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Running on 3cyl in 40 degrees..... arrrrr!
rastazungu - November 16th, 2009 at 02:00 PM

Just nursed my type 2 with 2ltr motor into Kununurra after over 200km of running on 3cyl. All the mechanics here have given me the "no VDubs thanks" message and the ones that would work on her are ball parking $3000 already. I'm not convinced, as she was running really well, even on just 3. Compression check reveals 20% on 3, +80% on 1 and 2 and 4 ok. What next?? Can running a lot on only 3 cyl do damge to the crankshaft etc when all those vibrations are goin on?? I'm thinking to take it out and take off the heads to get a better idea and open to getting a reconditioned engine replacement if all is real bad. Was hoping for advice and contacts for parts in Darwin. One mechanic said it would be better to limp another 800km to Darwin and get it done there. Any advice??


donn - November 16th, 2009 at 03:21 PM

Only advice Ican give is go straight around to the Kununurra pub, good beer and great food. Good luck with it.:tu:


Bizarre - November 16th, 2009 at 04:03 PM

How mechanical are you??

Can you set valves??

What type of motor is it??
Hydraulic valve or solid lifters??

Type 1 or Type 4??


greedy53 - November 16th, 2009 at 04:18 PM

first drop the left bank tappet cover and rotate the crank around until it alines with the tiny cut on the dissy body than grab a tappet and see if its loose loose good tight bad and also replace all plugs good luck
and just to make sure its not plugs swap 1 around and see if it ok


Craig Torrens - November 16th, 2009 at 04:35 PM

Probably melted exhaust valve on number 3, due to closed tappets and lean out due to the hot temps/poor tune............I wouldn't be driving it.


vwjon - November 17th, 2009 at 09:01 AM

becareful of that opal fuel its burns hotter that regular fuel, the timing needs to be retarded slightly.
there is a very good vee-dub mechanic in darwin, he loves to chat!!
if you do drive the 800k's take it steady, listen to the motor (no stereo) dont stress it, and check the oil very often,
i burned a valve while in darwin, drove 4000k's to perth but had to stop every 500k's to fill up with oil.
good luck with your trip!


mnsKmobi - November 17th, 2009 at 12:06 PM

You'd have to take the cylinder head off to see what is going on. If a valve head breaks off you could cause a lot more damage. You can take the head off without dropping the engine but it's a bit of a pain. Maybe easier though if you're doing it in a carpark/camping ground, etc. The major caution with a new AMC head is that they don't need the gasket between the head and the top of the cylinder as they have a step machined into the chamber.

Of course the next question is why did it occur in the first place? Maybe it was an old head on the way out or something else was wrong (too lean, wrong timing, wrong valve gap, etc?). Do you have a cylinder head temperature gauge?