Date:         Tue, 31 Oct 2000 21:23:51 +0000
Reply-To:     Sam Scholten <scholten1@MARSHALL.EDU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Sam Scholten <scholten1@MARSHALL.EDU>
Subject:      Buzzer of Death (2.1)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Got problems...

My '87, which sat for awhile before I bought it, ran well for two weeks.
Then, all of a sudden, one cold morning... bzzzzz! As we all know, the
dipstick is absolutely worthless, so I put a half-quart in... bzzzzz!
After the second half-quart, Gus decided he was happy and agreeable to
carry me to work.

Two cold mornings later... bzzzzz! This time, only a half-quart made Gus
happy. Mind you, on both days, the evening commutes home went without a
hitch.

I was beginning to get worried about keeping too much oil in the engine,
and thought there was still some grime hanging around from before the
oil change. So, I changed the oil (always with a filter). For two weeks,
Gus was happy.

Yesterday, on a cold morning, I put Gus in reverse to back out of the
driveway. I released the clutch... bzzzzz!

Figuring that there is still some grime back there, I changed the oil
yet again last night. Pitch black. Now surely, some fresh oil would fix
this.

This morning, once again cold, backing out... bzzzzz!

I was starting to think that I have bearing trouble, as these incidents
only seemed to happen on cold mornings. I was thinkintg of dipstick
heaters, trying to squeeze into the garage, and other ways to keep going
without a rebuild. My girlfriend suggested that I test my theory this
evening, as it was pretty balmy today. Fired Gus up, running well,
revved the engine before even putting it into gear... bzzzzz!

SO, HERE ARE MY QUESTIONS:

1. Assuming the bearings are fine (the engine is not noisy and doesn't
smoke, and the buzzer came on in warm weather); how feasible is it to
replace the oil pump without removing the engine?

2. Could the oil pressure sensor be faulty, and how do I check?

3. What other factors can be at play here?

The engine, even though the bottom of the case-split is a little wet,
leaves no spots on the ground (which is one reason that I bought the
bus). The tailpipe isn't oily or slimy. The motor only smoked after I
tried using Liquid Wrench to help get the old muffler off.

Please help!

Thanks,
Sam