerances) eventually led me to remove the ignition
lead on #3 cylinder, and there is no difference in the engine sound revs etc,
the same goes for #1 cylinder (cylinders 1 & 3 not firing at idle around 900
rpm). Whereas if I remove #2 or 4 the engine stumbles and wants to stall (normal
behaviour). The Engine shop claim that cylinders 1 & 3 not running at idle
(but picking up under load) is a symptom of the Engle 110 cam. I wondered if you
had a view on this and might be happy to let me have any pearls of wisdom which
might help me in addressing this issue. I am not convinced by their stand point
and they seem to be blaming the fact the the engine only runs on 2 cylinders out
of 4 at idle due to the Engle cam!! Sure this is not great marketing for you
guys I would sure appreciate any and all assistance you might provide.
Sent from my HTC
to Engle cams for a technical response......
Hi guys wondering if
you can help with a technical query regarding the Engle 110 cam. I have recently
had a VW twin port(for a type 2 VW 1974) short block built by an engine shop in
the UK (The Engine Shop, TES). They fitted an Engle 110 cam, 1641 barrels and
009 distributor. Otherwise the engine itself is stock AS41 case, stock VW heads
and crankshaft etc. I got the engine back and have fitted it with twin Weber ICT
34's and am running a 4into1 exhaust. The problem I have is that at idle the
engine wobbles at lot, stalls and generally doesn't seem to want to run. Trying
to diagnose the problem (I have checked usual things compression, valve and
tappet clearance, point gap, air leaks, distributor, leads, plugs etc and all
appears normal and within tolerances) eventually led me to remove the ignition
lead on #3 cylinder, and there is no difference in the engine sound revs etc,
the same goes for #1 cylinder (cylinders 1 & 3 not firing at idle around 900
rpm). Whereas if I remove #2 or 4 the engine stumbles and wants to stall (normal
behaviour). The Engine shop claim that cylinders 1 & 3 not running at idle
(but picking up under load) is a symptom of the Engle 110 cam. I wondered if you
had a view on this and might be happy to let me have any pearls of wisdom which
might help me in addressing this issue. I am not convinced by their stand point
and they seem to be blaming the fact the the engine only runs on 2 cylinders out
of 4 at idle due to the Engle cam!! Sure this is not great marketing for you
guys I would sure appreciate any and all assistance you might provide.
Sent from my HTC
Cylinders 1 and 3 not firing at idle when running engle 110 cam in a 1641cc running twin weber 34 ict's and 4-1 single quiet pack exhaust
Cylinders 1 & 3
not firing at idle when running 1641 barrels, stock heads, 4 - 1 quite pack
exhaust, twin ICT weber 34's.....
Some say.......
"The engle 110 has
enough overlap that cylinders 1 and 3 will not fire at idle due to the reversion
pulse pushing air up the intake port. The reversion pulse occurs when the
intake valve opens and the left over combustion pressure pushes spent gases into
the intake. How much depends on the amount of valve overlap, how restrictive the
exhaust system is, and at what RPM you are at."
So what's reversion?......
"when the pressure wave from the exhaust pulse reaches the end
of the pipe, it will be reflected. At certain engine speeds at which the whole
system (exhaust AND induction) are in the proper resonance, this pressure wave
(reflected as a pulse of rarefied air), will reach the head at the precise
moment of overlap in which both the exhaust valve and the intake valve are open,
producing a partial vacuum that helps to draw air into the cylinder. In general,
this will only happen over a narrow rpm range. For a Harley, there will only be
one such range on the safe side of redline. At all other engine speeds, a
compression pulse blows through to the carburettor and is carburetted once on
the way out, and again on the way in, producing a rich stumble and a resultant
loss of power at that rpm range. In general, the "sweet spot" where the
reversion pulse helps will be well over 5000rpm
Another issue might be.....
"Unless you are using one carb per cylinder with the dual port the air fuel
is forced to choose between one runner or the other due to the reversion pulse
of the intake valve closing. The farther up the intake it has to choose the
worse the discrepancy in the idle quality gets. "
The long and the short of this is that "The Engine Shop" (TES) who built my short block say that this is not an issue I explained that compression is low at cold on 1 and 3 now between 110-115 but between 120-125 on 2 and 4 they are happy for me to continue to run the engine despite my (and other OCD'ers concerns) with this compression ... basically they (Jim at TES) couldn't explain why 1 and 3 don't run on idle or weren't interested so I will continue to run the engine and if it goes bang I will be calling TES under warranty for a new one : )
Sent from my HTC
not firing at idle when running 1641 barrels, stock heads, 4 - 1 quite pack
exhaust, twin ICT weber 34's.....
Some say.......
"The engle 110 has
enough overlap that cylinders 1 and 3 will not fire at idle due to the reversion
pulse pushing air up the intake port. The reversion pulse occurs when the
intake valve opens and the left over combustion pressure pushes spent gases into
the intake. How much depends on the amount of valve overlap, how restrictive the
exhaust system is, and at what RPM you are at."
So what's reversion?......
"when the pressure wave from the exhaust pulse reaches the end
of the pipe, it will be reflected. At certain engine speeds at which the whole
system (exhaust AND induction) are in the proper resonance, this pressure wave
(reflected as a pulse of rarefied air), will reach the head at the precise
moment of overlap in which both the exhaust valve and the intake valve are open,
producing a partial vacuum that helps to draw air into the cylinder. In general,
this will only happen over a narrow rpm range. For a Harley, there will only be
one such range on the safe side of redline. At all other engine speeds, a
compression pulse blows through to the carburettor and is carburetted once on
the way out, and again on the way in, producing a rich stumble and a resultant
loss of power at that rpm range. In general, the "sweet spot" where the
reversion pulse helps will be well over 5000rpm
Another issue might be.....
"Unless you are using one carb per cylinder with the dual port the air fuel
is forced to choose between one runner or the other due to the reversion pulse
of the intake valve closing. The farther up the intake it has to choose the
worse the discrepancy in the idle quality gets. "
The long and the short of this is that "The Engine Shop" (TES) who built my short block say that this is not an issue I explained that compression is low at cold on 1 and 3 now between 110-115 but between 120-125 on 2 and 4 they are happy for me to continue to run the engine despite my (and other OCD'ers concerns) with this compression ... basically they (Jim at TES) couldn't explain why 1 and 3 don't run on idle or weren't interested so I will continue to run the engine and if it goes bang I will be calling TES under warranty for a new one : )
Sent from my HTC
Monday, May 9, 2011
Engine diagnostics
Engine Diagnostics
~~~
Someone provided a great lead-in to the subject -
I have a 1968 1641cc engine that I just rebuilt. My mechanic said to get a centrifugal advance (009) distributor, which I did. During the fire-up the engine would barely run -- it had a bad miss on one side. I found the #4 cylinder is not firing (no heat on the exhaust manifold). All others seem to be working fine.
I checked all the wires all are in the correct order and appear in good condition -- I even checked the resistance of the wires and they are the same. Common sense tells me I've got gas, I've got fire -- what is wrong with this cylinder? I even pulled the valve cover and all of the valves seem to be going up and down okay.
Rob responded with an excellent treatise -
Okay - let's start at the top and work through it.
Your tests are good so far (valves working, leads give similar ohms...)
Which cylinder is what -
front of car
3 1
4 2
rear of car
Firing order -
1-4-3-2
Distributor -
front of car
3  2
o
4  1
rear of car
(The "o" is the centre wire to the coil.)
The '68 engine was an H series single-port 1500cc engine. Do you still have the single-port heads, or have you converted it to twin port?
The reason I ask is that if the single-port heads have a loose manifold attachment (air leak), BOTH cylinders on that side will misfire, but with the twin port heads, it's just possible for a manifold air leak to one cylinder only. The twin port (TP) manifolds do need some attention to make sure they bed down correctly on the head - I've had a problem there in the past myself - thought I'd snugged the manifold down right but both cylinders that side were misfiring, and it was the manifold not quite sitting flat.
After checking that, check the plugs - swap plugs if you don't have a spare handy. Does the misfire move with the plug? I've had two Bosch plugs bad out-of-the-box, and have changed to NGK B5HS (or B5ES for the long thread heads). These are excellent plugs, very reliable so far.
If the misfire doesn't move with the plug, then get a spare plug and connect the #4 lead to it and lie it down touching the engine case, and start the engine - any spark? (easier to see at night or in the shade). If you have a spark then the plug in the head is suspect. (You aren't using "never seize" or similar on the plug threads I hope - that stuff can cause problems in the hot-running VW heads.)
No spark? Then try another lead (completely swap leads if necessary). If the misfire moves with the lead, the lead is toast. If the misfire stays at #4, then maybe the distributor cap is toast. Make sure all wires are seated properly, the cap is clean, both inside and out, and check for hairline cracks. Have a look at the posts inside the cap - do they all show similar burn marks where the spark jumps from the rotor arm to the post? Maybe there is too much gap on the #4 post (bad cap?).
I presume you've correctly gapped the points? Points just barely opening may fail to open for one cylinder.
Test all cylinders for compression (5-6 rotations of the engine is usually enough -- 2-3 seconds cranking). They should all be more than 100 psi (usually about 115-125 psi for a 1600cc engine), and less than 10 psi between best cylinder and worst cylinder. If one cylinder has low pressure, it will not be working right at idle, but will still provide some power at higher rpm so you would not notice it then. If the compression is lower than 100 psi, then the engine needs rebuilding.
Low compression usually means either a burned exhaust valve, or worn out piston rings. You can test for this. Squirt about 10 ml (10cc) engine oil in the spark plug hole of the bad cylinder (try and squirt it in a circle around the cylinder using a syringe), and do a compression test again immediately. If the pressure is better, then the rings are badly worn (the oil seals them a small amount). If the pressure is not changed, then the exhaust valve is burned. Engine oil will help seal leaky rings a little, but won't help a burned valve, so this test usually works quite well. If this test gives you results, then you will know if the cylinder heads need to be fixed, or if the pistons and cylinders need to be replaced.
For fun you could then wait a while and then do that cylinder again. If the compression has dropped at all, that confirms that the oil was filling gaps and has now drained away, so the rings in that cylinder have died.
If one valve is burned, ALL exhaust valves must be replaced. The exhaust valve is the hottest part of the VW engine (they glow red hot when you work the engine hard), and if one is damaged the others will soon follow, so you always replace all the exhaust valves together. (The inlet valves don't work nearly so hard - you don't have to worry about them).
~~~
Someone provided a great lead-in to the subject -
I have a 1968 1641cc engine that I just rebuilt. My mechanic said to get a centrifugal advance (009) distributor, which I did. During the fire-up the engine would barely run -- it had a bad miss on one side. I found the #4 cylinder is not firing (no heat on the exhaust manifold). All others seem to be working fine.
I checked all the wires all are in the correct order and appear in good condition -- I even checked the resistance of the wires and they are the same. Common sense tells me I've got gas, I've got fire -- what is wrong with this cylinder? I even pulled the valve cover and all of the valves seem to be going up and down okay.
Rob responded with an excellent treatise -
Okay - let's start at the top and work through it.
Your tests are good so far (valves working, leads give similar ohms...)
Which cylinder is what -
front of car
3 1
4 2
rear of car
Firing order -
1-4-3-2
Distributor -
front of car
3  2
o
4  1
rear of car
(The "o" is the centre wire to the coil.)
The '68 engine was an H series single-port 1500cc engine. Do you still have the single-port heads, or have you converted it to twin port?
The reason I ask is that if the single-port heads have a loose manifold attachment (air leak), BOTH cylinders on that side will misfire, but with the twin port heads, it's just possible for a manifold air leak to one cylinder only. The twin port (TP) manifolds do need some attention to make sure they bed down correctly on the head - I've had a problem there in the past myself - thought I'd snugged the manifold down right but both cylinders that side were misfiring, and it was the manifold not quite sitting flat.
After checking that, check the plugs - swap plugs if you don't have a spare handy. Does the misfire move with the plug? I've had two Bosch plugs bad out-of-the-box, and have changed to NGK B5HS (or B5ES for the long thread heads). These are excellent plugs, very reliable so far.
If the misfire doesn't move with the plug, then get a spare plug and connect the #4 lead to it and lie it down touching the engine case, and start the engine - any spark? (easier to see at night or in the shade). If you have a spark then the plug in the head is suspect. (You aren't using "never seize" or similar on the plug threads I hope - that stuff can cause problems in the hot-running VW heads.)
No spark? Then try another lead (completely swap leads if necessary). If the misfire moves with the lead, the lead is toast. If the misfire stays at #4, then maybe the distributor cap is toast. Make sure all wires are seated properly, the cap is clean, both inside and out, and check for hairline cracks. Have a look at the posts inside the cap - do they all show similar burn marks where the spark jumps from the rotor arm to the post? Maybe there is too much gap on the #4 post (bad cap?).
I presume you've correctly gapped the points? Points just barely opening may fail to open for one cylinder.
Test all cylinders for compression (5-6 rotations of the engine is usually enough -- 2-3 seconds cranking). They should all be more than 100 psi (usually about 115-125 psi for a 1600cc engine), and less than 10 psi between best cylinder and worst cylinder. If one cylinder has low pressure, it will not be working right at idle, but will still provide some power at higher rpm so you would not notice it then. If the compression is lower than 100 psi, then the engine needs rebuilding.
Low compression usually means either a burned exhaust valve, or worn out piston rings. You can test for this. Squirt about 10 ml (10cc) engine oil in the spark plug hole of the bad cylinder (try and squirt it in a circle around the cylinder using a syringe), and do a compression test again immediately. If the pressure is better, then the rings are badly worn (the oil seals them a small amount). If the pressure is not changed, then the exhaust valve is burned. Engine oil will help seal leaky rings a little, but won't help a burned valve, so this test usually works quite well. If this test gives you results, then you will know if the cylinder heads need to be fixed, or if the pistons and cylinders need to be replaced.
For fun you could then wait a while and then do that cylinder again. If the compression has dropped at all, that confirms that the oil was filling gaps and has now drained away, so the rings in that cylinder have died.
If one valve is burned, ALL exhaust valves must be replaced. The exhaust valve is the hottest part of the VW engine (they glow red hot when you work the engine hard), and if one is damaged the others will soon follow, so you always replace all the exhaust valves together. (The inlet valves don't work nearly so hard - you don't have to worry about them).
Engine wobble!
Test for Cylinder Mis-Firing
This test (sometimes called a "power balance" test) provides a good indication of how much each cylinder contributes to the overall power output of the engine. In addition, it also isolates which cylinders contribute little to manifold vacuum.
You can perform this test at home on any VW engine except those with electronic ignition. If there is a suspected burned valve or other major problem, this quick and easy test will indicate which cylinder it is. Because VWs have only four cylinders, a faulty one will show up relatively quickly.
To perform a cylinder mis-firing test -
Remove all the spark plug leads from the spark plugs.If a cylinder is faulty, when it is disabled it will have little or no effect on the engine's speed or performance, as it will not be contributing fully to the overall engine power.
A dwell-tachometer will give a more accurate indication of changes in engine rpm as you conduct the test.
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This test (sometimes called a "power balance" test) provides a good indication of how much each cylinder contributes to the overall power output of the engine. In addition, it also isolates which cylinders contribute little to manifold vacuum.
You can perform this test at home on any VW engine except those with electronic ignition. If there is a suspected burned valve or other major problem, this quick and easy test will indicate which cylinder it is. Because VWs have only four cylinders, a faulty one will show up relatively quickly.
To perform a cylinder mis-firing test -
Remove all the spark plug leads from the spark plugs.If a cylinder is faulty, when it is disabled it will have little or no effect on the engine's speed or performance, as it will not be contributing fully to the overall engine power.
A dwell-tachometer will give a more accurate indication of changes in engine rpm as you conduct the test.
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A discussion on Carb linkage balancing...need to check this
Ensuring the linkage is symmetrical....and I quote:
Ref:
"The procedure I have outlined here all dual carburettors, even dual single bbls (except you only have one mixture screw per side, since one barrel feeds TWO cylinders). Other important things to check are that the linkage pieces "match" from side to side, and from carburettor to carburettor. The linkage has to keep the carburettors at the same adjustment at ALL throttle positions, not just idle! Part of this is that the carburettors have to open at the same rate, and if one side opens faster than the other, the car may run fine at idle, but hesitate and miss when on the road. Make sure the linkage is symmetrical. Also, you need the vertical throttle rods (If it's crossbar linkage) to be matched in their pitch from vertical. This ensures that the two carburettors open at the same rate, since the crossbar is rotating the same on both sides.
Sometimes you have to add/remove washers from various ball-joints on the linkage to adjust the threaded rods so they are at the same angle on both sides of the engine, but the engine will run SO much better, and it's amazing how many "experts" miss this important detail. "
NEED TO CHECK THIS AS MAY BE ONE REASON WHY CARBS ARE OUT OF BALANCED WHEN THROTTLED ON!!!
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Arrghhhh what's happened (update....)
Just spoke to Jim at The Engine Shop explained what we thought the problem was and he said yeah will be lazy on 1 and 3 as running the high lift cam i.e removing leads on 1 amd 3 won't make a difference but when high revs will kick in .... but I said the timing is retarded and point gap is tiny ... he said to go back to basics and fit the og pulley (said it should have tdc mark if og vw pulley wheel not sure it does?) then check the advance he confirmed it should be 7.5 btdc and that I can change the timing if this is not the reading we get and we know what we are doing! ! He also said to check the point gap this should be 14 thousandsth....we can adjust if the gap is not that and won't invalidate warranty!
Should I think the plan is back to basics do a manual check to ensure tdc at 1 and work from there then check with timing gun etc and advance as required to 7.5 ..... going to recheck every gap from stone cold tonight update to follow......
Inshallah
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Should I think the plan is back to basics do a manual check to ensure tdc at 1 and work from there then check with timing gun etc and advance as required to 7.5 ..... going to recheck every gap from stone cold tonight update to follow......
Inshallah
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Arrghhhh what's happened ?
I Can't sleep now the engine is not good : (
Initial problem we had was getting the carbs balanced and getting a good base setting what ever we did the carbs were flooding; wouldn't idle andc no matter what we couldn't achieve good base setting, very strong fuel smell and plugs wet no. 3 and 4 nearside bank of carbs (twin weber ict's 34)
Carb float settings checked 6mm 12mm then found a chunk of swarf in float chamber ? Removed this carbs now running no overrun or flooding. Checked fuel into carbs ok now but still a question over fuel to no. 3 but makes little sense as fuel getting to no. 4 and the plugs look rich (were wet at one point)
Next and BIG problem:
As couldn't get engine to run smooth but having checked the carbs and fuel we then Removed no. 3 lead and there is no change in engine speed so no. 3 is not firing ?
Checked firing order was ok on dizzy and leads fitted correctly tried new spark plugs and checked with known good dizzy cap and leads still no fire on 3!!!!
Thought this could be overtight valve on number 3?
Quick check of engine timing its set at 2 degrees before tdc by TES and clearly wants to stall (shouldn't this be set at least 7 degrees advance?)
Checked the point gap this is very tight almost no gap
Point gap should be 16 / thousandsth ??
This would result in weak spark missed or weak ignition / spark?? I.e. not firing in number 3
checked valve clearance very tight on intake and exhaust 4 and 3 these were very tight almost no gap on 3 and 4 intake but also exhaust. Adjusted to recommended gap as per running in instructions 8 / thousandths
We have read for compression around 120 and within about 5 for each so shows ok compression ? possibly need to recheck compression on number 3 carefully!
WHAT HAVE WE MISSED ?
http://www.vw-resource.com/tune-up.html#timing
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Initial problem we had was getting the carbs balanced and getting a good base setting what ever we did the carbs were flooding; wouldn't idle andc no matter what we couldn't achieve good base setting, very strong fuel smell and plugs wet no. 3 and 4 nearside bank of carbs (twin weber ict's 34)
Carb float settings checked 6mm 12mm then found a chunk of swarf in float chamber ? Removed this carbs now running no overrun or flooding. Checked fuel into carbs ok now but still a question over fuel to no. 3 but makes little sense as fuel getting to no. 4 and the plugs look rich (were wet at one point)
Next and BIG problem:
As couldn't get engine to run smooth but having checked the carbs and fuel we then Removed no. 3 lead and there is no change in engine speed so no. 3 is not firing ?
Checked firing order was ok on dizzy and leads fitted correctly tried new spark plugs and checked with known good dizzy cap and leads still no fire on 3!!!!
Thought this could be overtight valve on number 3?
Quick check of engine timing its set at 2 degrees before tdc by TES and clearly wants to stall (shouldn't this be set at least 7 degrees advance?)
Checked the point gap this is very tight almost no gap
Point gap should be 16 / thousandsth ??
This would result in weak spark missed or weak ignition / spark?? I.e. not firing in number 3
checked valve clearance very tight on intake and exhaust 4 and 3 these were very tight almost no gap on 3 and 4 intake but also exhaust. Adjusted to recommended gap as per running in instructions 8 / thousandths
We have read for compression around 120 and within about 5 for each so shows ok compression ? possibly need to recheck compression on number 3 carefully!
WHAT HAVE WE MISSED ?
http://www.vw-resource.com/tune-up.html#timing
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Saturday, May 7, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
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