Questions from lurker....(long)

[John and Tracy <jfktracy@rapidnet.com>]

Hello all,

I have been lurking here for a while. I have an 80 Scirocco that is feeling
down.  I am looking to verify what the local import guru is telling me.

I myself am an average shadetree mechanic.  

The symptoms:

Low compression 40, 130, 90, 130.

The plugs that are in the low cylinders are a little dark but not black,
the others look good.

I have never adjusted the valves.  (looking to get a Bentley so I can do it)

NEVER smokes, good gas mileage 30 plus mpg, I drive it a 100 miles a day at
around 75-80 mph and it really only seems weak climbing hills. it has some
kind of header pipe on it but I don't know who it is made by, I have been
told that this could be the reason for the lack of low end power.  It is
very weak below about 3000 but once it is wound up it goes pretty good. I
usually shift around 4500 when just driving around and go higher during
acceleration, if I don't rev it higher it is a dog. 

The car has 150k miles but I am not sure about the engine. 

OK, guru guy is telling me that because the gas mileage is pretty good and
it never smokes and will cruise at 75-80 mph, and the condition of the
plugs, that it is probably just needing a valve adjustment and a good
intake cleaning.

He wants to do these things for about $100 bucks.  Seems reasonable to me.

I am not doubting him but...the compression thing makes me uneasy.

If the valves are out of adjustment would that lower the compression that
much?

And finally what say you guys and girls about the intake system cleaning,
both the kind where they hook the car up to the machine and blast it out
and the pour it in the gas tank kind.

If the intake system is all car boned up would it not be better to pull the
head and take it to the machine shop?

Sorry about the length of this but I don't want to waste any money if I
just need to do something else.

Thank for reading this.

John Kulp
Deadwood, SD

Nature Bats Last.......


John, Dakota Territory Cruisers, TLCA 6192, Lead SD,
mailto:jfktracy@rapidnet.com 

--
Email problems to: scirocco-l-probs@scirocco.org  To unsubscibe send
"unsubscribe scirocco-l" in the message to majordomo@scirocco.org