all's well that ends well

Time-sert?

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

The long saga of the mysteriously misfiring 3.3L engine in the 1999
Grand Voyager has finally concluded. This is the one with the stuck
valve, perforated rocker, and lots of oil sludge. I changed the oil,
installed a $40 junkyard head, and started it up. It runs great, smooth
as glass (for those of you who were wondering how this would all turn
out). Now I'm just going to do a few oil changes to get some of the
crap out, and we'll see how many miles I get out of it. It's a really
nice van, so I hope the engine doesn't suffer a catastrophic failure,
not that I expect it to, but you never know.

By the way, I also had an insert installed in the spark plug hole on my
1999 Voyager 4 cylinder because the JB Weld blew out. I can't remember
what it's called, but it's a little cylindrical steel doodad that screws
into the repaired hole, and you screw the spark plug into it. It's
better than factory new, and I would highly recommend it over helicoils.
I paid a mechanic to do it because I didn't want to learn how on a
spark plug hole, not to mention that he said the tool cost him $150.
The mechanic speculated that the former owner had used Liquid Steel to
glue the spark plug in, because he said he had done the same thing on a
VW years ago and it lasted 50,000 miles. Whatever it was, it was good
stuff, because I put about 50,000 on mine before I pulled the original
repair out.

Anyway, I'm glad these projects are in the history books.

 

The name of the product? I think he said it was a Thread-something.
It's black steel, and the thread on the outside has little gripping
teeth cut into the last couple of threads.

 

It is like a reducer, threaded inside and out. We used them all the time
on VW engines back in the 70s for spark plugs and case studs. The other
major problem those engines had was dropping the exhaust valves for #3
and #4 cylinders. That bank ran hotter because the oil cooler was placed
over that side of the engine. Contrary to advertising hype the engines
did overheat, and there was no indication of it until it sucked a valve
sometime afterwards. There are two types of VW owners: those that have
been stranded, and those that will be. I know, I have been.

--
Gyz

07 Saturn Sky
98 Dodge Status ES
94 Mitsubishi Eclipse GST

 

I drove two VW Beetles for many miles over several years.
I was never stranded and my main maintenance was the two year muffler
replacement cycle.

 

Let me guess: not anywhere near the Southwestern US, right?

At various times, my circle of gearhead friends has included aircooled
VW and Porsche 914 (VW powered) aficianados. They ALL routinely roasted
components in the Texas summers. The Porsche guy probably held the
record, about one piston crown holed per summer, the bug guys usually
just stretched valves at worst. He finally graduated to a 911, which
carried enough oil, had enough oil coolers, and was built stout enough
to survive the heat (and his right foot) much better than the VW engines
did.

 

That's the same thing this mechanic said. He was telling me stories
about racing VWs, and getting 100 hp and more from a 42 hp engine. They
used these inserts to keep the cylinder heads from blowing off.

 

Several years is about the life span of the VW beetle. Good thing you
got rid of them when you did!

--
Gyz

07 Saturn Sky
98 Dodge Status ES
94 Mitsubishi Eclipse GST

 

Not true. I drove them many more miles after getting them used, already
with about 30K miles on them. Every year I drove 1,350 miles each way to
the east coast in 2 days. Not as fast as more powerful cars, but it
chugged along at a steady 60 mph if there wasn't a head wind.
They were very tough. My neighbors couldn't believe it when I towed a
stuck neighbors Plymouth on our snowy street. The overheated clutch
slipped a bit right after that, but when it cooled down was better than
previously as it used to chatter a bit on take up. I drove that VW for
several more years and as I said all I had to replace was the muffler
every 2 years.
The body was extremely well dip painted and didn't rust even though I
drove where there was lots of road salt. The bumpers did rust from the
road salt as did all chromed bumpers then.
Engine work was zero, except for occasional new plugs.
However the VW had problems with interior heating and the clutch need
adjustment every year.
This was in the 50/60s. It was the mid 80s before big 3 cars were as
durable. Two I had were our only car, so were heavily used. Later I
bought a high mileage used one as a second car and used it a few years
with no maintenance needed.

 

True in a colder climate, but in the summer it did get up in the 90s,
plus there were long hills.
Also I'm a more gentle driver and don't push my engines that hard,
although I drive slightly over the speed limit when possible. In strong
head winds the VW sometimes couldn't get to 60mph, so I just drove it in
a comfortable manner, not straining it.

You remind me of a friend who had an early VW van back around '60. He
destroyed two engines in one year by pushing them too hard.
That Porsche chap surely drove very fast.
I'm sure I could take any car on a hard summer drive through our western
mountains, where the temperature gets up to 100?+, and destroy the
engine within one day.

My son has an '85 Van which now has about 200K miles on it, with no
engine work needed. He is a ships engineer, knows engines, and drives
it conservatively. The body will rust away before his engine needs work.

 

Oh, I think there are a LOT of engines you couldn't possibly harm that
way. Granted, you can kill anything through outright abuse (clogged
radiator, deliberate over-revving). But I think you could put, eg. a
Chrysler 318, 383, 440, etc. in a massively over-weight vehicle like a
full-size truck towing a loaded trailer, put your foot to the floor on
the east side of the Rockies and not back off until the continental
divide, and it wouldn't even snort at you. In fact, I KNOW you can do
that because I've done it... repeatedly. Just last summer we ran the '66
Polara (440) from Junction to Van Horn on I-10 at 85 mph (legal on
that stretch) and then all the way up into western Colorado. Never
missed a lick, AC blasting all the way, ambients ranging from the low
90s to over 110.

 

Do you mean a HeliCoil?

 

Back in 1985 my brother and I drove a 1970 Polara from Lubbock to
McAllen by way of Laredo nonstop in July. It never missed a beat.
There aren't any mountains there, but the temperature was 110 in some
places. To say that such extreme conditions would kill any car is a bit
of an overstatement. If that were the case, nobody in these places
would be able to keep a car running.

 

Not a Helicoil. It's a little metal cylinder with threads on both sides.

 

it's a kit made by k&d tools i have used thenm in a few fords