Need An Engine

[trshman]

Well I did it.

Seems the timing belt on my '04 jumped a sprocket due to a bad tensioner at about 75mph. The valves left a real neat impression on a couple of the pistons. Anyway the fella working on the car only works on VW's and definitely knows his stuff.
His opinion is to swap out the motor.

I'd appreciate any recommendations anyone might have as to where to get a good used motor with around 30K miles on it.

Any help would be appreciated.

thanks, trshman

[jeffs2000bug]

you might get away with just replacing the head!

[mullardel34]

Used 1.8L turbo-engines are available for around $1700-$2200 from AutoMotix:

Used Auto Parts - Car Parts - Truck Parts - Body Parts - Engines - Wheels - Bumpers - Lights

Complete 1.8L turbo-engines are available at GEX:

New & Rebuilt VW New Beetle Engines

I have no first-hand experience with any of these vendors, I've just seen them mentioned in earlier queries for replacement 1.8L turbo-engines...

Good luck!

[Oh Randi]

Originally Posted by mullardel34

Used 1.8L turbo-engines are available for around $1700-$2200 from AutoMotix:

Used Auto Parts - Car Parts - Truck Parts - Body Parts - Engines - Wheels - Bumpers - Lights

Complete 1.8L turbo-engines are available at GEX:

New & Rebuilt VW New Beetle Engines

I have no first-hand experience with any of these vendors, I've just seen them mentioned in earlier queries for replacement 1.8L turbo-engines...

Good luck!

My new 1.8 came from GEX. I'm at about 50k miles with no issues, other than the issues that came with the motor when it first got put in (The first time they fired it up, not only did it have a nasty oil leak, but coolant and oil were coming from some lines near the top of the turbo. They ended up pulling the turbo and found a copper washer was missing or something. Re-sealing the oil pan stopped the oil leak. Oh, and the oil cooler was bent, probably from storage/transporting it, but no big deal. My old one worked just fine.)

It came complete with everything. And honestly I'm really surprised I've had zero issues motor wise. So all in all, I'm happy.

Do get the warranty though if you buy from them, in case there are any issues like mine that could've come from being in storage or something. The warranty ended up covering parts and labor for the oil pan and turbo fiasco. Totally worth it.

[trshman]

Thanks for the responses. I looked at the head and every one of the exhaust valves is bent. I'm guessing the other valves had clearance. I could try fixing the head and hope that the valves didn't affect the pistons or rings but I don't want to take the chance. That's a lot of money to spend and be wrong. I'm going to check out these places plus some others I found.

I appreciate the help. Thanks very much.
trshman.

[pencilneck]

I've repaired a lot of 1.8T engines with timing belt failure and have yet to replace the engine. I would pull the head off, strip it down and send it off to a machine shop where they would replace all the valves. I think the machine shop was charging like $350-ish.

Rebuilding the head isn't a major deal. Sometimes the pistons have a sharp edge on them from where the valve made contact, but I've just filed them smooth.

[D2Beetle]

Originally Posted by pencilneck

I've repaired a lot of 1.8T engines with timing belt failure and have yet to replace the engine. I would pull the head off, strip it down and send it off to a machine shop where they would replace all the valves. I think the machine shop was charging like $350-ish.

Rebuilding the head isn't a major deal. Sometimes the pistons have a sharp edge on them from where the valve made contact, but I've just filed them smooth.

I agree rebuild or replace the cylinder head. I am currently rebuilding one.

[trshman]

The head's off. I've looked at it. Every one of the exhaust valves is bent and there are notches in the pistons where the valves hit. What he's afraid of is that the impact may have distorted the piston the top ring.

I'd hate to just do the head and valves, put it together and discover it still isn't running right.

[mullardel34]

Of course, installing a rebuilt head on a damaged short block would be a losing proposition. But, if the damage from the timing-belt failure is confined to the head, there's no point in replacing the whole engine...

Your technician needs to make a thorough assessment of the state of the short block; are the pistons damaged, are the cylinder walls unscarred, etc.? If the short block (engine block, pistons, rods, crankshaft, engine bearings, oil pan, etc.) is in good shape, a rebuilt head would be the quickest and least-expensive path back to an operational engine. Just my $0.02's worth...

Keep us apprised of your progress. Good luck!

[trshman]

[QUOTE=mullardel34;763183]Of course, installing a rebuilt head on a damaged short block would be a losing proposition. But, if the damage from the timing-belt failure is confined to the head, there's no point in replacing the whole engine...

I appreciate your $.02 and agree that repairing just the head is preferable to replacing the engine but I need to determine if paying the monies to inspect those other parts in the hope they're ok is worth it or if it makes more sense to put it towards a replacement engine.

I appreciate your good wishes and will keep you posted. I hope to meet with him again tomorrow night and reach some decision.
thanks again, trshman

[D2Beetle]

Originally Posted by trshman

It is a gamble; however compare your piston divots to the ones in my rebuild project; if they are not any larger or deeper then I would rebuild the head, otherwise replace the motor.

[trshman]

D2Beetle,

Thanks for the pix. I'm going to take these with me when I go back tonight but frankly I don't remember mine being worse than these. Your barrels still appear to have some cross-hatching but I did notice 2 of them had what looked like "impressions" from the rings. Is that normal or a result of the valves hitting them?

Thanks again for the pix. You're giving me the confidence to give this a shot but I'll have to give them a real close look before i do. I'll keep you all posted.

This seems to be my month for car problems. I have a '66 LeMans I went to Miami with 10 days ago. On the way back I had a small harness fire from the wires shorting at the alternator connector. Thankfully it didn't go up in flames.
Oh well-this is what makes life interesting- right ?

Have a great day, trshman

[D2Beetle]

Originally Posted by trshman

D2Beetle,

Thanks for the pix. I'm going to take these with me when I go back tonight but frankly I don't remember mine being worse than these. Your barrels still appear to have some cross-hatching but I did notice 2 of them had what looked like "impressions" from the rings. Is that normal or a result of the valves hitting them?

Thanks again for the pix. You're giving me the confidence to give this a shot but I'll have to give them a real close look before i do. I'll keep you all posted.

This seems to be my month for car problems. I have a '66 LeMans I went to Miami with 10 days ago. On the way back I had a small harness fire from the wires shorting at the alternator connector. Thankfully it didn't go up in flames.
Oh well-this is what makes life interesting- right ?

Have a great day, trshman

Thanks, you too!

Be sure and check the cylinder walls to make sure they are smooth. If they are, the rings should be OK. You can also hand rub oil on the cylinder walls, then turn the crank and watch the pistons move; watch to see how much oil is pushed out of the way. These methods are not scientific or certainties; but you can make a more informed decision.