AAARRHH Blue Smoke

Hey all,

I just bought a 1989 MK1 1800cc Clipper Cab. All is good except the Engine Smokes despite it only having 95000 on the clk (apparently) .  I get clouds of Blue Smoke when i rev the engine but on tick-over it seems fine. I think this means the piston rings / valve stem seals have gone?  The Car has just been sat on the previous owners drive for the last 10months and is now sorn. Before going to get the Car MOT'd etc. i want to get everything right.

So the question is what is the best way to solve this?  
How much work is there to be done to fix this and approx how much would it cost to:   
a) do myself,
b) get someone else to do it (any recommendations?) or
c) get a reconditioned engine. (know of any suppliers?)

Also if going for the recon engine what other engines fit? I have seen a recon MkII GTI engine on ebay for ?245, would that just drop straight in for example? I take it that would dramatically increase my insurance? If i get another engine i would prefer to replace it with another identical 1800 carb engine to keep it original.

Are there any other jobs that should be done while I am doing this?

Hope you can help!

Cheers

Jez

Do a compression test to see if any of th cylinders are low or a lot different than the rest.

Check the breather by removing the cam cover and inspecting the gauze in the lump on the right hand side as you stand infront of the engine.
These are known to become blocked and the presure in the engine blows oil past the valve seals and rings etc

Put some fresh 10/40s or 20/50s oil in, someone might have put some 0/30 chipshop vinegar in and its too thin and is leaking past the seals/rings.


Coverting a carb to a GTI is a bit more involved than droping in the block, scrapyards and ebay full of MK11 GL Golfs, Jettas and Scirrocos with 1.8 carb engines that will drop straight in.

Excellent! thanks for the advice!  

Hi Ya,

So i checked the compression. Every Cylinder is about 11 bar/ 160psi. Does that sound right? Its well into the green on the guage although i know that does not mean its def ok.

I took the rocker cover off the top and the gauze in the cover does look a bit grubby. Whats best to clean it?

Once cleaned i will change the oil and fire her up…. see what happens

Thanks for the help!

Cheers

jez

This happened to mine, it turned out to be the valve stem seals, they just get old with time as apposed to usage. Away its fixed now and no smoke.

Are the valve stem seals easy to change?

Cheers

Jez

Compression sounds OK so looking like block and rings OK.

I chiseled the gauze out and burn't it clean but then had to drill the spot weld and wirebrush and reweld. Some people buy new covers if the breather clogged solid with gunge.

Soaking in petrol might work but don't leave any debris in there to fall inside the engine.

Well you have to remove the rocker cover, bearing caps, cam shaft, bucket tappet, cotters, upper valve spring plate, valve spring, valve guide and the old stem seal and then reassemble, so it depends. I took mine to the garage (Andy Waters in Horncastle, Lincs) and picked it up the next day.

Cheers for the advice guy's. One more question…

Can you give me a ball park figure what i should expect to pay to change the valve stem seals? Does not sound like a job i want to tackle myself to be honest..

Jez

How long is a piece of string? Just go and ask, I prefer to take my cars to garages I find by word of mouth, They usually lurk off the main roads and have allsorts of VW fanatics in them.  I can't find the invoice for mine but as I can't remeber how much it cost it could not have been that much. Say, less than ?200? but money if a funny thing in deepest darkest Lincolnshire.

So last night the rocker cover inc. breather had finished soaking in petrol for 24 hours, i put everything back together with new a gasket then made sure she started ok. This morning started her up in daylight and hey presto - NO BLUE SMOKE!!! i could not believe my luck!!!! Mind you this was when the engine was cold (had blue smoke before when cold), i have not tested yet when warm but this is an extreamily good sign!!!!


Thanks very much guys for your help!!!

Cheers

Jez