AAZ rebuild (broke down in Maine)

[CrazyAndy]

Hey, great to hear you got it on the road, and even better to hear of your globetrotting plans!  I hope the VC I gave you gives you good service.  I have respect for the type 2 crowd since I own a bay window myself, and your Vanagon is no exception.  Just get that wire taken care of (which I'm pretty sure might be the problem) and you're golden. 

Good luck, and be sure to leave a global soot trail! 

[burn_your_money]

This is how to find your hot start problem
http://www.vwdiesel.net/forum/index.php?topic=22321.0

[RockOcean]

Howdy ya'll

Just wanted to give a final update on this engine rebuild has the engine worn out prematurely at about 110k miles. After the drive from Maine to Florida I tested the compression and got 500 on all cylinders except #4 which was 490. The next year I went back out on the Appalachian Trail as a shuttle driver giving hikers shuttles to and from towns all along the trail from Georgia to Maine. Didn't have a single issue with the van, the complete opposite of the year before with having to change the head gasket, then the radiator, and final rebuilding the engine in this thread. In 2014 I headed out West for the first time ever. I had an upper IP leak and luckily I was only a few hours away from libbydiesel and he swapped out the seal for me in less then an hour. Eventually making it to the Southern Terminus of the PCT I started shuttling hiker again along the Pacific Crest Trail this time. About a month in I started having more IP leaks so I got the IP rebuilt by Brian at Omega Fuel Injection in El Canjon. This guys does amazing work only working on manual IP's. The Walmart parking lot was home for only 3 days as Brian got the IP and rebuilt it in a day and a half. The rest of the summer was trouble free with the van running great all the way thru the mountains up into Canada and back home to Florida albeit starting to have to keep an eye on the oil adding a half quart every 1,200 miles or so.

For 2015 I parked the van for the summer and hiked the Appalachian Trail. Well almost, I ended up getting de-trailed to help a friend document a album he was recording in Scotland. Returning state side I ended up on Nantucket to work for 5 weeks then got back on the trail in Maine and started hiking South. Eventually getting off the trail in mid November at the PA border with only PA and Maryland remaining. I met my current partner while hiking in Maine and we made plans to drive from Florida to Alaska the next summer. The trip started well but the engine started consuming a half quart of oil every 600 miles. By the time we made it up to Alaska it was drinking a half quart every 300 miles and burning it clean not even smoking. It was so bad we opted to take the inside passage ferry down to Bellingham, WA instead of driving. We worked on a farm in Northern California for the Winter and went to India and Nepal for 5 weeks in the Spring. I left the van in Southern California and hit the road to Maine as soon as I got there. I went about 100 miles and it drank a whole quart! I turned around immediately back to where I left the van and torn it down. Immediately you could see a lip about a quarter to a half inch down on cylinder 4. The machine shop said it was so worn the bore would have to be sleeved. Not wanted to go that route I started looking for a used engine. Lucky for me Quality German Auto Parts was only 30 minutes down the road. So I watched the 15 or so videos of all the AAZ's running and narrowed it down to the one I thought was best. 2 hours later I was installing my new used engine that I got for 1,800 bucks, and 2 days later I was on my way to Maine. I made it to Maine with no issues in 4 days.

The van ran great for a few years and me and my partner both ended up settling down for the first time ever in our live at 39 in Southwest Montana. This engine also started using oil just like the one before that I rebuilt. Since we were settled down we didn't use the van as much now we were no longer living on the road. I ran the van like this for a few years. Finally this summer I decided it was time for another AAZ rebuild. I Really wanted to go AHU but didn't pull the trigger on it and really wish I did. Sure enough this engine too was worn at the top of cylinder 4. It was not nearly as bad as the previous engine I rebuilt and was able to be re-bored using the +.5mm oversized pistons. I will add some photos and more info on this rebuild at a later date.



Finally getting engine back from the machine shop after a dreadful 6 month wait it was ready to fire up! Since it was 20°f outside I had the block and oil pan heater plugged in to warm things up while priming and cranking the new engine. With a full oil filter I primed the oil pump with a drill rotating it clockwise (i hope this is the correct direction?) til I had oil coming out of the turbo feed line. Once I had that I put it all back together leaving the glow plug relay, and IP power disconnected. I cranked it for about 10 seconds and the low pressure oil light went out. I pulled fuel thru the IP, left the injector lines cracked at the injectors and powered the IP. After about 4 ten second cranks I had fuel at the injectors and tightened them up and plugged in the glow plug relay. Another 10 second crank and she fired right up! After purging the coolant system I took it for a test drive and immediately noticed the oil pressure was barely moving past 25psi it was idling at 20psi as it usually does. But it should be rising with the rpm's hitting 50-60psi before shifting into the next gear. Any idea of why this might be happening? The oil pump was brand new and I ran it in the engine about a month before the rebuild and it worked fine. The intermediate shaft bearings where not changed as the machinist said there was no sign of wear and this obviously was not a problem before the rebuild so it shouldn't be after.

[RabbitJockey]

thanks for the updates. sorry i dont have any ideas about your oil pressure.

whats up with you and cylinder 4? seems odd that they always do the same thing even with a completely new engine.

good on your for never giving up though.

[RockOcean]

I figured it out, had to add another half quart of oil. My dip stick tube must have changed a quarter inch when I reinstalled it. I added a half quart and the oil pressure returned to normal.

I really think that the catch can setup I had installed on both engines was the cause for both times the #4 cylinder being worn out. I had it so it drained back into the block where the factory oil return line goes since on my van the oil return line went into the oil pan instead. I don't know how it could have done that but it's the only thing that makes sense.

I do have another problem with this latest rebuild tho! It will puff smoke for over 3 minutes when it's only 30°f outside?!?

It was bored out for .50mm oversized pistons. With rings, bearings, and everything else replaced. It also has a brand new turbo, rebuilt injection pump, and the injectors were tested by Giles. The head was also fully rebuilt. There are no air bubbles going into the IP or coming out of it. My glow plugs are pimped via Vince Waldon's guide and confirmed working. IP timing is set to 1.00mm (I live at 6700ft) and the engine timing is dead on. I am at a loss on what could be wrong?
This being my second time rebuilding an AAZ I am quite certain I did everything correct while assembling the engine. The only things I can think of maybe causing this are:

- 6 month old fuel?
- Rings not seated yet?
- Machine shop bored too much?
- New valve seals are bad?
- PCV is bad?

If the block and oil heater are plugged in for a few hours it does not smoke like this. But even if it's 50°f it will still smoke for like 20 seconds on start up.
You can see in the video it doesn't start to clear up until about the 2:30 minute mark. The second video is when it's at full operating temp.

Any thoughts on what this might be?

https://youtu.be/xdnCT9Ic4Lk

https://youtu.be/mUkdZ-C2ZXo

[fatmobile]

What happens when you push or pull the cold start lever when it is smoking on cold startup?
Does it smoke on hot startups too?
 Could be retarded timing.
 Utube comments are shut off. That happens when it's set as not for kids.

[RockOcean]

I thought it was well known that if your timing is advanced especially to 1.00mm the cold start would be rendered useless since it only advances the timing by .05mm or so.

I have never had the cold start lever on this IP and in the past when the engine was in good shape it hardly smoked at all on a cold start.

It has the electric cold start with the wires cut off. Does anyone know what I would need to hook it back up? I would imagine the actuator and then the wire in a switch.

[fatmobile]

 Not sure how the electric cold start works.
 The cold start lever only works below 2000 RPM.
 After that the internal pump pressure takes over the timing.
 Turning the pump to an advanced setting at idle won't override the cold start lever.
 It will still manually push the timing piston when you pull it.

 I consider the cold start lever to be very helpful at finding the best timing for my engine.
 For instance if you pulled the cold start lever or powered the electric cold start and it ran smoother you would instantly know it was the timing being retarded.
 When the timing is set right, the cold start lever will slow the RPM when cranking cold.
 Many people will crank with it off to get RPMs up, then pull it when it begins to fire.

 From the video, I do think yours seems a bit retarded.
A dial gauge doesn't do much other than let you know right where it's set.
Tuning it requires setting it to different timing and see how it works.

[RabbitJockey]

Hello,

Did you ever resolve anything with this engine?

[RockOcean]

Sorry not yet. With winter here I probably won't do a compression test until spring. If that turns out good then I will starting figuring out how to get my cold start hooked back up.

[oblique]

Sounds like thermal expansion issue...new rings can take 5000+miles to fully seat on these...not sure how far you've gone.

Did you use new or used oil pump for the build.

[RockOcean]

I have only done just under 1,000 miles thus far. The oil pump is pretty much brand new I ran it for a couple thousand miles before pulling the engine for the rebuild.

[oblique]

Sounds like it might need more time to settle in.

For oil pressure...have you checked intermediate shaft clearances? From what I remember it gets oil early in the path and too large clearances will reduce overall pressure?

[RockOcean]

That is what I am hoping for. I changed the oil and it looked good just a tiny bit of metal swarf on the drain plug magnet.


The oil pressure issue was resolved a while ago. I found that I did not seat the dipstick tube completely and I also replaced the boot up top so my stick was sitting about a quarter inch higher then it did. Once I added another half quart of oil my pressure returned to were it should be.