01' 2.8 v-6 problems

[NintendoKD]

I want to buy this car from a Marine. It has been sitting for over a year, has brand spankin new rubbers, suspension is choice, with bilstien's, 5 speed manual. This was driven from Quantico V.A. to C.A. has 102,436 miles on it. I had pulled 5 codes from it. P0300, P0302, P1250, P0305, pending a P0302 again. the tank was empty and I put in a couple of gallons to get her started. Needs a new battery for sure, needed to use my optima to get it started. It also needs a power steering pump, very noisy there. It has what sounds like a very bad exhaust leak, coming from under the middle of the car, just after the cats. I know about the misfire, plug was wet with oil, looks like the valve cover gasket needs fixin, easy day. there was smoke coming from somewhere "oil on the exhaust mani?" around the drivers side of the motor, while the engine was warm. The reservoir was empty, however, no oil appeared in the coolant, and vice-versa when I topped it off. After running for 10 min, it was @ ~190+F. The codes, only the low fuel code and misfire codes stuck. The coil appeared to be good. This was evident when I changed the plug, and hooked up my inductive timing light, I got inconsistant firing, however, this is probably due to having residual oil inside the combustion chamber, as well as a pretty serious leak from the valve cover gasket. I want to know if this thing is worth the money. I need a reliable day to day family car, @ 400 bones I think it is a steal, but I am going to need to put some work into her to get her good. I want to know if there are any warning signs that I should watch out for or call this quits before I get in too deep. I do know that It is going to need a major tuneup, as well as a smog, I need it to pass the latter, kinda a big deal. I also know that it has a new water pump and thermostat recently "as in last year" This is due to a deployment and the guy is gettin outta dodge and no longer needs the car. I know him, he is honest, and was willing to let it go for 400, as opposed to the 4000 he was originally asking, the reason being that he didn't know what was wrong with the car. Transmission works good, and everything else works good, save the drivers side doorlock. Comments welcome, PM's welcome, I would like some serious input on this. He is leaving town this weekend, and need to know ASAP, before he just junks the car at the scrapyard.

thanks,

Sgt Kevin A. Davies, USMC

[rayj]

Steering pump, are you sure it's not the steering rack ? $2K+
Front suspension rod members $1K+ each side
cats $1.2K ea. you have 2
Timing belt?
All that work?
Are there any signs of rain ingress on the carpet? 2 computers in the floor $1k ea
With all the things wrong with it, sounds like it was beat on and neglected at some point

Doesn't sound good for a daily driver but $400 for a project , ??

[NintendoKD]

computers are good, we are here in the desert, so I know there is no flood damage, def the power stering pump, very loud erererererererererere gets louder with turnng the wheel. the cats aren't bad are they? could that cause the loud exhaust leak like sound coming from behind them, looked a lot like a cheap patch job to me, the tubes were cut, fitted around the pipes, thenclamped in place, no rust on the patch tubes, which tells me that it was done fairly recently, but he doesn't remember getting any exhaust work done. thanks so far. I don't need a project, need a daily. I do all of the work, have tools, welder etc. I have time, so I just need a car, cheap, effective.

[NintendoKD]

oil is soaked on the tip of the plug only, so it isn't the valve cover gasket, new plug fouls within a couple of minutes or so. I suspect a valve stem seal. wire is good, plug is good, coil is good.

[rayj]

Frankly i'm surprised it runs. Sounds like you're a pretty good mechanic. You could use a fun project. they are great cars when in good shape, but they don't suffer negligence well , and then its buck$ to fix them. Forinstance you cant use the red prestone power steering fluid. You need pentosin mineral oil based fluid which is about $20 per quart. Anything else does potential damage. Good luck!

[NintendoKD]

interesting, I have heard that about hondas, but vw's? good deal. I am going to scope the combustion chamber today, I want to see if there is a hole in the piston. I am then going to slowly lower the piston to see if the ring rolled, and look for cyl. scarring. The valve stem seal job should be pretty staightforward, provided that the valves seal decently when I use the air hose to pressurize the combustion chamber to hold the valves in place for the stem seal swap. I got a used car loan for 2500@3.3% at 400 for the car, 300 for cali registration "f-in commufornia" I have about 1700 to work with to get her running right, I think that should be plenty, WCS I will need a new engine VR6 swap anyone?

[rayj]

interesting, I have heard that about hondas, but vw?

thats the general wisdom, if you read the b5 forum. But you sound like an expert so ill just butt out now.

[NintendoKD]

I have not read the b5 forum. I have been a mk1rabbit owner till now. I am also a member of vwdiesel.net forum because of this, when they say this site is huge, they weren't kidding. The idiot previous owner changed the water pump, it seized, he didn't set the timing correctly, the drivers side is rearded, I know because it wheezes, and corrects at higher rpms, and the passenger side cyl 2 has no compression, wet or dry, but the timing is fine, this is most likely due to him turning the crank with the valves set incorrectly and they are now bent and open all the time, leading to zero compression. Good news, scope shows no piston holes in any cyl. I took the liberty of bead blasting the plugs, testing all plug wires, testing all coils, and testing all injectors, all were within the manufacturers specifications. I now need ahandle on where to buy a whole upper gasket kit, with head gaskets, bolts, and all of the odds and ends I'll need to re-build the heads, so I can send it to the machinist, or a line to a rebuilder who can just send me the rebuilt heads for the cores, anyone here know somebody?

[NintendoKD]

thats the general wisdom, if you read the b5 forum. But you sound like an expert so ill just butt out now.

I am no expert, which is why I need advice/help, thanks for the compliment though

[NintendoKD]

well, I have an AHA, if that helps. I am going to rebuild the motor, and sell it as a rebuilt engine, bottom end is good, bearings look good, pistons are great. I can see where he turned the motor over by hand and squished the valve against the piston, not a violent slam, but a decent pressure, very slight piston mark, and the valve no longer closes which would explain why I have absolutely ZERO compression and the spark misfires. The other head was a little retarded cam wise and looks fine, valves look good, no oil leaking, leak down test looks good, I lucked out, I could just throw the other head back on and call it a day....... but....... I won't

[rayj]

If looking for parts, you're probably already familiar with blauparts. There's also FAQ's that can give other parts houses. There's also another forum "Passat world" with FAQs on this and such. But please keep us posted. It's pretty cool to read all the things you're doing.

[NintendoKD]

thanks, ordered my motor from specialized german recycling, they fully inspect the motors prior to sale, clean, and add new water pump t-stat, and new timing belt as well as time it for you. out of Sac. ca number is 877 643 7626 got it for just over a grand, ~ 90,000 miles I pick it up. I may rebuild and get some of my money back or sell the core, haven't decided yet. gonna pull the old, install necessary stuff, an reinstall motor in just one day, wish me luck, anything I should know? I have access to mitchells, but do not have a bentley for this thing, a pdf would be very sexy.

[NintendoKD]

any word on a power steering pump? gone, or just add some fluid and it may still be good?

[NintendoKD]

I got a reconditioned motor, with a warranty from Norcal. I paid 1k and even got it shipped for free. The motor is a longblock with nothing on it but a new timing belt and new water pump, and comes with a warranty. Besides the obvious fluids what will I need? I know it needs seals, like valve cover gaskets exhaust mani gaskets, intake mani gaskets, throttle body gasket, injector seals, but really what else do I really need? engine tranny mounts? I want to do some one-stop shopping and get it done in a weekend.

[NintendoKD]

Looking at partsgeek, and blauparts, to see if I can get everything I need to complete this project in a timely fashion. auto junk and napa just do not have it all. I am also planning to treat the exhaust manifold, with some high temp paint, for corrosion resistance, as well as wrap both exhaust manis and cats. This will aid the emmissions systems to reach closed loop quicker and give better fuel economy, as well as improved power due to reduction in parasitic heat inside of the engine bay.