Without taking anything apart, a leak down test will tell you if you
have a bad valve, piston, or if the gasket/seal between the head and
cylinder is shot. If the seal between the head and cylinder is shot,
(sure sign of overheating) the engine case is probably warped and will
need major machining or replacement. When the case twists, the cylinders
are no longer held straight so a gasket burn out will happen again soon.
A burnt piston also indicates overheating and incorrect ignition timing
and missing EGR system. A burned valve also indicates overheating but if
that is the only thing wrong, then repairing or replacing the head will
buy some time. You need to consider the ultimate costs before going
ahead with a tear down. At 80k, this engine is tired. If the bottom end
is good,(good oil pressure, maintained) and the case is not warped or
otherwise tweaked, then new pistons and cylinders with rebuilt/new heads
will buy many miles of easy driving.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
Of Skip Emmert-Keaton
Sent: Monday, December 15, 2003 4:11 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: No compression

Okay, Gang.

The verdict is in.  I took the '80 Westy to Meyer's in Vegas when it
sounded
like it was running on three cylinders.  (This is the van I bought about
two
months ago with 80K miles).  There is no compression in the #2 cylinder.
They want $650-700 to put a new head on it.  They didn't seem to think
it
was worth fixing.  The van is in great shape (and I just bought it), so
I'm
trying to find out my options.  Here are my questions, feel free to
volunteer any other info if you think it would help.  BTW, I'm mildly
mechanically-inclined, but certainly no mechanic.

1.  What are the probable causes for 0 compression in #2?
2.  Which of these are likely to be repairable with a Bentley and
average
tools by an average schmuck (me)?
3.  When does one rebuild vs. replace?
4.  What should I plan on this costing out of pocket?
5.  What else should I do while I'm there (assuming there's anything I
can
do)?
6.  What kind of specialty tools might be necessary?
7.  Could this be related to the van's hot start problem (it has a new
starter and a starter relay)?

Unrelated, the fuel pump relay is bad.  Does anyone have one FS?

Thanks for any help,

Skip Emmert-Keaton
1980 Westy <unnamed>