[T3] Trouble home from Bugorama

[Jim Adney]

On 5 Nov 2015 at 6:36, Jacob Adam Schroeder wrote:

> I have pulled the 3/4 head and took a few pictures, the first of which is
> available here:

> https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/AZNNeF852BbOT1Fh14F0XtMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink

I looked thru your photos and, except for the burned valve, they look 
pretty normal, maybe a little rich, but I've never taken an engine 
apart that was this new.

> My nuanced view is that there appears to be a lot of black stuff coating
> the combustion chamber.  Is this carbon buildup and could this be caused by
> running rich?  I was shocked to see the inside of the heads look like this
> with only ~1000 miles on the engine.

With only 1000 miles on this engine, this valve should not have 
failed like this. Unless your rebuild didn't include any head work, 
whoever did this didn't do a good job. A lot of care and experience 
goes into a good valve job. One thing you can do to test a finished 
valve job is to see if it's water-tight. Install spark plugs and lay 
the head with the valves facing up. Fill the combustion chambers with 
water. Watch the I & E ports for any signs of water getting out. The 
E ports are especially important.

If there are leaks, you can lap the seats by hand, with valve 
grinding compound. This is usually just a very quick operation. If 
I'm doing heads, I lap each seat to its valve. JC Whitney used to 
sell a very cheap but effective lapping tool.  

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