golfg60 0 Posted February 11, 2005 Hi chaps, i'm posting on behalf of my mate. His VR6 has been running very lumpy and powerless for a while now. He has taken it to numerous mechanics including VW, replaced pretty much every sensor and still has no idea what is wrong. The latest mechanic he took it to said that the head needs to come off to find the fault and that there is low compression on cylinder 4 (which would explain why is feels like its not running on all 6). The mechanic wants £1000 to sort out the head, where the problem is presumed to be. Am i right in thinking that there was a problem with the early VR6 valves (or did i dream this). Basically my pal wants to know what to do, should he pay the money? Should he just get a replacement engine? Or should he sell the car? Hopefully some of you mk3 owneres can shed some light on what to do Thanks Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Supercharged 2 Posted February 11, 2005 Brand new 2.8 litre engines are fairly cheap from VW.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
golfg60 0 Posted February 11, 2005 Yeah, thats what i thought. Do you know what sort of money he would be looking at? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Supercharged 2 Posted February 11, 2005 I *think* about £1500 exchange including the new chains/tensioners etc... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
golfg60 0 Posted February 11, 2005 Really? Thats not bad... Cheers for the help mate Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tug 0 Posted February 11, 2005 I *think* about £1500 exchange including the new chains/tensioners etc... Seriously?! That's all VW want for them? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin Bacon 5 Posted February 11, 2005 I think we came to the conclusion after discussing this before that that is C&R's price (rebuild)....VW's is nearer double that, or certainly was last time I enquired. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dr_mat 0 Posted February 11, 2005 I *think* about £1500 exchange including the new chains/tensioners etc... Seriously?! That's all VW want for them? This figure wasn't just inaccurate, it was pure fiction last time we spoke about it. Full engine replacement is nearer £5k, full rebuild with block rebore is nearer £3k, and full top-end rebuild is nearer £1.5k. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stu h 0 Posted February 11, 2005 a new head shouldnt cost that much, you can get a ported polihsed one for less than a grand. talk to stealth racing http://www.stealthracing.co.uk (i think thats the right address!) post over on http://www.vr6oc.co.uk -the guys on there are full of info too Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
golfg60 0 Posted February 11, 2005 Thanks stu mate Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dr_mat 0 Posted February 11, 2005 a new head shouldnt cost that much, you can get a ported polihsed one for less than a grand. If you fit it yourself, yeah. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
golfg60 0 Posted February 11, 2005 Tafkadm, where abouts in Berks are you from? I'm from Reading, do you know of any good garages in berks that will be able to correctly diagnose the fault? Cheers Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slot 0 Posted February 11, 2005 Have you checked the cat ?? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
golfg60 0 Posted February 11, 2005 Yeah, the cat has been replaced along with the sensor that sits in it Cheers... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dr_mat 0 Posted February 11, 2005 Not had a lot of luck with Reading VW places... The dealers are heinously expensive, and the best known VW specialist here is ok, but we've had our disagreements over warranty work, and he's generally unwilling to tackle the more serious stuff too. Can you give us a rundown of what's been done so far? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
golfg60 0 Posted February 11, 2005 Ok, from memory he has had the coil pack, the cat, o2 sensor, plugs leads, numerous trips to VW to be given the all clear by the VAG com. Today the mechanic said that the number 4 cylinder was low on compression. It basically drives like it is running on 4 or 5 cylinders instead of 6. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dr_mat 0 Posted February 11, 2005 At what revs? Lumpy all the time? How's it idle? Losing any coolant? Losing any oil? (Gaining oil even??) You say it pulls poorly, even at low revs? Does it make it to the redline? Is there a lot of vibration from the engine, or is it smooth-but-weak? Can't believe they've not suggested the MAF sensor yet... But that's not to say it's definitely that. How low is the compression on number 4? I mean off the scale low or just 10-20%? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites