great power --> low power+noises --> won't start --> :(

[Ried363]

The sequence of events leading to the problem are as follows:

1. Removed EGR and installed block-off plates: one on small exhaust tube, one where EGR was.

2. Small exhaust tube could not handle the pressure and broke off. Super loud + no power+exhaust blown directly into engine bay. Engine was black with soot and some small plastic pieces were melted (mainly some little plugs in the body that held plastic guards and such).

3. Recovered small exhaust tube and reinstalled blocking plate directly on manifold. Worked great! Power back and normal sounds.

4. Drove car for 60 miles with no issues.

5. Upon exiting the freeway, car produced clunky sounds and low power, as if running on 3 cylinders. I parked at a friend's house, let it settle, and tried to diagnose.

6. Seeing that the car started with ease, I decided to drive home. I made it 5 miles (3 short of home) and the car turned off. Hasn't started since. Friend towed me home.

7. I pulled the seat and middle panel to expose the engine and check if vacuum lines were damaged or anything obvious caused the failure. Nothing visible, but it seem that the engine was not getting fuel. I removed one of the injector lines and turned the engine over only to find that no fuel was spraying from the open line... Thinking my fuel pump died.

Can someone help or let me know how to test my fuel pump? Need to know where next to send my tear-stained dollars... Buy me a better brain or somethin...

Thanks,

Ried

[Growlerbearnz]

Your description of the exhaust incident makes me wince. That does *not* sound like fun.

My initial thought is the fuel cutoff solenoid on the top of the injection pump, near the back.

Bosch_VE_ebay.jpg (35.33 KiB) Viewed 5032 times

It should have +12V when the ignition is turned on. The wiring loom runs across the engine bay above the EGR holes, it's possible the wiring loom melted and has shorted out, though that wouldn't really explain the rough running before it failed completely- the solenoid doesn't have a "threequarters on" mode.

Which leads me to suspect that the injection failure is just coincidence.

First thing I'd check is the timing belt and timing. Your symptoms sound suspiciously like a slipped timing belt which then progressed into a failed timing belt. Here's a thread I prepared earlier: http://www.delica.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=17548

If the belt has failed, or the timing is out, the next step would be to remove the rocker cover and look for a broken rocker. They're designed to break if the timing fails, theoretically saving your pistons and valves.

If your timing is fine and the belt clean and tight, then it's time to disassemble the injection pump and look for broken bits inside. f your pump has failed then it's probably easiest just to buy a new or rebuilt one, but I'd definitely confirm the failure by disassembling it first. This guide to reassembly is awesome, with lots of pictures of the internal parts to compare yours to: http://gnarlodious.com/Vanagon/Bosch_Pump/-Rebuild.

Good luck, and please let us know what you find!

[Ried363]

Bad news...

Belt was fine, but the bolt holding the crank pulley on sheared off and melted itself to the plastic timing cover. Least I found it.

Upon opening the rocker cover, I found that the rocker shaft had broken right after the fourth bolt back. The fifth bolt, at the back of the rocker shaft had also sheared, but I found it along with the washer.

I'm terrified at how substantial of a problem this might be. I could replace the rocker shaft and such, but is it possible that valves hit pistons? What applied so much pressure to break all my stuff?

[Growlerbearnz]

Ouch! Not good. The usual thing that causes that much damage is the valves hitting the pistons. Rocker shafts *do* break on their own, but they don't usually shear bolts in the process, they just make an awful rattling noise as they move about.

Worst case first: New head. If the pistons have hit the valves hard enough to break the rocker shaft, it's probably also distorted the cam bearings, and might have damaged the valve guides, and possibly the valves. The pistons are probably ok, they're pretty tough, but check them for obvious signs of damage.

Definitely replace the timing belts and tensioners- a shock like that can cause internal damage that's not apparent at first, but can show up later.

I'm not sure how the crank pulley bolt could even get to the timing cover. Do you mean the cam pulley bolt? Still- nasty! And lucky you found it! I want to see a picture of where it melted into the timing cover, I'm morbidly curious about that.

If you're lucky (fingers crossed for you!) the head and cam are ok, and you'll just need a new rocker shaft and rockers, and maybe a couple of heli-coil thread repairs in the sheared-off bolt holes. I wouldn't trust the existing threads even if they appear ok, they're pretty weak at the best of times. But I'd still pull the head off to check for damage to the pistons and valves...

[Ried363]

Sorry, I meant cam pulley bolt, not crank.

Looks like a bearing seized on the cam shaft which stopped it from turning, at which point the torque on the cam pulley twisted off the bolt. Once the timing was off, piston on cylinder four came up, hit the valves, and broke the rocker shaft.

[Growlerbearnz]

That's nasty.

If the cam bearings are damaged, it's new head time. What a pain!

Thanks for sharing the pictures though.

[ChuckBlack]

Would you think that the egr plating and the rocker exploding are correlated?

[Ried363]

That's nasty.

If the cam bearings are damaged, it's new head time. What a pain!

Thanks for sharing the pictures though.

It looks like only the front-most bearing seized. Do you think the heat might have warped the head? What is the potential damage?

The van is still under the power train warranty from Silk Road Autos in BC, so I plan to take it up there and have them fix it; however, after speaking to the mechanic, he wants to just replace the cam and the rocker shaft and see how well the van runs... Makes me nervous like he wants to try a quick fix when there might be a serious problem with the head which could surface later on.

[Growlerbearnz]

A serious overheat can warp a head, but it's easy enough to measure if the head is warped. I don't recall you mentioning the engine overheating though.

If the cam bearings are undamaged it's possible to just replace the cam, but I don't see how a bearing can seize without damage. The cam bearing surfaces should be clean and shiny with no scratches or grooves, and perfectly round. If one of them looks different to the others, or measures out of round, it's damaged.

A replacement camshaft in a damaged head might last a while. If I was cynical I might wonder if it would last long enough to get you out of the warranty period. If the mechanic is sure about his plan, then surely he'd be willing to extend the warranty period, even if just to cover head or cam replacement.