I had my head professionally machined at the auto machine shop. The valves and springs were removed, inspected, and cleaned. The seats were reground. The head looked brand new. I installed the head, new gasket, and rocker arm assembly. This is the first time I ever removed the rocker assembly and cylinder head. I've replaced the exhaust manifold once before and removed every other component several times (carburetor, smog pump, alternator, radiator, all vacuum hoses, etc). I labeled every head bolt, every rocker arm bolt, all the pushrods, and put them back exactly in their original positions. I torqued the bolts in the correct sequence and to the correct foot- lbs. I also labeled every vacuum hose to make sure I put them back where I removed them from. I installed new spark plugs, new oil, and new water/antifreeze. The engine started after a few crankings but there is smoke coming off the carburetor, manifold, head, and valve cover. The engine sounds different and there is no power. I'm going to run a compression test on the 6 cylinders but could I have overlooked anything? I didn't move the distributor and can try adjusting the timing. I rechecked the torque on the exhaust manifold bolts and the rocker arm bolts and half of the head bolts and they were all tightend to specs. The valves are not adjustable as far as I can tell. I've rebuilt VW engines completely with new crankshafts, bearings, camshafts, shells, pistons, rings, and heads with no problems.
- posted
16 years ago