VR6 running issue with video - fixed :shock:

[CorradoVR6-Turbo 0]

as i said,water mixing with the fuel wont help the burn and for it to be as clean as that means only one thing :(

[zak 0]

Good news, I tried Hassans ecu and im no longer getting any fault codes, bad news is the problem is still there. I also tried another coilpack and blue temp sensor just so i have elimanated all the simple stuff and no change.

 

Is the head gasket the only thing left or is there anything else i can try?

[zak 0]

i took the car for a quick drive up my road and it left a huge smoke screen behind me :eek: So back to base and heres a vid of the smoke.

 

Decided to take the head of, this is where its as now,

 

Theres a mark on the cam lobe, anything to worry about?

[zak 0]

After a further strip down i was greeted by this

 

Looks like i will be doing the chains and tensioners this weekend too :lol:

 

I couldnt get the head of the block, i removed all the head bolts, one of which snapped and still resides in the block. I removed the tensioner on the left hand side on the head. I removed the upper chain tensioner along the upper chain cover, i have removed the cams. The exhaust manifold is disconnected. I also undid the dipstick guide from the lower inlet. The head will still not lift off. I have left the lower inlet on,do i need to remove this too? Is there anything i have missed?

[fla 9]

To remove the head, once all the bolts are off tap it either side with a heavy rubber mallet, in fact tap all four sides. As its rubber you can whack it quite hard. Basially the head is 'glued' on with the head gasket and hundreds and thousnads of miles of setting hard. As my head was being replaced, i used a soft wide screwdriver under one edge as as a wedge to separate the head from the block. There are also some collet guides which help keep the head gasket in place which sit in the block. Tap across and upwards, sort of diagonally upwards. It will take some time but it will come off. Glad to hear the ecu helped. I'm out most of this weekend otherwise i would have come over, but if you haven't finished it by next weekend give me a shout.

[zak 0]

Thanks for the offer, i'm hoping to have it back on the road over the weekend. Is it worth getting the head skimmed?

[nemesis360 0]

Id get it skimmed

[fla 9]

Yes, its worth getting done, only costs around £50.

[pete_griff 0]

definitely agree it's worth getting it skimmed

 

don't forget to retrieve the little white sealing o-ring on the side of the head that provides the seal for the oil to go to the tensioner bolt - mine stayed on the side of the head in exactly the same way when i did it (as shown in your pics). after that i purposefully left it where i would notice it so i didn't forget to put it back in on reassembly!

 

good luck sorting it all out matey. one of my bolts snapped when i took mine off as well - not funny! - you will have some fun getting that off :?

 

my upper tensioner wasn't quite that bad, but mine was missing one of the rivets, the other one was still there. i just left mine and pretended i didn't see it as the engine wasn't required to live that long anyway.

 

i'm really miffed now as to what my problem could be as yours seems exactly the same as mine, but i've done my head gasket and i'm fairly confident it's sealed as it should - i haven't done a compression test since, maybe i should...

 

really hope it all works out for you anyway buddy :)

[zak 0]

The head is off but i can't seem to see a break in the gasket...

 

Heres the pics

 

Also whats this? looks suspiciously like the starter motor bush but it has a slit in it

 

Heres some pics of the bores

Cylinder 1

 

Cylinder 2

 

Cylinder 3

 

Cylinder 4

 

Cylinder 5

 

Cylinder 6

 

Heres some pics of the underside of the head

 

Does everything look as it should? If there is no break in the head gasket what could have caused the problem?

[CorradoVR6-Turbo 0]

there are a few marks on the head which look suspect,but NO5 is defo gone,you dont need to see a obvious break in the geasket for failure,weeping coolant in under presure is more likley.The dowl sitting on the chains is just cos you lifted the head off.

 

Im positive when you get the head back on and skimmed it will be sorted :D

[nemesis360 0]

The little ring is one of the locators that clip in the head to locate it when you put it back on , if you look youll notice 2 of the head bolt holes are slightly bigger...it clips in there.

 

There wont be a big break in the head gasket it only has to be a small leak to make alot of smoke, running problems etc. There doesnt look to much wrong with the cylinders either.

[zak 0]

James i trust your knowledge so i'll drop the head in for a skim tommorow. The skim is costing me £60 and they want £10 a valve to do the guides,is this worth it or is it something i could do myself? Is there anything else i should do to the head?

 

I have a few issues still to resolve, two of the exhaust studs have snapped and i need to get them out. I have to try to get the sheared head bolt out from the block. Lastly one of the bolts holding the thermostat housing has rounded its head. Im going to try and sort these issues out tonight.

 

Im going to be changing the crack pipe and Thermostat housing, is there anything else worth doing? Im hoping to have the head back on saturday and the chains done Sunday so need to pick up parts tommorow.

[CorradoVR6-Turbo 0]

James i trust your knowledge so i'll drop the head in for a skim tommorow. The skim is costing me £60 and they want £10 a valve to do the guides,is this worth it or is it something i could do myself? Is there anything else i should do to the head?

 

I have a few issues still to resolve, two of the exhaust studs have snapped and i need to get them out. I have to try to get the sheared head bolt out from the block. Lastly one of the bolts holding the thermostat housing has rounded its head. Im going to try and sort these issues out tonight.

 

Im going to be changing the crack pipe and Thermostat housing, is there anything else worth doing? Im hoping to have the head back on saturday and the chains done Sunday so need to pick up parts tommorow.

 

 

I dont know what prices you lot pay down south ,but i paid 30 quid skimmed,but im in the trade,so 60 quid sounds ok,the guides you can do but with a drift and ice bucket,£10 per guide does seem dear,but if thats a guide supplied and fitted its not to bad. Few snapped studs are easy to resolve mate.

[zak 0]

The price quoted for the guides is just the labour. These were just prices quoted o the phone i'm planing on negotiating when i go to drop the head off. Whats the ice bucket for?

[nemesis360 0]

To get the guide cold so it shrinks and fits in the head easier 8)

[zak 0]

okay cheers, i think i will do the guides myself then

[fla 9]

Its turning into quite a project Zak, but when its done it will surely reun sweet. The bores look quite clean and there's no apparent wear on them considering the mileage your motor has done. I borrowed some Irwin bolt removers from Roger Blassberg to get some rounded bolts out - very useful, help you out of some real pickles. I bought the head gasket set from GSF, about £50 all in iirc? This had the head, inlet & outlet mani gaskets, valve guides, but not the triangular ones for the downpipe.

[zak 0]

These things tend to happen to me it starts from a small issue and i end up doing other work along the way, hopefully it shouldnt be off the road for too long as long as the parts come in from vw tommorow.

 

I'm not worried about the sheared exhaust studs as i can always get the engineering firm doing the skim to sort that out, its the sheared head bolt in the block im having issues with, Last night i sprayed it with wd40 and tapped it with a hammer a few times to shock it. Then i wound two nuts on to it and tried to undo it with a spanner, it wouldnt budge,in the end the threads on the nut and the sheared bolt started to strip. So ive left it and soaked the bolt with some freeze eaze this morning and will attempt to undo it later.

 

Anyone got any tips on how to get it out, I think the heads never been off the block in my car in all its 182k miles!

[dr_mat 0]

That's a serious coke habit there ...

[zak 0]

I dropped the head to the engineering company, they will strip the head, fit the new guides and stem seals, lap the valves, skim and rebuild the head back up. The head won't be ready untill tuesday which delays getting the work finished, In the mean time i'm going to clean my bay up and paint my inlet manifold and rocker cover. I still have the sheared bolt in the block to sort, will see how that goes this evening.

 

ive spent £240 in parts at GSF and £180 at vw, with the machine work on top, Its all quite depressing really. I still have the box to come off so that could potentially be a clutch on top too. I was thinking of selling the car soon but i think i will keep it for a while longer and enjoy it now. There will be nothing left to go wrong, in the last year ive allready done a suspension, brake and steering overhaul.

[pete_griff 0]

There will be nothing left to go wrong, in the last year ive allready done a suspension, brake and steering overhaul.

 

:lol: now that's tempting fate when you own a corrado!!! :lol:

 

hope all goes well my friend - it's always the same that costs seem to mount up to far more than you originally hoped when doing these sorts of things!

 

good luck as usual, hope this cures your problem :)

[zak 0]

Pete Just had a look at your thread, i wished i read it earlier then i would have stripped my head down myself and saved come cash.

 

Ive just realised that the head bolts are an m11 thread, thats why the threads started to strip when i was trying to unwind it with two m12 nuts :brickwall: After a quick ring round it seems as though m11 is a size no one stocks so im stuck for ideas on how to get the sheared head bolt out of the block.

[pete_griff 0]

irwins are going to be your best friend by the sounds of things mate - i had a few head studs snap on me and 4 of the 6 that hold the downpipes onto the manifolds.

 

i also had the exact same headstud sheer on me as well - right at the top just like yours, i got that out with irwins. like you said before smack the top of it with a hammer to wake it up a bit, plenty of plus gas then get the irwins onto it as close as you can to the block and make sure when you wind then you keep them as flat as possible.

 

some nice newish irwins with some sharp teeth gripped on there tightly should sort you out buddy :)

 

(irwin vise-grips is what your after if you don't know what to ask for - make sure they say vise-grip on the side of them....)

[zak 0]

I managed to get it out yesterday with one of these

 

 

I spent yesterday cleaning up my bay and prepping the inlet manifold, rocker cover and other brackets and covers for paint. Now im just waiting on the head and other parts to come back so i can finish the job.