Replaced timing belt, water pump, now getting blowby help!!

[mtnbob]

Replaced timing belt, water pump and injector pump, now getting blow back. Mechanic says that I need a ring job and that the car must have been run hot. Car only has 112,000 miles on it. Oil coming out at the top of the dipstick when running. Is this possible? Any other suggestions would be appreciated. I have it scheduled for the rings and new gaskets in a week. I'm in too deep to stop now  lol.

[vixentd]

That is a common symptom of a car with blowby.  You can put an elephant hose on it but it will still smoke. A T in the line that goes from the air cleaner to valve cover.

[jtanguay]

oil coming from the dipstick tube... sounds like the gasket in there is shot maybe.  1.9's and TDI's have a nice pan vent to vent those gases to the valve cover breather.

from what you've changed, you should not be getting more blowby than before, unless you've tuned up the pump and in which case, will give you more blowby (running higher than 10 psi will obviously give more blowby)

[burn_your_money]

Check the crank case breather for restrictions. You may want to clean out the mesh filter thing in the top of the valve cover.
If you have a cam cover try running the engine with the oil filler cap removed and see if the oil leaking slows or stops.

[mtnbob]

i did run it hot a little bit when the radiator hose blew, but i didn't think it was too bad. before it got the timing belt, injection pump and water pump replaced, i was getting the oil pressure light coming on from time to time so there might have been problems before. I trust the mechanic. he is old school and honest. he said that to do the rings, head gasket, some other pan gasket, and to check the cylider walls, would set me back around $500. does that sound high,low, or about right? Any questions i should ask?

[jtanguay]

that sounds low... what kind of rings is he putting in?

[mtnbob]

Like i said he is old school . He took out my unremoveable(by me) crank pulley bolts,water pump bolts, replaced my timing belt, water pump, valve cover gasket, then after the engine was back together had to go back in and replace the injection pump(giles pump) adjust the valves, and seal the dipstick. I supplied the parts. He only charged me $250 for that, which seemed more than reasonable. He is a retired(lol) vw mechanic.
What should I ask him about the rings?

[jtanguay]

goetz rings are probably the best.  depending on the amount of wear the engine has (oval cylinders) i would consider getting total seal rings.  they reduce the blowby to practically nil!  plus since they compensate for ring gap from wear, they will keep that blowby away for many many years down the road.  it all depends on how long you wish to keep the motor.

[mtnbob]

mechanic said that cylinder walls should be ok, but if cylinders are oval, the engine will have to come out to be bored. where would i find the rings you mention?

[jtanguay]

www.totalseal.com for the total seals.

myke_w on this forum can get you the goetz rings for around $100 or so? (worth it!)

even if the cyl's are oval it will still run ok.  it all depends on what you're after, and how much coin you have.  if you want to keep it for a long time, then bore if it needs, and go total seal if you have the coin.  in conjunction with Elf oils, that engine will last you very long.  possibly in more than one car?  :lol:

the rings cost me in total $250 cdn by the time everything was said and done (had to bend over for UPS $40 customs fee...) what i did was have myke_w send the rings straight to total seal for me, which was cool!  saved me having to do it.

everyone using total seals report no blowby at all, just air moving from the crankcase.  i can't wait to get my mTDI running!!!

[mtnbob]

i plan on keeping my golf for awhile since i just bought a ip from giles. I don't see too many sources for rings. one source for goetz rings was about $18 a set. I sent a pm to myke_w

[Patrick]

If you want t o get away with out of round cylinders for a while, try to find some cast rings. they won't last quite as long, btu they do a better job of conforming to worn cylinders/pistons.

[Doug]

Seeing as you are digging into the motor, I would suggest that most of your blowby is probably coming from the valve guide excessive clearance as the mileage is not significant to wear a set of rings. A leakdown test of the cylinders would be a good diagnostic procedure before the head comes off. With what sounds like resonable compression my money is on valve guides. They are bronze giving only a limited life compared to other manufacturers which are using cast iron or steel guides lasting two or three times that of bronze. Check it out first. You could save some money and aggravation.

[mtnbob]

I mentioned what you said to my mechanic. He said he was convinced it was the rings at the very least. Said with the oil cap off that it was like a blow dryer. Asked him if he checked compression and he said no. We will see. :shock:

[Doug]

If you are going to have the motor apart then replacing the rings is a good idea. Remember though that on the TD model, the intake guides as well as the exhaust guides are pressurised with the resulting pressure escaping via the crankcase ventilation system. At least when the head is off pull the valves to check the guide to stem diameters for clearance. Then you can say that there will be no questionable areas not inspected.