I think my head is toast?

[alpinestar180]

Hoping for some help.

Background info:
The other day i get home from a 30 minute drive. Car is working like it should.
I park facing up a slight hill in my street where i normally do. Car is in 1st gear.As normal.
Next day i go to leave for work and the car wont start. I notice it sounds weird too.

I check for codes and i get a p0685. So i replaced the j271. Codes gone but no fix.

I check for spark. Its fine.

Old guy suggestss i try to check the injectors by spraying them into a bottle.

I put a bottle under each injector, cranked the engine for about 10'seconds and theres about a teaspoon of gas in each bottle now. Seems like the injectors are ok and i assume the coolant temp is being read. I get no dtcs.

Great right? No.

So i was looking at my valves through the ports for the injectors and i realized that theres some kind of issue with the valves cause on the front 2 cylinders have closed jntake valves and there are pools of gas. So at that i take off the valve cover and its confirmed. The cams dont move. When i run the starter. How can that be? The starter is moving the serpentine belt and all the accessories. My timing belt is worn out but in tact at the top end. No missing ribs or anything.

So to see what the deal was, i tried to turn the cam gear by putting a wrench on it. When i turn it it compresses the cam chain tensioner but when its all the way flat the cams wont move. the intake cam is completely frozen from what i can tell without taking the whole head apart.

So how do i proceed? I assume this means im going to be doing a timing belt job and trying to rebuild the head?

Also how does this happen? Could Parking on a (very) slight uphill have caused the cams to go backwards and damage something?

Considering im leaving my job in a few days, this is literally the worst possible timing and i need the cheapest possible solution which means getting nice and dirty and cold.

[old guy]

Unfortunately you will need to remove and rebuild the head. At a minimum you will have to replace numerous bent valves. If the timing belt is in place but doesn't turn and the serpentine belt does turn that would be an indication that the timing belt has stripped teeth at the crank pulley.

Did you set the e-brake when parking on the incline or did you just let the engine in gear act as a brake?


Edit: A quick search found this: Clicky click®

[alpinestar180]

Unfortunately you will need to remove and rebuild the head. At a minimum you will have to replace numerous bent valves. If the timing belt is in place but doesn't turn and the serpentine belt does turn that would be an indication that the timing belt has stripped teeth at the crank pulley.

Did you set the e-brake when parking on the incline or did you just let the engine in gear act as a brake?


Edit: A quick search found this: Clicky click®

Great.

Ok well thanks for the help og.

Any good head build threads? I was looking hut didnt see any for the amb

[jayiszraw]

I have a head that came off a perfectly running motor id sell you for cheap. Nothing wrong, only pulled it to do 2.7t swap. I'd be driving from fl to nyc xmas day for potential meet up. Pm me if interested.

[old guy]

Edit: an even better idea ↑ Pick up a known working head from Jay.

Google "diy 1.8t head rebuild" videos and you will find a lot of pertinent videos. Personally, if faced with the same situation I would just save time and effort by picking up a rebuilt head. They are relatively inexpensive.

[Tone-Dogg]

Sorry to hear of this, major bummer. If you need a working head I have one too.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

[19jdog]

So is it bad to put it in gear on a hill with the e brake on?? How can this bend the valves? I assume, because his timing belt was worn it slipped a gear and valves hit the piston.

[old guy]

So is it bad to put it in gear on a hill with the e brake on?? How can this bend the valves? I assume, because his timing belt was worn it slipped a gear and valves hit the piston.

If you are parked on an incline you should always use the e-brake as well as put it in gear. If the car is pointed downhill put it in 1st gear. If the car is pointed uphill put it in reverse. That way, if the e-brake doesn't hold and the engine gets turned over by the drivetrain it will rotate in the proper direction. Rotating the engine in the wrong direction does bad things to it.

[Seerlah]

I would take the head off then remove bent valves. If you can slide a replacement valve up and down each guide smoothly without it getting hung up, then guides are fine. At that point, lap in new valves.

[alpinestar180]

Update:

I took off the radiator carrier and sure enough about 15 teeth were stripped off the timing belt. I dont see any evidence of damage to the cylinders when i look theough the sparkplug holes but i cant turn the crank all the around with the head at tdc. When i have no timing belt on, i set the head to tdc, and as i rotate the crank around i gear a clunk after spining like 3/4 the way around. I also tried setting the head and crank to top dead center. ( i used the mark on the timing belt cover and the crank'sserpentine belt pulley...is that right?) i cant turn it all the way around regardless of what i do. Theres definietley something hitting metal on metal. Am i to assume this is a busted valve hitting the piston?

If so what is the size and type of bit i need to pull the head? Its a weird star bit-shaped head ive never seen before.

[Seerlah]

Stop rotating your engine. The more you turn it, more chances you have to scratch the bore if there are metal fragments. Just pop the head off and go from there.

http://www.metalnerd.com/cat05.htm

[Sales@DriveAuto]

Agreed, needs a head rebuild. I can see if I have one here, or if you need someone to rebuild it, I could help there too.

[ECS Tuning-Audi]

Sounds like a similar situation I had. The teeth on the timing belt strip off and once that happens the timing belt crank gear just spins freely while you run the starter but it doesn't spin the belt to drive your cams. End result is pistons smack valves. Good news is the bottom end is likely fine. Start looking for a used head. I bent 18 out of 20 valves just by running the starter for a couple seconds. With all the testing you did and cranking there could be more damage but since it's at such a low RPM hopefully not.

Sorry to hear.

Things you'll need to get back on the road if the bottom end checks out.

Head gasket kit.
Head bolts.
Timing belt & water pump kit.
Coolant.
Used or rebuild head.

Jason

[WB650]

FWIW, the Ebay seller that OG linked is who I got my head from almost a year ago. No issues so far. One note, they paint everything including the valves.

[alpinestar180]

Juat got the head off. Same situation. I found a handfull of busted off valves. Pistons are fine though. Anyone with an amb head for sale please pm me

[jayiszraw]

I have one that i can meet up with you anytime between xmas and new years. pm sent if you need it sooner i can ship

[alpinestar180]

Sent

[walky_talky20]

I have just a few pieces of advice:

- This ebay seller "keep_your_volks_alive" has provided several 1.8T heads to our shop at great prices. He packs them well. While they aren't all shiny, they are working pulls at a better price. We have not had to even resurface any of the heads we purchased from him. Just bolt on and go.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/APH-VW-MK4-J...9WEaRq&vxp=mtr

- Get one that says "GERMANY" on it if you can. There is a later production of 1.8T heads that says "COSCAST" instead. These are thinner and have much higher occurrence of cracking. Sitting them side by side the difference is immediately noticeable. The Coscast part appears to be cheaper and thinner in key areas. The seller I mentioned above won't even resell a coscast head. He said he just scraps them, no matter the condition.

Watch out for the markings:

[alpinestar180]

I just got a head from jayiszraw. Looks to be in workig shape but theres no engine code printed where my old one said amb. Ill check for where it was made later. Is this a cause for concern?

[DiertyEuroSpec]

I have a head on my parts car motor that also had no casting ID. It does have the "GERMANY" tag printed on intake side. After closer inspection the head is a factory replacement head that was done at the dealer. Check what the intake side says as Walky posted.

[0000 V8]

Similar thing happened to me on my race motor. The stock cam stripped the cam gear bolt. Bottom end rotates with starter engaged, cam gear spins but cams don't move. Im pulling the head to investigate but sounds like ill be upgrading my brand new supertech valves to another full set but 1mm oversized now. I also ordered Cat Cams. The rest of the head is fully built. It happens.

[Matt Devo]

Was just about to post this on the classifieds, but I have a spare small port head (AWM) available if anyone needs one, under 1k miles on it since it was rebuilt. Pulled from a 2001 / B5 I parted out, had it checked out by my local trusted machine shop (Precision Engine of Austin, TX) and it's good to go. Currently doesn't have a CCT installed, but I can provide one as well as a new gasket set if desired. Made in Germany :)

shoot me a PM / email if interested

[alpinestar180]

It does say germany. So i assume its "legit". I got it partly re assembled last night. Still a few days of work until im ready to fire it up though.

[alpinestar180]

Its alive. Everything reassembled with new (to me) head installed. It runs great with the exception of a vacuum hose i busted which has been ordered, and a coolant leak of some kind, causing no heat. I keep sucking in air. Its been bled several times and keeps filling up with air again. I ordered a leak tester which should come shortly.

I want to thank everyone here for the help and support. Ill post pics once i get back home. Its a pain in the butt from my iphone.