GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk2 => Topic started by: laurenceyon on 03 July 2013, 22:39
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Hi All,
I hope you are all well, I need your advice.
Righty, so my 1990 16V GTI has failed the MOT on an Epic scale, almost to the point where I believe the engine cannot be spared or maybe it can? Depending on the advice from you guys.
The Carbon monoxide emissions are off the charts, at something like 5.5%.. THe maximum is 3.5. It also pumps out dense blue smoke.
I've sourced a new engine but in honesty i'd rather keep the one I have as apart from the issues above it runs really well, now is this repairable? And what steps do I need to take to remedy the issue?
*It's also worth noting that I have a powerflow exhaust system on there and the engine has been tuned but i'm not sure sure to what extent.*
And also the mainbeam tell tale light isn't working, how do I fix that?
Thanks in advance for you help.
Laurence
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hi what mileage is on the engine? maybe its just your valve stem oil seals that are gone. and if so you could rebuild your new cylinder head then swap it over. regarding the full beam lamp. im sure I saw a write up somewhere in this forum about stripping down the clocks and changing the bulb so have a hunt around. or you could just get another set of clocks and swap your speedo head over (if an inaccurate mileage bothers you that is).
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Also the engine overheated a while back due to a faulty fan switch, literally cooked the engine and boiled the water off. On replacing the fan switch this seemed to rectify the issue however, i'm unsure whether this may have caused any further damage. HELP.
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Valve Stem Seals was/is the first thing i'm going to look at, could it be anything else in additional to that?
I'll search the forum for the tell tale thing tomorrow.
Thanks thus far
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I didn't think mk2s even had an emissions test because of the age. My mot says N/A for emissions, the same reason why you can run a standard decat
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im afraid to say if you overheated your engine badly and cooked the piston rings then they are going to need replaced or new engine.it happened to me with my mk1 escort many moons ago. engine was running absolutely mint. not burning a drop of oil but 1 night the water pump sprung a leak and by the time I had noticed I had already melted a piston. so pulled the engine and changed the melted piston thinking that would fix it. no such luck. after I got it running again I was burning a gallon of oil every three days and having to pull the spark plugs every 50 miles or so to wire brush them clean. ah good times lol.
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its just a basic emission test for the mk2. checked at idle and as long as its below 3.5 your good to go. not like the modern cars you have to rev to mid range for so long then let idle for a while to.
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my old cavalier sri redtop used to have the same problem i got round it by bouncing it off the limiter just before he did the test worked for 3 years
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yeah an engine needs a good thrash now and again to keep it clear. an Italian tune up eh. the mk2 cavalier sri 1.8s used to be rapid in their day. wouldn't mind getting my hands on a good 1 of them. my apologies if that offended anyone here lol.
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id love a mk2 but u cant get one unless u wanna spend daft money now
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Haha - oh I do drive her. - Not to the point where it's thrashed but these cars aren't designed for driving like a wand..
I'll do the stem seals on Saturday. Can anybody hook me up with a user guide - I did search :wink:
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mine was high but the guy took my breather pipe off the filter housing then it passed lol.
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To do the valve stem seals, with the head off. Remove cam, and tappets. Remove valves with valve spring compressor. Now remove the old valve stem seals. When installing the new ones you don't want to put them in too hard or too tight. Either damage the valve guides or it leaks. I used a socket and extension arm over the seal and gently tapped it down. Used a 9 sided socket slightly smaller than the seal, just tapped it down till it was tight enough to pull the socket off not the seal off. Does that help?
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I think I better book it into a vw garage. Thanks for your help anyway. At least I know what the issue is, hopefully it's not the piston rings. But i'n sure we'll soon find out, eh!
What a ball ache.
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first thing to ask when you take it to garage is. can they do it with the head on the car. it will save you some cash in labour and the cost of a new head gasket set. the thing is once to start removing heads you could end up with a lot of extra costs. like grinding valves/renewing guides/skimming. and if the engine is running great I would just go for the stem seals on their own. but at the end of the day its your choice as to how good or how cheap a fix you want.
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It can be done with the head still on the car, it's just more awkward to compress the springs to drop the valves. Easier to ask a garage, you need special tools to do it yourself.
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yeah that's true but check first if the garage has the right tools to do it in a reasonable amount of time. like an adaptor to pressurise cylinders with air to keep valves up/proper spring compressor and stem seal puller. these seals can be really on there tight and its very easy to damage the top of the guide if your not careful.