Remove the engine.  It's just so much easier in the long run, plus you can
keep things cleaner.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Young                       '81 Vanagon
Lafayette, CA 94549         '82 Westfalia
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul Archibald" <androbus@YAHOO.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Monday, March 03, 2003 5:31 PM
Subject: 0 psi comp on #1! ;-( questions for you guys!

> Hey! last week the van started sudde3nly having a hard time
> keeping above 60mph on a trip...on the way home it suddenly
> got better, so I didn't worry too much thinking burned
> through bad gas...
> Well now it's running like crap, I took out the plugs to do
> comp test as first step to find:
> #1  0 psi
> #2  110 psi
> #3 60 psi
> #4 115 psi!
>
> on talking to my friend who actually owns the van, he was
> suggesting to do a pressure test at tdc to see where the
> problem is. myself I figure it really doesn't matter,
> something is broken, so hte head MUST come off...and maybe
> the other to fix the low #3 pressure too...
>
> Oh! this hte '80 with the 2.0 air-head, not wbx
>
> so, it comes doen to the question.. do I remove the engine?
> or take the head off in situ? I had always removed the
> engine on older vw's for this, but understand most vanagon
> mechanics do not. suggestions?
>
> I'm assuming a burned valve or hole in piston to create
> zero psi...the plug is fouled and has mettalic deposits on
> it. other three are nice brown, even #3 with 60 psi....
>
> too bad I can't just install teh grat cond. wbx I just took
> out of the '84 vanagon that's getting the diesil engine....