[passat500K]

So it looks like the Passat may not make it to 500K afterall.

This car has 475,000 KM on it and the crankshaft seal went, oil everywhere. I thought this would be a simple fix but things escalated pretty quickly.

After replacing the seal I had to retime the engine because I made the mistake of not putting the crank in TDC. Once everything was buttoned up I tested the compression and one side was zero in all 3 cylinders.

When I removed the valve cover from the one side, I noticed that the camshaft tensioner was missing the plastic guides. It looks like the chain had been grinding into the metal of the tensioner for some time. I pulled out the cams, bought new plastic pads that I fit on the tensioner and put everything back. I lined up the arrows according to the book, timed the engine once again and yet still no compression.

My guess is that before I pulled off the valve cover when adjusting the cam on the one side to align it with the other, the chain jumped because the guides were broken, throwing the cams out. Cranking the engine several times may have bent the valves.

I can't think of any other reason why there is no compression now.

What would you guys do? Is it worth fixing this engine with 475,000 km on it or should I just scrap the car? The body and interior is in such great shape. Would hate to see 'er go.

 

[cchief22]

always hate to see these posts...... you know you would have to change your moniker/name to "passat475k" ....being serious and disassembly always goes faster, I would at least do a forensic investigation before throwing the towel in....... motor swap ?...... I mean "passat600k" forum name has not been taken yet

 

[Iowegian]

Are there any junk yards nearby where you can source a replacement head? Around here, a head can be had for about $70 at a pick-n-pull yard and then figure another $100 a gasket set and $100-$200 for getting the head cleaned, inspected and surfaced. Total bill would be $300 ish assuming you can do the work yourself.

But like cchief22 said, it is probably worth finding out what is wrong first. Replacing a few valves would be less $ overall although probably more labor vs just replacing the entire head.

 

[nuclearseal]

I had a CCT go on me, bent the valves, rebuilt the head all new valves, $200 or so. Hardest part is resetting the valves with those stupid little stem parts.