Engine won't crank - earth or more serious? Options

[euro914er]

Hi everyone,

I'm a new UK owner - circa 6 months - of a 1.8L, 1974 in chrome yellow. The car is ex west coast, then was imported into the UAE by its PO around 4 years ago. There it was stripped down, repainted and reupholstered. The engine was put back in, but never recommissioned. The PO then came back to the UK about 2 years but never got around to connecting everything back up - all the vac hoses were missing, fuel lines gone and lots of wires go nowhere. Well I've sorted all of this and a few weeks back I attempted to turn her over. I was met with a "click" and after a quick google, internet wisdom pointed towards the solenoid. This was replaced and now the click has turned into a thunk. Jacking the wheel up and putting it into fifth, I can just about get the wheel to turn 180 degrees before I reach a hard stop. Plugs are out and diesel has been poured into to each cylinder. BTW - some leaks out of one cylinder - should it be doing that?

I'm now at the limit of my knowledge - some posts suggest its an earth strap problem - others suggest something more serious such as a stuck valve. The drivers side valve cover is over and all looks normal (according to a colleague). The passenger side will be more tricky as its deeply buried.

So what does the collective feel should be my next move? I've resisted pulling out the engine but I have a feeling I'm head that way. As you can see, she's mint apart from a sick engine

[bdstone914]

Need a little more info to help you. Does anything happen when you turn the key ? Click,no click at the starter ?
Battery charged?
Tested at 12Volts?
The ground (or earth ) strap is from the top rear of the trans to body. If missing the engine will not turn over. If not sure of it run aa jumper cable from the engine to the negative battery terminal.
Can you jump the starter solenoid with a screw driver with ignition on to get it to turn over?

and (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welcome.png)

[euro914er]

Thanks for the welcome.

Battery is brand new. With the new solenoid in place, there's now a 'thunk'' sound when the key is turned. Earth strap is fitted and looks to be in good condition. Not tested 12 volts on the terminal and not tried jumping the solenoid. Bit worried about the hard stop I get when trying to rotate the engine in 5th but as I said, I've come across earlier posts with similar symptoms.

[ottox914]

Pulling the plugs should make it easier to turn over by hand. Have you pulled the valve covers to see what the valve adjustment is like? If something is way off, you might have a little touching between a valve and piston, and this is your "stop" when turning over by hand. Re-adjusting the valves is an easy fix and part of the learning curve of owning a 914.

Just tossing a few guesses out there. Good luck and don't be afraid to ask more questions as you have more info on whats going on.

[euro914er]

Thanks ottox914.

Plugs are pulled and the drivers side valve cover is off but to be honest I'm not sure what 'way off' looks like. As you'll know passenger side is more deeply buried. I'll add a photo in a following post.

[timothy_nd28]

I have a bad feeling that something dropped down your intake. Same thing happened to me. I'm a firm believer on stuffing open intake holes with towels.

[euro914er]

I'm scared to asked - what was the outcome?

[IronHillRestorations]

With the spark plugs out you should be able to turn over the engine by hand, it may be a little hard, but it "should" turn.

If you hit a hard stop, there's a strong chance you have something in the combustion chamber. It could be carbon that's come off the head and piston, or it could be something you accidentally dropped down an intake.

Find someone who has a bore scope you can borrow, or buy one of the cheaper ones and look down the spark plug hole.

[euro914er]

Thanks for that advice..I'll give the borescope a go. I'm pretty sure my company has one of those. Will report back.

[euro914er]

Hi all, managed to get rocker covers off at the weekend - can anyone sport anything obvious? I'm now into new territory so not really sure what I looking for.
Thanks,

[McMark]

Rotate the engine while watching the rockers. You should see them all move at various points. If one doesn't move at all, ever that may indicate a problem. Also watch for rocker arms that become loose because the valve & spring aren't retracting all the way.

If it comes to it, pulling the engine and transmission isn't too hard. Pulling all the engine tin is easy. Removing the heads doesn't take very long either. We can guide you through the whole thing.

Trying to force it to turn may make the problem worse, not better.

[Bartlett 914]

I had a similar to a motor that had been sitting awhile. The motor would rotate only part way and stop. The problem was loose carbon that was hitting the piston top. I needed to remove the heads and clean.

[Bob L.]

Have you checked the impeller fan for obstruction?

[euro914er]

Fan 'feels' clear but I've just ordered a cheap borescope to take a look inside the cylinders. Fingers crossed something will reveal itself. Update to follow but thanks in the meantime everyone.

In the meantime I'll tackle the out of sync headlights. Turn them on, and the drivers side pops 'down' but lights up. Passenger side is fine. I'm guessing the cam is 180 degrees out - perhaps fitted incorrectly by the garage/PO following re-spray?

[euro914er]

Hi all,

just to update you. Last weekend I dropped the engine - and actually quite enjoyed the process. However my enjoyment was short lived when I managed to get the driver's side head off - carnage. Warning: The following images are upsetting!

I've subsequently been told a valve seat slipped, got trapped and then smashed to bits. I'm also told that the head is salvageable but it may be more cost effective to source a re-con one.

Which leads me to another question. There are two different numbers on the cylinder block. The number under the rocker bar is cast and reads:

021131371S.

The number on the outside near the inlet air manifold is etched and reads:

022101372C

To recap, this is a 1.8 with engine code EC. Any suggestions as to why these are different? There is a small VW stamp after the engine number.

Thanks

[euro914er]

More carnage

[euro914er]

Suring surgery

[VaccaRabite]

Well, better to know and get it fixed.
The piston is trashed. What about the cylinder?

The head can be fixed if you can find someone to clean it up and weld and machine it back. But you may be better off doing a top end rebuild with a pair of new heads.

Using an old head is a dice roll. You want to be able to closely examine the head to make sure it's not stress fractured and that the valves are okay. Rebuilding a used head the costs will approach going with a new one and not having those issues. But if you get a good used head you can be back on the road with potentially a lot less money. In my experience, used heads tend to be a false economy unless you spend the money to have them fully rebuilt.

Zach