Diesel Demise

[hiho]

It is with a heavy heart and deep sadness that i write to you all today. My set of wheels that came my way for free died last week. When on holiday and 1800 kms from home the timing belt broke. The camshaft, although no longer driven snapped in 2 places and 5 valves are bent/broken. I assume that three pistons are kaput and rods probably bent.

The cause of the failure? It was the alternator. Well the alternator had shifted on its adjusting brace and its fan was hitting the fuel pump bracket. I thought it was the timing belt tensioner making the racket so i removed the timing belt cover to investigate. The alternator was found to be the culprit and the problem of clearance resolved by adjusting the alternator belt tension. Problem solved! I then refitted the timing belt cover. Problem created!

About 800kms later there came a vvvmmp from under the bonnet. I was happily cruising at 100kms in 4th, approximatly 3000rpm (correct me here) which is about 50 revs/sec. I had my foot on the clutch in about 1 second.
I cant recall if the oil pressure and alternator lights came on before or after i put my foot on the clutch, if i could then i would know if i have snapped the crank or not. I opened the bonnet and there was black stringy **** everywhere, my timing belt.

I can hear you all say "well it didnt cost him anything, and its 1800 kms away, just forget about it" and "how did you let that happen you idiot"

well it didnt cost me anything so i can afford to fix the sucker, anyway ive got to return my father inlaws hilux that i confiscated to get me home. Im gonna tidy up a spare motor and pump that i have, throw it in the back of the hilux and scoot back up to tweed heads, fit the motor and scoot back again. What could go wrong?

On the subject of how did you let that happen...
I refitted the timing belt cover incorrectly. As i was chasing low mileage on this trip i was cruising at 90kph without trouble. There was a humming sound when revved hard at gearchange that i couldnt remember hearing before but thought little of (glad to be rid of the screech of the alternator fan hitting the bracket). It wasnt there at 90 though. I had checked the belt and it appeared ok so i though no more of it. After a vistit to dreamworld i was in thrillseeker mode so i took her up to 100kph for a cruise. Less than an hour later, VVVVMMMP.

I am deeply saddened to have killed an innocent GLD. With 230000kms She was just a baby.....

[smithy010]

Ohhhh,

The poor thing!

Note to self: Check/Change timing belt frequently!

My baby is still sitting on the ground, but she will soon be in business.

May your girl's heart rest in peace.... or pieces!

[brackie]

I've heard a lot of stories about snapped timing belts and ruined diesels...but none as complex and sad as that. There's a lesson in it for all of we GLD nuts.

Do your best to salvage anything you can from the old motor. Hopefully the head isn't damaged as that's the hardest part to find. I know of 2 blocks here in Tassie and I bet there are others around the place gathering dust in shed as they too have suffered the fate of your engine.

[hiho]

Thanks guys,

Im preparing the replacement motor over the next few weeks. Tonight I cleaned it as best i could with kerosene and a paint brush. I removed the injector pump for a repair to the aluminium body where one of the three mounting bolt "ears" has snapped off. Its an unusual pump as it has the bosch logo on it but is made in Japan by "Diesel Niki" i think.
I want to have a straight swap when i return to rescue the car so im building the entire engine and gearbox including injector pump. That way i can time it here before i leave. In the event that this japanese pump is no good i can fit my old pump and even injectors.
I hope that the head is ok. It was a shock to see that the camshaft had snapped in 2 places. No. 4 cylinder valves were both open and the piston wanted to close them both. This applied an opposing torque to the camshaft via the cam lobes that cracked the shaft between the inlet and exhaust valves of No. 4 cylinder. The other fracture was due to the same effect but from another valve. Big dents in the shims!!

Smithy, good to see that your diesel project is progressing well.
Brackie, when i return with the motor ill remove the head and inspect it for damage. If a valve head has come off i suspect that the head is kaput.

[brackie]

Thanks guys,

Its an unusual pump as it has the bosch logo on it but is made in Japan by "Diesel Niki" i think.
They're a direct copy of the VW pump and were used extensively in industrial Japanese diesels. Yanmar used them. Nothing wrong with the manufacturer.

Brackie, when i return with the motor ill remove the head and inspect it for damage. If a valve head has come off i suspect that the head is kaput.
If it looks OK (cracks between the valve seats aren't a problem) check it very carefully for warpage. You can't skim them. Small chips in the aluminium face where it meets the tops of the cylinders are also OK as long as they're not too deep. I've seen many diesel heads like this (cast iron too :rolleyes: ) and they've gone back on and been OK.

[gldgti]

sorry to hear about that hiho,

i'd be surprised if the crank is damaged, so your block etc could be ok.... who knows about the state of the pistons/rods though...

i wish you best of luck with the swap....

[hiho]

Thanks Ayden,

I have 2 days to drive there, 1 day to install and 2 days to drive back home again.

The spare motor assembly is coming along well. Im assembling the accessories, not the head or block. I did take the sump off and check a big end bearing though. I removed the gearbox and clutch to free the clutch in case it was siezed. Next im fitting the water pump, starter, injector pump, new plugs, timing belt and cam cover gasket.
I discovered that i have a chunk of cast iron that attaches to the block using the water pump bolts. Its an aircon/alternator bracket! it could possibly be used to mount a supercharger (or an a/c compressor).

[hiho]

I took last friday, monday and tuesday off work to recover my golf. My wife and i loaded her dads hilux with the spare motor and all the
parts and tools that we would need and headed off last thursday night.
We arrived at Grafton at midday on saturday with 24 hours to
remove the damaged engine, strip the accessories, assemble them onto
the replacement motor (of unknown condition), start it, load the dud
engine in the boot and drive home. By 2 pm the next day we had
achieved this. The replacement motor was in good condition which was a
huge relief. Even with the damaged motor in the boot it would pull
away from the hilux on the steep and winding road from grafton to
armidale!

The trip back to Muswellbrook to return the hilux was mostly uneventful. The speedo stopped working and the fuel consumption was high. This was due mostly to a leaking injector pump but also due to the steep winding road and
huge payload.

The trip from Muswellbrook to Wagga Wagga was more interesting. The
fuel leak became a major problem. There was fuel soaking the
passenger side tyre, brake caliper, the underside of the car, the side
of the car and the back of the car. There was fuel everywhere and it
was creating smoke in the engine bay. We were about 100kms north of
bathurst.

We had to stop so I could replace the injector pump
with the one off the spare motor. This pump was also of unknown
condition but we had no choice (except dreadful fuel consumption and
the risk of a major fire). I performed a roadside injector pump
replacement at a rest stop. Other users of the rest stop were
perplexed by the problem (whats an injector pump?) and further
perplexed that i had a solution (who carries a spare injector pump?).
We were back on the road after a 90 minute stop. Fortunately the
replacement pump was also in good condition. Phew!!

Other than being pulled over for a random (vic plates, covered in
grease and oil, front bumper crooked from towing and riding on the
rear bump stops) breath test, the rest of the trip to wagga was
uneventful. I wanted to take the golf for a lap at Mt Panorama but
with all the speed cameras on the track and with no speedo it was a
bit risky. We would have set a record of some sort if we did, especially down conrod straigh. With the dud motor in the back and the tyres at 40psi she dropped like a stone!!

The trip from Wagga to Hamilton was going really well. The motor was
pulling strongly, there was no fuel leaking and we were well rested.
We changed a tyre that was looking a bit bald as a precaution. At
sunset the alternator warning light started coming on intermittently.
At cruise speet it was out so i forgot about it. South of Horsham and
nearly home it was bucketing down. The radio went silent and the
wipers were sluggish and the headlights were going dim. The battery
was going flat. I knew that if the battery was to go completely flat
then the fuel cutoff solenoid would close and the engine would stop. I
turned the wipers off and put my foot down. I had just enough light
from the headlights to illuminate the catseyes and reflectors on the
road ahead. 20kms 15kms 10kms. The road was dead straight. At 5kms i
could see the town lights. Once in town i turned the headlights off,
there wasnt even enough in the battery to power the indicators. We
made it home but only just, and after 1800kms!!

We made it home and on time, the mission was a success. Thinking back,
I realise just how lucky we were, having the right tools and parts and
having a spare motor that turned out to be in good shape.
The plan now is to fix the small problems that almost stranded us
miles from home. They include:

The alternator (already fixed)
The speedo (officer, you tell me)
The wheel alignment

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2006/09/IMG_0307small-1.jpg

All you need to time a diesel is the dial indicator. The pump pin and cam plate would be handy but not necessary.

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2006/09/IMG_0314small-1.jpg

note the difference in the appearance of the pumps, one is oilier than the other

[brackie]

Thinking back,
I realise just how lucky we were, having the right tools and parts and
having a spare motor that turned out to be in good shape.

No.... Not lucky just well prepared. That was an epic journey with a good result. Cheers to the mrs too (like me, you've got a good friend there ;) )

Don't abandon that pump. It's probably shrunken seals that are leaking. Give it a good soak in bd or if you're up to it after all of that, put in vitrons.

Not many blokes would go through all of that for an old GLD. :D

[smithy010]

Some sweet roadside mechanic work hiho!
Good to see you weren't too pissed off or stressed to forget about taking photos as well.

[peter_j_g]

Hi,

Well done! That's a neat trick with the zip ties to hold the belt in place - must remember that if I have ever to do a roadside injector pump swap!

[hiho]

Thanks guys,
i couldnt have done it without my lovely wife, or my father in laws lovely hilux. Luckily she was asleep during the last leg when the battery went flat!! "Honey" she said, "why arent the lights on?", "they are darlin now go back to sleep". I installed a spare set of brushes and charged the battery and all seems well. Next thing to fix is the speedo which is most likely a broken cable.

The zip tie thing i learned when working on old chain driven twin cam motors. I also zip tied the pump pulley to the pump bracket to prevent any slack in the belt allowing the belt to come off the crank pulley.

The reason the cam locking plate and pump pin would be handy are:

Tightening the cam pully bolt will cause the cam to turn unless you oppose the force with something. I used vice grips on the camshaft. This still may result in the shaft turning and also it also requires eyeballin of the slot in the end of the camshaft to be aligned with the machined cam cover surface. The cam plate does both of these things.

The pump pin would help because at TDC, the spring inside the pump acts to turn the shaft of the pump away from its TDC position. Without a pully on the shaft it is not easy to turn (its not easy to turn WITH a pully on the shaft). This means that one must turn the whole motor to align the key on the pump shaft with the slot on the pump pully. This only applies when doing it on the side of the road and using the zip ties etc.

Hope this makes some sense.
Matt

[brackie]

Yeah.. You really do need the locking pin and camshaft lock. Easy to make up and I'm sure with your capabilities a breeze.

[Golf Loon]

What a brilliant description of an epic saga.
Thanks for sharing, good to see another nut out there going the extra mile for an old golf :)
You have a very patient wife. :)

[hiho]

Took the head off today to discover the short motor to be in good shape.

The Pistons.....

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2006/09/IMG_0346s-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2006/09/IMG_0347s-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2006/09/IMG_0348s-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2006/09/IMG_0349s-1.jpg

Note the "valve prints". An interesting point is that the valves on No. 3 cylinder are not bent and are closed but there is still valve print. Any ideas?

[hiho]

All cylinders have cracks between the valves.
Note the impression on the valves from the cutouts in the pistons. Is this from normal running? If it is then GET THE RIGHT THICKNESS HEAD GASKET!!!

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2006/09/IMG_0350s-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2006/09/IMG_0351s-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2006/09/IMG_0352s-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2006/09/IMG_0353s-1.jpg

Note: No.s 3 and 4 were taken without flash.

[hiho]

The Shim.....

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2006/09/IMG_0355s-1.jpg

The head....

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2006/09/IMG_0360s-1.jpg

Let this be a warning to you....

[hiho]

Just a note regarding the carbon deposits (or lack thereof) on the piston crowns and in the combustion chambers in the preceeding photos, the car was run on straight biodiesel for 500kms immediatly prior to death and on mostly biodiesel (70%+) for 5000 kms before that. Biodiesel has been ruled out as a cause of death.

Im not sure what a diesel combustion chamber should look like with regards to carbon buildup. I assume that as diesels run lean most of the time there should be less carbon deposited as it gets burned off again during lean running when compared to petrol motors. This motor is much "cleaner" in the combustion chamber than petrol motors that i have stripped after less than 10,000 kms (carburettored) but how does it rate compared to GLD's running dinodiesel?

Any ideas???

[gldgti]

the biodiesel tends not to be worse than dino diesel for carbon buildup, but may not be better either.

those cracks between the valve seats are a usual thing in these engines, ...unfortunate but usual...

[brackie]

The amount of carbon build up in diesels is a direct result of fueling, however cylinder head design plays it's part in removing carbon on the exhaust stroke. Well designed exhaust ports and system will improve the removal speed of gas and particulates so reducing build up. VW got it pretty right and most of the heads and pistons that I've seen have been very clean. Pay attention to the "smoke screw" (max.fuel at the govenor) as if this is allowing too much fuel to enter the combustion space as well as being blown out of the exhaust carbon will build up.
I've seen plenty of diesels with large amounts of carbon in the head but never to the point where performance has been affected.
The "ghosts" of the valves or combustion space seen in the pics are common and probably nothing to worry about, although if the motor has been apart before I would be checking the piston protrusion above the block and making sure I fitted the correct thickness gasket. ;)