Motor problems after questionable repair

BERENJENA

MEMBER
1996 VOLKSWAGEN TRANSPORTER
120,000 MILES

A mechanic replaced our piston rings after we noticed an oil leak. He also took apart the whole motor and carburetor, cleaned all the parts (including reseating the valves), and put it back together. Since this repair, the car idles irregularly and stalls at idle despite repeated carburetor and throttle adjustments, and the engine runs rough and makes a prominent sound like an exhaust leak when accelerating (we checked and have no exhaust problems). We had the brake servo and vaccuum line checked, we were told they were ok. Upon inspection, one spark plug on each side was blackened and the others were white. There engine has a reduction in power, and hesitation in the middle of the power band, since the mechanic did his work. Can anyone tell us what might be wrong, judging from these symptoms?

5 Replies

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,815 POSTS

The engine has not been properly repaired and the mechanic who did the job should be responsible for rectifying the problem.

I don't understand why an engine overhaul was recommended for an oil leak but since the job had been carried, something is wrong somewhere.

One of the cylinder could be low on compression and one way of find out is to get a compression test done.

If the valves are not adjusted to correct specification, you can lose compression causing the problem.

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Friday, May 25th, 2012 AT 4:53 PM

BERENJENA

MEMBER
3 POSTS

Thanks so much for the response! We will get a compression test done and bring it to another mechanic. We are currently travelling in South America, and we've driven too far from the city where the mechanic who did the bad repairs is located. We would no longer trust him to do a good job to rectify the problem, anyways.

Thanks again!

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Friday, May 25th, 2012 AT 5:00 PM

BERENJENA

MEMBER
3 POSTS

One more quick question: in your opinion, if the problem is indeed incorrect valve adjustment, would it cause damage to the motor if we were to drive it 300 km before getting it adjusted? We need to drive that distance to get to a mechanic who can do the repair.

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Friday, May 25th, 2012 AT 5:04 PM

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,815 POSTS

You're welcome.

Hope it is only a minor glitch that can be rectified easily.

Happy journeying and have a great day.

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Friday, May 25th, 2012 AT 5:05 PM

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,815 POSTS

Running a misfiring engine for that distance is not adviseable and it can cause the valve seats to overheat if it is the exhaust valve that is leaking.