Ok so a few weeks back i drove my buggy into a creak that was much deeper than i thought it was and got water in the motor. The oil ended up like a thick gray paste so i did roughly 8 oil changes to clear it out. Got it running good took it out for a few rides ran ok but never had the power it did before. then the starter went out so i have not messed with it in a wile. finely got a new starter last night put it on and fired it up ran ok while i was sitting still and would rev it up but when i took it for a ride at idle it was fine but when i would mash the gas there was a fast vibration that stayed till i let out of it and it is not making hardly any power.
i took it back to the house and parked it with the buggy out of gear i can rev it up and it still vibrates now what do you all think it would be. where should i start to look.

the motor is a 1915 with a vz-15 cam

thanks for any help.

rod bearings and or main bearings

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Maybe you should chug on over to mamby pamby land....

bent rod,warped crank,could be a fouled plug too

Also look for water in the jets, cracked distributor cap, water still in an ignition wire boot. Last and only time playing U boat commander I was lucky and drained the oil, drained the carb bowls, dried out the ignition and it fired up. I did do it right after i got pulled out of water up to my chest. I don't remember if I drowned the single port or the 1835 with a VZ 15 cam but I was going fast. I don't know how I did not bend a rod.

its goimg to lock up soon dont drive it any more theres a bad bearing somewhere

thanks every one i am going to pull of the motor tonight is there any thing else to check for while i have it out. This is my first vw engine rebuild any tips or tricks that i should know about.

I also was wanting to know how would it effect climbing if i go from a 3 rib to a 6 rib while i have it all apart. I got the transmission from a friend that owed me a few bucks it has never bin in a buggy so i would like to try it out or should i wate till i get a bigger motor to put it in.

Thanks again everyone!

3 rib to 6 rib is not a direct swap you need to swap the bellhousing and input shaft. Other wise you have to shorten the input shaft and use the starter for a six rib. If you have 930 cvs the flanges are different. I prefer the lower gearing of the 5 rib.