[T3] Heads are toast, rebuild time

[Jim Adney]

On 30 Jan 2014 at 6:46, Jacob Adam Schroeder wrote:

> On Wed, Jan 29, 2014 at 10:47 PM, Jim Adney <jadney at vwtype3.org> wrote:
> 
> > I believe you said that you don't have the thermostat installed. In
> > that case, especially in cold weather, your engine would never really
> > get fully warmed up and the FI would always be in startup (rich)
> > mode. That would explain the poor gas mileage. Normally, I would
> > expect gas mileage in the 22-24 mi/gal region, so I don't think
> > you're far off.
> >
> > Running without the thermostat and flaps is always a bad idea,
> > especially in cold weather. It's especially bad with the FI, which
> > responds to engine temp. Carbs are different: If they have chokes
> > they warm up independently of the engine, or they simply don't have
> > chokes.
> >
> >
> You are correct about my missing the thermostat. It was that issue which
> got me thinking about pulling the engine in the first place.  My constantly
> shifting plan is now to pull the engine, remove and inspect the heads (if I
> do this, I'll take pictures) and see if anything is obviously wrong.  If
> its something easy to fix, we'll button it back up and install the
> thermostat along the way.  If not, then at that time I'll consider whether
> to rebuild the heads or the whole thing.

Were you the one who said he had some correct OG heads and that this 
car was a '73? If so, this would be a good time to get them freshened 
up and ready to install, regardless.

> The last time I checked, I had 14 volts at idle at the battery and maybe
> 14.2 at mid/high RPM.  I could not get it any higher even with increasing
> revs.  I have not done anything to the generator since I took it from the
> old engine and put it on the new one in 1997.

The voltage at idle is irrelevant, but the 14.2 V indicates that your 
charging system is working nicely, assuming you would still get that 
same number today.

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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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