using a bit more oil then norm!

[jayvwvr6 0]

as heading states,when i accelarate im getting a bit of smoke out the back and im topping up more then the normal amount? the cars only done 78,000 and ive looked after the car like its a baby! is this piston rings or pistons?or?

[Eat this 2]

what oil u using?

[badboyV6 4]

try a thicker oil- 10w 40... unless your already using it, in which case my bets on the valve stem oil seals mate- my last VR had 74k on it and it needed the same...

the blue smoke on acceleration is the pressure forcing the oil through the worn seals and into the cylinder hence the blue smoke- not a head off job as a pecial VW tool allows a competant mechanic to do it in situ- the tool plugs onto an airline, and screws into the spark plug socket- keeping the valve up while changing the seal. Seals cost about 1.80 each. Labour roughly around 300 quid

[jayvwvr6 0]

im using 10w-40 quantum synta silver from gsf and have been since ive owned the car(nearly 2 years) as thats whats most of us are using aint it? i think you could be right with the valve stem seals as it is a bit ticky on start up when but only when the weathers cold or the first start up in the morning.

[badboyV6 4]

If its ticking from startup fella, it'll be the tappets - nothing to worry about unless its ticking all the time- you could replace them as well though- i would :-) around 100 quid for the set from GSF/ eurocarparts

[Nerih 0]

its better to wait until you hit 80k and get the head off, redo the tensioners and have the head recon'd its a bit early (100k is what stealth say) but, hell some engines wear more than others.

[jayvwvr6 0]

ive already had to have the chains done,got them done at 68,000.

[Nerih 0]

then 4motion says, get the head rebuilt. 60k is very early for chains.

[ukdub 0]

How much would a head rebuild and chains replaced cost as you can get a recon engine for

[jayvwvr6 0]

thanks for all your help lads,ill get the valve stem seals done and prob tappets aswell.68,000 was early to get the chains done but id only just bought the car and i hadnt found this forum so i didnt now to much about the vr6 engine,it was making a slight rattle just above idle and thought id better get it sorted

[FishWick 21]

Smoke under acceleration is indicative of bore wear. Guide wear only draws in oil on the overrun. Not wanting to be the prophet of doom. but you need to get a leakdown test done which will show up any iffy cylinders, chances are bore 1 or 6 could be scratched, very common the VR, especially the 2.9.

Changing guide seals buys you time, it doesn't fix the problem. It's the guides themselves that ovalise with age and cause the seals to wear prematurely.

Check plugs 1 and 6 for oil fouling. 1 is on the rear bank adjacent to the airbox and 6 is on the front bank adjacent to the battery. 1 and 6 go first because the cooling jackets around those two cylinders are half the size of the other cylinders, so run hotter than the rest.

Have you got the crank case filter on your car? It's the little black frisby thing inline with the rocker cover outlet. Some early cars without that can draw in excessive oil, which is why VW fitted that on later cars, but as yours is a 97, it should have that.

As for oil, use Silkolene 10W/50 Pro S full synth, the VR loves it, almost reduces consumption to zero on a healthy engine and reduces consumption on older engines. It's an ester based (fully man made) oil used to lubricate jet engines, it's hardcore stuff.

[jayvwvr6 0]

cheers for taking the time to explain that to me mate,my car has got the breather on it,replaced that just before xmas as the old one cracked open,where would i get that oil from mate?are you using it?im not that great on understanding the engine inturnals,so what your saying is the pistons will want replacing ?whats a leakdown test and how do bores get scratched?sorry to be so dumb!

[badboyV6 4]

Good point there kev, if its under full throttle then yeah unfortunately i would push towards bores but the VR bottom end is usually very strong- the garage who does the work on my VR havent had one failure (and they race them in the VW cup)

Does it happen for instance if yuo go down a hill on the over-run, and then hoof it? This would indicate seals, and like Kev says possibly valve guides they'd have to be checked....

[Nerih 0]

hey jay, i would go and get the garage to perform the tests for you if you arent conformtable (knowledgable) with them.

You should be able to remove your spark plugs yourself, and check them out.

oil does come out the breather valve if its cracked and it love to drip on the manifold causing a smell. but if its been fixed, then shouldnt be aproblem anymore ?!

dont get too annoyed with your pistons, just remember its an old design, and as the car gets older, its gonna wear, i think the seals will need replacing if its getting bad, just go get vw or another vw specialist to look at it and confirm the above suspisions.

[jaysVR6 2]

Funny you should all be talikg about this guys as I'm just about to get my stem seals done. My VR's only just clocked 63k and am led to believe that it was only driven short distances in the past and never had time to warm up properly.

Its smoking after a run down hill in 3rd or 4th when you put your food down (even pulling away at lights after a run down a hill it does it). I get no smoke when I just boot it normally (even really hard), It doesn't smoke when I start it in the mornings or any other time.

Thing is, I've been told valve stem seals are a head off job, whats this about doing it with the head in place?

I can get my head re-skimmed, valves lapped, new stem seals and a general recon and tensioner done (if it needs it) by a Head specialist friend of mine for

[jayvwvr6 0]

mines only done 78.000 yet i seem to get loads of problems but other people with these cars on twice that milage seem to have trouble free motoring all day long!why?

mines the same as yours jay,no smoke on start up or normal driving,only after its been driven hard i stop at traffic lights pull of and i get that puff of smoke,i only notice it at night when its shoving up in the car behind headlights.cant see it in the day.are you using much oil?im topping up every 5-6 weeks. jason

[jaysVR6 2]

Dude, you will find that you have to put oil in it every couple of months or so. They do use oil, I've been told this by so many people. They are big old engines and hate being driven around town all the time, a 2.8 loves the open road hence all the high milers around, they just get all coked up.

I do find that when I do the rare trip from home (Leeds) to my parents in Plymouth it runs amazingly for a good month then she starts moaning again!!

I'm seriously thinking of getting my hands on a ported and polished head (exchange from TSR 800 notes) may not be worth it and just getting it recon'd.

Not really sure what to do as I'm sure I'll charge it at some point. But I need to get this over run thing sorted.

What do you think you may do?

[Eat this 2]

mines doin the same thing smokey ONLY after over run im gettin the stem seals done with my chains and other stuff

[NickRStorm 0]

I can confirm that VR's love motorway miles - one of mine's just clocked 151K (almost all motorway miles) & it's still on the original chains! Hydraulic tappets & guides were changed about 20K ago and it still uses no oil between changes (every 5K in deference to its mileage). Still a great engine and as quiet as my other 2 VR's that have half the miles!

[badboyV6 4]

Jay: Theres a special tool that screw into the sprak plug socket to keep the valve up when changing the seal- its a vw tool, but a specialist should have- this means you dont need to remove the head..... Its in the bentley manual

My opinion- id just get the valve seals done- your not getting smoke all the time (i presume the engine is fairly quiet?) just after letting it off thorttl on the overun then booting it (same as my old VR)

Like you say with short journeys, parts like the seals detiorate quickly- they go hard and shrink.... my guess is you valve guides are fine.... :-) if it was moking all the time then id be more worried...

[jaysVR6 2]

Cheers Warren, I'll have to look into this one. I may be able to save some serious cash!

[jayvwvr6 0]

ive got my mechanic looking at my car on monday' date='i spoke to him quickly last night and he said the vr6 engine does like to use a bit of oil,he works for vw citgate main dealer,he does my car after hours so he knows his vr6`s.heres some of the things ive had to have done done since owning the car all taken from my sevice history!

22,04,04 pollen filter changed 69,220 miles

26,05,04 air filter changed 69,745 miles

25,06,04 timing chains,tensioners,oil,oil filter,brake fluid,clutch,clutch plate and seal,rocker cover gasket 70,121 miles

08,07,04 rear bump stops,front top mounts,rear wheel bearing,radiator fan switch 70,225 miles

15,07,04 radiator,collant,system flushed 70.380 miles

05,08,04 ht leads 70,550 miles

07,09,04 air con regassed 71,076 miles

10,09,04 rear brake discs,pads,rear wheel bearings,rear stub axle,suspension tracked 71,115 miles

03,12,04 front shocks,tracking 72,410 miles

11,01,05 rear shocks,oil filter,oil,window wipers,oil cooler seals,sump gasket 72,897 miles

10,03,05 outer cv 73,969 miles

27,04,05 tie rod arm,tie rod end,front wheel bearing,gear box mount 74,877 miles

24,05,05 front anti roll bar bushes,inner cv 74,877 miles

03,06,05 thermostat housing,thermostat,seals,coolant 75,013 miles

and 3 window regulators! mines a 4 door

does all this seem right on a car with now 78,000 miles?i bought a vr6 coz people told me they were reliable!yeh right!

jayvwvr6

[/quote']

[badboyV6 4]

christ mate- youve had some serious issues!!! Ive owned 3 VR6's and never had that many problems with all of them combined. My syncro has needed quite a few bits, but it didnt need it- i just wanted to do them to make sure it was right....

[Justicevr6 0]

I notice that you had a rear wheel bearing done on the 8/7/04 and again on the 10/9/04 2 months for a wheel bearing was it made of plastic.

[jayvwvr6 0]

i knew somone would pick up on that,that wheel rear wheel bearing was a crappy gsf part,(now replaced with geniune vw part),it broke up and weilded itself to the stub axle! the stub axle had to be removed and was damaged in the procees of get the wheel bearing of along with the rear disc,everything on the passenger side rear just weilded itself together.