!979 Rabbit Diesel Need help!

[vw-tim]

I so wanted to do the E I E I OH? thing but without that picture I wasn't sure you would get the pun.  OLD MCDONALD had an engine.  Sing it baby.

E I E I OHHHHH!!! haha thats awesome man!!

[theman53]

And after he wrote that OH

I wanted to write     IO  ....   OH - IO      .....it is a Buckeye thing LOL

[ORCoaster]

Glad you all got a chuckle out of it.  You should be around when I have a few beers.  Plenty of spray in the air. 

[vw-tim]

okay so here is what i got from what shims i need to get my valves in spec i just i want you guys to maybe check my work? ha

so first off here is my measurements i got with feeler gauge

Cylinder #1 E- 0.406mm I- 0.000mm ( no feeler gauge would fit in there that i had...)

Cylinder #2 E- 0.127mm I- 0.203mm

Cylinder #3 E- 0.051mm I- 0.127mm

Cylinder #4 E- 0.152mm I- 0.000mm

and here are the Shim sizes that were on each valve when i did the  measurements

Cylinder #1 E- 3.50 I- 3.65

Cylinder #2 E- 3.60 I- 3.65

Cylinder #3 E- 3.60 I- 3.65

Cylinder #4 E- 3.60 I- 3.70

so i then got the difference between the clearances using for the Exhaust max clearance of 0.45mm and on the Intake max clearance of 0.25mm i took those numbers and subtracted with the numbers i got from the feeler gauges leaving me with differences of:

Cylinder #1 E- 0.044 I- 0.25

Cylinder #2 E- 0.323 I- 0.047

Cylinder #3 E- 0.399 I- 0.123

Cylinder #4 E- 0.298 I- 0.25

so with those numbers i then subtracted them from the Shims that i used resulting in getting the sizes of shims i need to use to get all valves in spec:

Cylinder #1 E- 3.45  I- 3.40

Cylinder #2 E- 3.27 ( so should i use a 3.30 then? round up?) I- 3.60

Cylinder #3 E- 3.20 I- 3.52 ( round up to 3.55? )

Cylinder #4 E- 3.30 I- 3.45

Okay sorry for all that Info i just wanted to check and make sure i do it correctly and buy the proper shims needed

[745 turbogreasel]

So they didn't surface the head, replace guides, grind or replace valve seats, pressure test set valve face depth, set precup stickout, check for collapsed lifters...

Interestingly, the most out of adjustment  holes have the best compression.

I'll just repost this list to save my typing finger.

okay well heres the deal i bought the car for $500 the engine that was in it the block had a broken rod the go threw in 2 other spare 1.5L diesels one complete and the other was just a tranny and block so what i did was i took the head that was on the car orignially got all the valves and everything re done on that

Got exactly what redone?
Was it pressure tested?
check it for warpage  just in case
Was valve clearance checked? make sure there is some clearance with the cam lobes pointed up.
check the one from the donor block for a big warp at the middle, or a crack  to H2o.
Never presume that because a machine shop  did work that it was done right.

and i took of the blocks that i cranked and it was free from binds and what not and i didnt do anything to the block except put on a new clutch kit and oil pan i

... i probably should of thought this wasnt right and stopped but i kept going and i torqued them all to 36 or whatever the book says.. do you think maybe because they were hanging up they might of been torqued but it was not accurate reason for not having the compression?

clean it well, and measure stickup of all 4 pistons very carefully.  if this block previously hydro locked  in these 2 adjacent holes, the rods may be quite bent.  all 4 should spec  for the same head gasket thickness at the least.

What is the procedure you are currently using to tighten the head bolts?

IMO ring wear in 2 cyls is not the most likely  thing.

i was told that the head got all new valves and it was checked for warpage valve clearance was checked i was told it was all good to go but to just make sure to do the valve shims  

okay ill measure how much the pistons come up and see what they say.. and how i torq it down i go by what the Bentley says...? is that what you mean?

On the ones with 0 clearance, how  are you figuring out what size shim you need?  Did you check for crushed lifters?  do you know the clearance is not less than 0?

[nathantheengineer]

You will probably find the best way is to remove a shim from the pack fitted on the ones with no clearance ( if there is only 1 then you will have to substitute in a thinner shim).  Torque it all back up and then re measure.  

I would use a shim of half the thickness of the ones fitted to check what clearance you have.

Before you go changing anything you need to know what your baseline start position is.

[vw-tim]

You will probably find the best way is to remove a shim from the pack fitted on the ones with no clearance ( if there is only 1 then you will have to substitute in a thinner shim).  Torque it all back up and then re measure.  

I would use a shim of half the thickness of the ones fitted to check what clearance you have.

Before you go changing anything you need to know what your baseline start position is.

yeah ill try and put in a smaller shim on the ones with zero clearance.

and what do you mean by baseline start position please explain how can i go about figuring that out?

[745 turbogreasel]

Do you have you  clearance, or -0.003 clearance? 
Install a thinner shim, and take a new measurement.
Recalculate.
Did you complete those checks on your old parts yet?

[nathantheengineer]

By baseline I just meant that you need to have a known position from which to start.

As others have said on here if you didn't install thinner shims with a measurable gap then how would you know if there was no clearance or if the valve was being held off the seat? i.e a negative clearance?

Overall it is one of the most important rules of working on mechanical items.  Always know where you are starting from otherwise you will be chasing your tail for forever and a day.

[vw-tim]

okay guys got all the valves adjusted to spec and i did another compression test here is my readings...

#1 - 320
#2 - 260
#3 - 120
#4 - 210

so i guess i should pull the head and do the rings now? and i guess new head gasket and head bolts as well and hone the cylinder my only option next correct?

[745 turbogreasel]

How dead was the battery?

Go ahead and waste your money, but you really should read back through this thread, make every check that has been recommended, answer every question in detail, compile the results, and post all of it here in a clear, specific, and detailed way.
The info you need to make a correct diagnosis is here in this thread already.
If you skip steps, it will come out wrong almost every time.
I could tell you whats wrong, but without data to back my answer up, I'd be skipping a step, creating a chance I'd be wrong, then you'd go make the wrong repair and probably blame me. 
/jaded prick mode.

[vw-tim]

How dead was the battery?

Go ahead and waste your money, but you really should read back through this thread, make every check that has been recommended, answer every question in detail, compile the results, and post all of it here in a clear, specific, and detailed way.
The info you need to make a correct diagnosis is here in this thread already.
If you skip steps, it will come out wrong almost every time.
I could tell you whats wrong, but without data to back my answer up, I'd be skipping a step, creating a chance I'd be wrong, then you'd go make the wrong repair and probably blame me. 
/jaded prick mode.

okay i will and i would never blame anyone but myself for mistakes being made on my engine ha i appreciate all the advice!

[vw-tim]

okay so i got my pistons out find a few rings broken and blah blah anyway so i honed the cylinders some and i measured the pistons they read about 76mm and i measured the cylinders themselfs after honing and they read about 75.68mm somthing like that anyway now should i be looking at getting 76.5mm rings or 77mm ?

suggestions please..


i kind think i want to hone them some more but here a iphone pic...

[vw-tim]

okay as i wait for parts to get here i decided to work on the brake situation i filled it up with fluid as much as it would take and i went ahead and started to bleed the brakes i started the passenger side rear it took a while but old fluid started to come out and finally the new fluid started flowing so done with that one i went to the drive side rear opened up the bleeder valve and had my help pump the brakes blah blah blah nothing is coming out... not even old brake fluid or anything so keep at it keep at it til my helped is tired and gives up nothing.. so as my helper left me i went ahead and retitened the bleeder valve and moved to the front drive just hooked it up opened up the bleed and went inside and pumped the brakes a few times and ran back out to look at my hose there is old brake fluid pushing out... so whats the deal with the driver side rear? could this be the issue why there was no brake fluid in the car at all could it all leaked out? what do you guys think?

[ORCoaster]

Time to pull apart that suspect cylinder.  Might need new rubber cups and a hone inside it.  Might have a blockage in the line as well.  If you have a mighty mack vacuum pump you might have some luck pulling fluid to that cylinder.  Time to move up the lines to the first junction block and see if fluid is getting from there to the brakes. 

I smell a blockage and yes a lot of fluid can go out one bad cylinder but not all as there is a front and rear system here and you should have had some fluid in the fronts.