Never a dull moment... (or a good, exciting one.)

**CoopKill** · 03-30-2013, 07:23 PM

I should buy a few as I have spit two. One on a 92 auto at a stop light, and my 94. Neither did damage enough to warrant head rebuilds. Lucky, yes.

**IPD** · 03-30-2013, 07:26 PM

hope it's not as bad as i fear.

**Memphetic** · 03-30-2013, 08:01 PM

Belt is still properly tensioned, actually. It just doesn't take much to defeat the hydraulic tensioner when you're using a 2 foot breaker bar :-P

However, I believe I have the diagnosis....

I pulled the rear valve cover and could immediately smell burnt rubber. I noticed the rubber on the valve cover seal was charred where it goes over top of the caps near the cam gears, so I checked the camshaft caps. They were very difficult to remove, and when I did remove them, I saw this:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q385coeprdcgps3/IMAG0050.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uteloxazbuprudy/IMAG0049.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/659nmgoiurxkd7s/IMAG0051.jpg

As you can tell, the first one is clearly smashed. The second appears to have gotten hot enough to go molten - which likely caused the camshaft to weld itself to it. I noticed that the cam caps are *not* numbered right. I suppose I should have checked this prior to installing the caps instead of just trusting that the right ones were put on there. I did notice that they were marginally difficult to turn on the stand when torqued, but didn't think much of it. So, the head must come off, as I'm SURE that the journals are trashed. Just wonder how big of a pain in the ass it's gonna be to get that damn thing off with that turbo on there......

Would these heads be salvageable or are journals impossible to fix? Luckily, I have a couple more heads laying around here.

**stealthee** · 03-30-2013, 08:30 PM

So I guess my diagnosis was actually right? Sucks man.

**RealMcCoy** · 03-30-2013, 08:32 PM

Anything aluminium "can" be fixed... As damaged as those are, the chances of it being econimically feasable are slim. I'd plan on changing the head.

Any idea what caused it yet? Did it have an oiling problem?

**Memphetic** · 03-30-2013, 09:36 PM

Originally Posted by RealMcCoy

Anything aluminium "can" be fixed... As damaged as those are, the chances of it being econimically feasable are slim. I'd plan on changing the head.

Any idea what caused it yet? Did it have an oiling problem?

They weren't the right bearing caps. They must have been from another head. Good thing no one bought the ones I just had for sale not to long ago.

**Memphetic** · 03-31-2013, 08:56 PM

SURPRISINGLY GOOD NEWS!!!!!

I removed the rear head today and none of the valves were bent! I SOMEHOW got lucky enough that the camshafts seized in a closed position... what the hell are the odds? The heads and camshafts are definitely toast though. I think the heads could probably be salvaged if the (misplaced) caps were put back on and the heads were line bored again, but I'm not sure whether I want to go through the hassle... Lucky for me, I have four TT heads sitting in my garage, so I'll be taking another one to the machine shop to be checked and decked tomorrow.

Seeeeee, no damage ^_^
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16844509/IMAG0053.jpg

**futurevr4man** · 03-31-2013, 08:58 PM

Originally Posted by Memphetic

SURPRISINGLY GOOD NEWS!!!!!

I removed the rear head today and none of the valves were bent! I SOMEHOW got lucky enough that the camshafts seized in a closed position... what the hell are the odds? The heads and camshafts are definitely toast though. I think the heads could probably be salvaged if the (misplaced) caps were put back on and the heads were line bored again, but I'm not sure whether I want to go through the hassle... Lucky for me, I have four TT heads sitting in my garage, so I'll be taking another one to the machine shop to be checked and decked tomorrow.

Seeeeee, no damage ^_^
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16844509/IMAG0053.jpg

is that rtv?!