Well, there was no putting it off any longer, and a couple of days ago, I finally faced the task of assessing my diesel VW’s engine troubles. I was expecting the worst, and I wasn’t disappointed. I pulled the cam and the lifter in question and there was nothing wrong with the lifter at all. Uh oh!

I went ahead and pulled the head and found that one of the valve heads had broken off and fallen into the cylinder while I was zipping along on the highway. The damage was extensive! I’m guessing that the new head did not have OEM German valves in there, but some cheaper substitute.

I am now looking at a total engine rebuild, starting with another new head. In the meantime, I am looking for a Subaru wagon or a cheap Toyota to get me around while I slowly rebuild the diesel.

The next blog entry should be a cheerier one!