I'm going to lose it.

[sandiegobmx]

My engine blew up in November. Since then I've been undertaking the rebuild myself. Being someone who has never pulled an engine, I figured doing it myself is the way to go since, one, it'll be a learning experience and, two, I'll save some money. So, besides assembling the bottom end and rebuilding the head, I've done everything. It's been fun at times, frustrating at others...a few weeks ago I went to put coolant in the car and start her up...found out I put the headgasket in upside down somehow. Okay, I'll take that. Pull the head, put it back in, and have massive problems with getting the timing right for some reason. Break two cam gears, but finally get it set. Just today I put everything back on, put in the fluids, got the battery recharged, and go to start it up. It turns over right away and then dies...won't start back up. Do a compression test 0-0-X-X...I didn't even bother checking the other cylinders. I'm pretty much at the point where I want to take a sledgehammer to the car. I wish I would have just paid someone to do all this and had the car back two months ago. Such a bummer.

[huitzi]

damn that really sucks man, hope you can fix it soon.

[Carlos]

sorry to hear that. lmk if i can help you with any of the technical crap. i'm just a click or call away.

[OCbuiltGTI]

My engine blew up in November. Since then I've been undertaking the rebuild myself. Being someone who has never pulled an engine, I figured doing it myself is the way to go since, one, it'll be a learning experience and, two, I'll save some money. So, besides assembling the bottom end and rebuilding the head, I've done everything. It's been fun at times, frustrating at others...a few weeks ago I went to put coolant in the car and start her up...found out I put the headgasket in upside down somehow. Okay, I'll take that. Pull the head, put it back in, and have massive problems with getting the timing right for some reason. Break two cam gears, but finally get it set. Just today I put everything back on, put in the fluids, got the battery recharged, and go to start it up. It turns over right away and then dies...won't start back up. Do a compression test 0-0-X-X...I didn't even bother checking the other cylinders. I'm pretty much at the point where I want to take a sledgehammer to the car. I wish I would have just paid someone to do all this and had the car back two months ago. Such a bummer.


Hey, I give you a lot of respect.

Eventually I plan on rebuilding my motor, but I like yourself have never had the pleasure of pulling a motor and doing work on it. In a way I'm scared that I'll mess it up beyond repair and end up worse than when I started.

Sounds like you're on your way so I'd stick with it. With all of the enthusiasts on socaleuro and other sites like vwvortex* I would assume that if you ask for help that you will probably get a lot of advice or even a couple of extra hands.



* results on VWVortex may vary.

[idrivea2002golf]

that really sucks.

as far as fixing it i would :
check the valves make sure they are properly seated.
check the timing to make sure the valves are seated when they are supposed to be.
make sure there are no leaks in the head gasket.
no leaks through the spark plugs.
are the piston rings properly installed?
is the head tightened to torque specs?

those are a few that came to mind quickly. good luck getting it back on the road!

[SDVDubs]

Man that sucks but I'm sure you learned a lot and you'll eventually get it running again. Props for doing it yourself! :tup2:

[Agent Orange]

Damn bro, sounds like some hard times... Good luck with getting it going soon though! Wanna see you back on the road

[idrivea2002golf]

PS i'll trade you. you can find what's wrong with my turbo and i'll get your engine running. i installed it about 9 months ago and to this day i still have not been able to rev past 3.5K without something makes a bad noise or having a pillow of smoke earn me a finger from fellow motorists. at this point a non starting engine would be a welcome change. hehe :P

[karl]

damn, you're right there.....you'll figure it out

[Niki]

Bummer buddy... good luck with it! :D

[MrFast4Ward]

I'm sorry to hear that. I know things can get frustrating sometimes when you think you are almost there and then nothing happens. I am no expert, but if you ever need an extra set of hands I am down to help a fellow dubber any time. I'll PM my cell.

[lostntainted]

you might be a little frustrated with it right now but just think about when it starts running good and you can tell people you did it yourself.. i'd garage my car for two months to be able to learn all that GL man!