I B SKERD!!!

[maxfax]

Last summer I started getting oil in the coolant on my 11mm 1.6..   Yanked the head and yup the block was cracked..   Took a chance and put some thread sealer on the studs and slapped it back together..   Got almost 20K miles out of it till it started puking oil in the coolant again..  Through the winder I kept sucktiong the oil out of the tank, flushing the coolant every few weeks, addes dishwasher soap to keep the oil broken down and hopefully prevent all the rubber from going to crap..   Once the weather got warm enough I flushed the system and just ran water and dishwasher soap, and continued to flush it at least every 2 weeks..   So I went to do my flush 2 weeks ago, hmm looked pretty clean in there..  Checked the oil, hmmm barely down at all..  It was hot, decided heck with it and went and drank beer...  Checked it again today, Hmm still clean, still full of oil 

Could it be???   Can Sunlight Gel dishwasher detergent fix a cracked block???   Or is it just the fact that I have everything back from the machine shop for my new engine so the little bunny is gonna give me the finger?

[burn_your_money]

Or is it just the fact that I have everything back from the machine shop for my new engine so the little bunny is gonna give me the finger?

If your car is anything like mine then that is exactly what it is

[lovinthedeez]

it's funny, I was kinda thinking the same thing.  my rabbit started acting up like a motherfarker when it knew the motor was coming out of it for a mk2.  i get skerd when things suddenly start going right as well.   

[maxfax]

I have considered that maybe it's just so happy that it's finally getting a completely fresh engine insted of a patched together million mile piece of junk and it's cutting me a break..... 

Whatever it is, I'm not complaining as I'm relying on it pretty heavily for now..   My Crown Vic and Aspen are on loan, and the POS Sable tossed it cookies...  All these hot days as of late I've been sweating (literally) whether those oil soaked hoses are gonna hold, and it continues to clatter on 100 miles every day....   I considered actually washing it to show my gratitude, but the two things that seem to kill a car the fastest are washing or filling the tank...  DOOMED if you do both at the same time...

[burn_your_money]

I don't think I've ever washed my car since I've owned it  

My Golf has been pretty good to me lately. Usually when I replace one part, like say my control arm bushings within a matter of hours something else will break that is completely unrelated, like the steel coolant distribution hose. I swear the car is spoiled and figures if I'm changing one part I should be changing all the worn out parts...

[maxfax]

Pends on the weather how much my car get's washed..  The moer it rains, the more it get's washed...    I do try to attack the underside with the pressure washer from time to time, especially in the winter..   I like to try keep the mud and salt off in hopes it doesn't completely rust in half for a few more years..

Usually when I replace one part, like say my control arm bushings within a matter of hours something else will break that is completely unrelated, like the steel coolant distribution hose.

Sounds to be about right..   My Silver bunny had been a champ, but the ole Frankenbunny thought it was a BMW..   There were times that it required 5 hours of work per 2 hours of driving...  I splurged and replaced the dead speakers in the dash only to have the trans take a poop the next morning..   At least I could listen to some tunes while I waited for a tow...

I guess it works out for me though..   If everything works as it should on a vehicle, I tend to start looking for other things I can do to it..

[maxfax]

   Popped the hood to check oil and coolant..     No noticable oil in the coolant    Oil down maybe a pint at most, but it's soon due for an oil change..  Although I'm kinda afraid to do so..  All the soot may be what's keeping the oil where it belongs...    But never fear, the #1 and #2 injectors are leaking..   Nope, not the lines, the injectors themselves....

All is right with the world   

[Rabbit on Roids]

isnt that messed up that we start expecting problems when everything is working right? i love me some vw, they keep me occupied and out of trouble. well, ok, my audi keeps me out of trouble, its not that fast. honestly tho, its always something with these cars. my audi is even worse tho, 3/4 of the electrical system is tits up. least all the electrical works on my rabbit.

[maxfax]

Very messed up, but so true of just about any vehicle I had.. At least it isn;t usually major breakdowns.. Just those little quirks.. The Rabbit has genneraly been able to always get me home with duct tape wire ties and wire coat hangers...

Upgrades are cheap too..  When I had the Mustang II, everything I wanted to do to it was always big money... With the VW just replacing the broken stuff is an upgrade..   If it isn;t somthing broken, it's usually osmething that can be scored off another vw at the bonyard or ebay for cheap....

And I got the injectors to stop leaking by snugging them a bit..   Then some exhaust hangers broke and the one headlight blew...

[Baron VonZeppelin]

I'm thinking the straight water corroded the crack shut enough to hold its biscuits and gravy (until the next head gasket blows). Maybe the DW Gel promoted it some too ? The anti-freeze probably prevented it.

In the better days gone by I had a guy who stick-welded a cast iron Pontiac 389 block for me I had found with a very rare ($) block code (76XW = 64 GTO with TriPower, 4spd Wide Ratio). It had thrown a rod and knocked a chunk out of the bottom of a water jacket.

He cut a piece out of an old skillet and shaped it, stick-welded it in with a nickel rod. Told me to fill that bank with straight water - and it would probably seep/leak for a little while. Then to let it just keep sitting for a few days.

It did leak in a spot or two around weld. Next day it stopped. Let it go a couple more days. Then had it pressure tested.

Sold the engine core to a guy in Canada (1990) through a friend of his in Rochester NY. Its been in a restored 64 GTO Convertible ever since.

... i know you didn't weld yours - but you see what i'm kinda saying though.

(I'm saying GTO's Rule The World ! ) 

[maxfax]

Nice to see ya over here Barron!!

I see exactly what you are saying, and it makes perfect sense...   I dunno if the soap would do a whole lot chemically to aid in corosion , but it would have kept everything well degreased..  And considering how fast clean steel will rust why it did kinda seal up so quick..

Now here I sit on the fence..   The engine runs so darned good I hate to mess with it, but I do have a new engine here waiting to be assembled, and I know most likely with my luck the darned thing is gonna start leaking again after I spring for some new antifreeze..  I wish I had one of the other Rabbit bodies ready to go, I;d drop the new engine in one of those and see how long this one'll make it..

If/when I do have to take the engine apart, I'm still tempted to see how deep the crack is, and try filling it in with brass..


AS for GTO's ruling the world, I dunno, But Buick's haul ass with CLASS! 

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Thanks Max.
Maybe by the time Jack Frost gets going good the anti-freeze will hold in there too.

Speaking of Buicks...
I went down a small road in town i'd never been down before a couple of weeks ago, sort of by accident. Under a carport was a 70-71 or 72 Skylark GS Stage1 Convertible !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I went by slowly twice just to confirm the Stage1 emblems to my eyes.

Looked all original (paint and bodywise) and like it had been sitting there untouched at least 10 years. Otherwise it looked in great shape.

I bet he gets several offers a month, but thinking of going by and making one anyway.

[maxfax]

I should have close to about 2 months till I gotta think about antifreeze..  Now that it is cooler I want to see how it acts.. Just in case it was some funky scenario like the crack expanded shut in the hot weather... If it seems okay I may just push my luck..   And convieninetly I'll have the new engine sitting here ready to go.. I swear I can change them in an afternoon anymore...


I'd definitely be bangin on that guy's door about a Stage 1 GS convertible..  Heck I'd be bangin on his door for a 4 door Electra..  Probably one of those guys that has plans for it and won;t part with it, or else everyone is afriad to ask what he'd want..   I'm glad to hear it's at least under a roof... 

I like my Vw's and appreciate them very much..   The old Aspen & Lincoln have been  great backup work horses, and my Crown Vic is tons O fun, but still, one of the worst things I ever did was sell my '72 Electra 2 door..