Vege engine - good or bad?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by dean_butler, Aug 7, 2014.

  1. Can't be your engine its the 123 tuning thats iffy. :D
     
  2. like what oil you use question . there are naysayers and yes men .i am it present in the later cos i got a bus with a recon and so far so good , may as well ask if anyone drinks "real ale" or "Fosters" and which is better ? >>>> suck it and see > as the bikers used to say
     
  3. Zed

    Zed Gradually getting grumpier

    Read this one again Dean.
     
  4. dean_butler

    dean_butler TLB Design Guru

    Thank you so much for all replies and advice. I'm on way back from Italy so have had small opertunities to look. I have made a decision and have got a Vege on way for Monday. Hope I get one of the good ones. I had to get it sorted ASAP so made a decision and went for it. Your a great bunch. Thank you so much :)
     
    paradox and CollyP like this.
  5. Oi! I've struggled on with my "replacement" Vege (they did have the decency to send me another, out of warranty), and it does keep going. The oil pressure has reached record-breaking lows, but it refuses to die!
     
  6. My current 'rolling road' engine is a Vege. Came in a camper I paid £900
    for including the 'rattly engine' (loose top pulley) and a brand new set of empi 5's with tyres.

    Don't know how old it was then...but it's been going strong for the last 9 years!

    £900...Oh how times have changed!
     
    Last edited: Aug 7, 2014
  7. paradox likes this.
  8. Zed

    Zed Gradually getting grumpier

    Do we like an Autopsy?

    Of course we do.

    This is NOT a Vege engine.

    This what happened to the last one. Build error.
    On one piston, both gudgeon pin clips were erroneously fitted to the same side of the gudgeon pin. Not having a slot to keep it in place, the "spare" one fell out of course and got stuck between that side of the piston and the cylinder. You can see the shape of it on the piston, and the one that should be there burred into place...
    [​IMG]

    ...and the cylinder - again you can see it's shape.
    [​IMG]

    Meanwhile, the gudgeon pin went the other way.
    [​IMG]

    There was a thick paste of steel and ali grindings on the filter plate. End float 12 thou. Oil was brown. Then some black, all with a slivery sheen of course. I won't be reusing the cooler.
    2 pairs non matching pistons
    Heavily coroded case
    Hardly a washer to be seen on anything (apart from what stares you in the face through the hatch). No gasket between the mesh filter and cover plate.
    Very old heads with new guides and excessive valve grinding, one exhaust on each head blowing though the guide.
    Rocker covers look new but have a approx 18mm hole halfway up one end. One had what looks to me exactly like an electricians plastic blind gromet, the other may have once had one.
    The flywheel looks ok. Full set of tin, no flaps etc. :)

    Stopped looking at that point.
     
    westfalia 77jon likes this.
  9. Zed

    Zed Gradually getting grumpier

    Inside the pin you can see the remains of the clip.
    The piston opposite had also been seized in it's barrel.
     
  10. That's some pretty impressive marks/gouging in the piston and cylinder
     
    chrisgooner likes this.
  11. JamesLey

    JamesLey Sponsor

    @zed, Christ all that damage from one school boy error (granted the engine sounds fubarred, but it's not exactly rocket science putting a clip each side!)
     
  12. Zed

    Zed Gradually getting grumpier

    And it started the first time the engine was run...
     
  13. rickyrooo1

    rickyrooo1 Hanging round like a bad smell

    blimey.
     
  14. I wish you the best of luck with your new engine

    Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 4
     
  15. Laurie Petit has probally the best rep on engine re-builds.
     
  16. Baysearcher

    Baysearcher [secret moderator]

    I believe he's retired.
    @zed
     
    dean_butler and sANDYbAY like this.
  17. Sproggy4830

    Sproggy4830 Supporter

    Not having great engineering skills , or knowledge to any great depth about vw engines , it seems to me that , as with other parts for our busses , we are ripped of by the "usual " suppliers for whatever we buy for our vans , why should we not expect the replacement engines to last as much as a new one

    I have rebuilt to bog standard engines for a couple of cars I have owned , using Drakes in Bradford , they are non scene , non single make specialists who are
    very knowledgeable in all makes of engines. they are very helpful when speaking to them and have all the modern equipment and can get all parts for engine rebuilds.

    They are the kind of place that I will use "when" my engine blows up as I am sure it will some day , using my old block if possible

    In previous posts I have commented about the scene tax and quality of the parts supplied , however there is a whole world out there of general suppliers that achieve the same results with good quality parts and no scene tax willing and able to help and pass on their knowledge , this is I believe because they are in business for the long term and not just for the chance to charge scene tax .
     
    Pickles likes this.
  18. i thik a key part of the problem is the age of parts being used ...:thinking:

    how many engines are rebuilt with heads on them that are 20+ year old..o_O
     
  19. Sproggy4830

    Sproggy4830 Supporter

    I agree with the above comment but that's because we now live in a disposable world , however, in most vans we are talking about enthusiastic owners that are wanting to keep 40 year old vehicles on the road
    my untrained experience is that most parts only wear a couple of thousandths of an inch and this is well within the skills of skilled knowledgeable engineers to correct , I think its just a matter of tracking them down , they are there , and put their skill to good use , I've already mentioned one that I know of above
     
    zed likes this.
  20. What oil do you use? :D
     

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