John,
thanks for the advice.  Just wanted to clarify: there's a LOT of smoke
coming out (at least, when the engine is at higher rpms, when idling,
not so noticeable).  Driving down the street, I would definitely be
turning lots of heads!   You still think I should give it a good spin?
How long should I give it before I should expect the smoke to quiet
down?  Does good compression like this definitively rule out that I'm
having serious head gasket issues?

Thanks again!
Wes

 John Rodgers wrote:
> It sounds now as if you have a moisture accumulation from the vehicle
> sitting for a while. It may burn off after driving it some distance.
>
> As for the lifter clatter, review the last time there was an oil
> change with filter, and then drive it for a spell. The lifter clatter
> should go away. It may take up to 20 miles for a flat lifter to pump up.
>
> BTW, nice numbers on the compression.
>
> I think I would change the oil, the filter, check the other fluids -
> coolant etc, then take a 100 mile trip.  It doesn't really sound as if
> you have any significant problems that a good run to blow out the
> engine and exhaust would not cure. These machines are designed to
> travel, not sit around and collect dirt dauber nests, moisture in the
> engine, rat nests in the cabin cooling ducting.
>
> Regards,
>
> John Rodgers
> 88 GL Driver.
>
>
> Wesley Pegden wrote:
>> Thanks guys for the responses.
>>
>> Just finished doing the compression test: 155 155 160 155.
>> Here are my notes on the spark plugs:
>> 1: oily black (ugh)
>> 2: oily black (ugh)
>> 3: nice looking tan
>> 4: also tan (maybe a tad bit grayer than 3? hard to say).
>>
>> Still has all the symptoms as before.  Out of the tailpipe, apart from
>> white smoke I see now that it's dripping some grayish liquid---what I
>> might guess to be a mixture of coolant with oil?.
>>
>> I'm guessing this van is in for some major engine work??
>>
>> Oh, and it sounds like one of the lifters is noisy after sitting for a
>> while.  Because of the other issues, I haven't run it to see how long it
>> takes to quiet down.
>>
>> Here's the non-mechanical situation:  We recently acquired our 83 westy,
>> and so were planning on selling this  (the 84 gl) to free up some cash.
>> I had just started driving it regularly after 2 months of mostly sitting
>> to make sure it was still in decent shape (guess not!).  Before that it
>> had been my daily driver.
>>
>> Anyways, bottom line is, since I'm mostly interested in converting the
>> van into money, what repairs do people think are advisable?  I obviously
>> don't want to put $1000 dollars into getting this fixed.  And if it's
>> heads I need, I don't think I want to do that work myself.  I guess I'm
>> wondering what it's worth as it is or with repairs I would be willing to
>> do (not dropping engine, and preferably not dismantling exhaust).
>>
>> Thanks very much for any help, guys...
>> Wes
>>
>>
>>
>> John Rodgers wrote:
>>
>>> Wes,
>>>
>>> The "White Smoke" syndrome of the Vanagons  is indicative of an
>>> internal failure resulting coolant leaking into the cylinder - usually
>>> a cracked head, but could be some other seal issue. Another
>>> possibility is that you actually have a "Blue Smoke" syndrome. Unless
>>> you are really familiar, they may look so similar as to look the
>>> same.  You need to have a compression test done immediately before
>>> further driving, or you could cause  a catastrophic engine failure,
>>> resulting in so much damage that you cannot fix the problem at
>>> reasonable cost, but will have to replace the engine completely. The
>>> white smoke syndrome in my case was really a bluish smoke - but seen
>>> at night it was difficult to tell. A hold burned through  the piston,
>>> scored the cylinder, destroyed the piston, over heated the head to the
>>> point the head had a melt point on it and put metal all through the
>>> engine.
>>>
>>> You have some thing major happening, and the compression test will
>>> help isolate it an give you info on the direction to take for repair.
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>>
>>> John Rodgers
>>> 88 GL Driver
>>>
>>> Wesley Pegden wrote:
>>>
>>>> My '84 1.9l started blowing white smoke a few weeks ago.  I made it
>>>> home
>>>> mostly coasting (under a mile) and checked it out, the vacuum hoses
>>>> were
>>>> all shot (cracked, falling off, etc), I figured that was the problem.
>>>> (It also was idling really erratically).  Haven't driven it since then
>>>> until today: I fixed the hoses finally, started it up, idles fine,
>>>> drive
>>>> it around the block, starts blowing smoke again halfway around.
>>>> When I
>>>> get back to where I was parked before (2 minutes later) it's idling
>>>> badly.
>>>>
>>>> Ideas?  Did I mess something up?
>>>>
>>>> Thanks very much!
>>>> Wes
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>