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Date:         Mon, 8 Jan 2001 02:32:51 EST
Reply-To:     FrankGRUN@AOL.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Frank Grunthaner <FrankGRUN@AOL.COM>
Subject:      Re: "windage tray" and other I4 conversion comments
Comments: To: albell@uvic.ca, kadm@pugetsound.net, TBIL@yahoo.com,
          jrasite@eoni.com, flubach@home.com
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

This is the end of an extensive travel period and the onset of the submission deadline for a new round of NASA space science and Astrobiology research proposals, so I have been in a more-passive-than-usual lurking mode. A few quick comments about some I4 conversion questions:

First, on the issue of the Windage tray, the unit you want is the VW stock item for many (not all) of the 2.0 l ABA engines. The part number is 037-115-220 B and is available from VW dealers, and most VW performance aftermarket suppliers (Tectonics, etc.). The unit is quality with a capital D (Deutsch). The unit is a stamped tray and feels as if it is made of copper. A previous poster said the tray came with a rubber gasket. Not quite true. The integral rubber gasket is molded as part of the tray. In the bolt hole areas, metal sleeves are molded into the gasket to control gasket compression when torqueing the pan bolts. The tray/gasket is designed for repeated use, requires no goop for sealing and fits perfectly on all ABA and earlier e ngines ( all 1.8 l, 1.7 l and 1.6 l I-4 blocks ) both gas and diesel. Installation on the Vanagon I-4 gas or diesel engines requires removal of the oil pickup tube to put the gasket in place.

The retail is $89 and I paid about $67 from Camelback. As I recall (it has been awhile), there was no advantage to buying from Tectonics and I like to support Camelback (as well as Bus Depot, Vanagain, etc). Check European Car as several vendors like German ... and Performance ... and Euro ... recently advertised the tray for as little as $55. Always insist on the part number. Many aftermarket and dealer parts operatives will insist the plastic oil pump pickup baffle is a windage tray. If you are quoted a price around $20 to $30, this is what they are quoting you. Remember, this is the America doomed to continually repeat the Scopes Monkey trial!

The windage tray strips the oil film from the crank and helps keep the oil pickup under oil during the most extreme conditions. It also has a direct effect on the extent to which the oil is aerated (foamed by the crank thrashing in the oil). The advantage of the windage tray is directly related to the oil viscosity and film strength. That is, if you are running molasses (SAE 50 or eq.) big effect, thin penetrating oil (SAE 0 W) then little effect.

But what effect, you might ask? Well, the traditional value in HP at high rpm for racing engines is given as 3 to 5%. These numbers are for traditional engines where the static oil level is below the lowest point of the crankshaft. In the basic line of I-4 VW engines both transverse and longitudinal (remember, same offset angle) this is also the case. For the Vanagon mount angle with the diesel oil pan, the oil level (static and full) is at least 1.2 centimeters higher than in the rest of the I-4 family. There is a several mm overlap with the crank at the static position. (BTW, I have the full cross-sections of the I-4 mount in the Vanagon from the original German technical articles and will send them on to a web site when time permi ts). This means that in the hard-over mount condition, the effect is greater than the 3-5% standard effect. Now, my measurements:

1. No horsepower difference measurements yet, but coming. By the notoriously unreliable seat-of-the-pants estimate, the engine spins up noticeably faster.

2. No oil pressure light flash on hard braking or cornering. (Yep, had it before).

3. Oil temperature at 5600 rpm under load, has dropped 12 degrees F. Probably due to lack of air in oil. This is for my standard 5W-40 synthetic oil.

4. Amazing change in oil thrashing around in crankcase. As repeated in the next section, I put a borescope into the former dipstick hole and have a tape of the crank flying around and the agitation of the oil. I'll try to pull a few frames to show the key points, but its not the frothing shower it was.

5. Finally, the gasket completely eliminated oil pan leaks.

Second, on the issue of the oil dipstick port on all I-4 engines (other than the Vanagon diesel) which are mounted at the proper (engine cover conserving design). Caution!!! This is a most important issue although proper resolution is trivial. Remember that for Digifant II and CIS-E engines (I assume CIS is similar, but haven't really looked at this primitive system) the crankcase can only be ventilated via the PCV system. An air leak in the crankcase system will effect fuel economy significantly. If one uses the diesel oil pan and dipstick, this in-the-block dipstick port must be sealed. I cut the tube off about 10 cm. away from the block surface (Dremel tool). Then used HT PCV hose and clamp over the tube wall, and a long bolt (long enough to have non threaded portion - 8 or 10 mm bolt - same OD as dipstick tube) to close it off. I, on occasion, use this port to test modifications I have made (measuring crankcase pressure, adding video boroscope to examine engine while running, etc, etc). This clamped PVC hose approach has functioned perfectly. I have seen other conversions with pinched-off tubes, stuffed rags, bolt with permatex ... argh.

One listee commented about complete removal and replacement with the oil dipstick tube used on the later diesels and turbo-diesels delivered other than in the USA. This will work if carefully done. In my correspondence with a German colleague, I was told that the bore in the block was different. So I did not investigate further. I saw one conversion where the owner cobbled up the dipstick system from the later waterboxers and crafted a Swagelock transfer between the WB parts and the I-4 dipstick tube. Bad. Had to calibrate actual oil level to get proper stick length. Dipstick often caught during insertion. ...

Third, on the issue of rear battery location and engine heat. The comment that engine heat is not an issue is simply wrong. All diesels were delivered with engine area battery mounts. Indeed, as I have said previously, I run the primary and auxiliary battery in this area. For years since the original purchase in 1982, I had gone through batteries as fast as I went through starters. Maintenance free batteries. There is no problem if you religiously check battery water level with every other fill-up, but my Westfalia is always loaded or I'm in a hurry, etc. The engine compartment temperatures are so hot that the water level falls quickly. Sulfonation of the exposed plates occurs, and capacity falls. Generally no problem in the summer. Onset of late fall and early winter, temperatures drop and no battery capacity. OK if you have lifetime battery warranty, but the time and inconvenience add up. Wife thinks Vanagon has failed again.

My solution: I built a thermal shield around the battery to minimize thermal transfer. The barrier seals to the engine cover and vents to the wheel well. The air flow from the side scoop ventilates the battery compartment. No loss of battery capacity since install several years ago.

Fourth and last comment on statements about miserable engine mounts for the factor diesel mount cage (50 degree offset) vs. the Kennedy/Fast Forward 15 degree mount. Balderdash say I. The vibration spectrum of the diesel makes that of its gas counterpart pale in comparison. From low frequency to high the amplitude and power spectrum of the diesel far exceeds the gas. Of course, the gas engine can spin to rates which would lead to piston/con rod extrusion through block events on the diesel (lots of short term vibration). The mount technology used by VW of passive vibration isolation through a rubber adsorber/isolator bonded to metal has about the same acoustic impedance for all I-4 VW engines. The compliance is different on the VR6 and TDi engines given the torque impulse characteristics. As far as I know, no-one has adopted the proven vibration isolation technology pioneered by Porsche (liquid filled rubber mounts) or Citroen (coupled liquid logic rubber mounts). Therefore the reported I-4 vibration problems are not a function of mount angle and are not solved more effectively by an aftermarket solution as compared to the factory one. Afterall, the block mount points are the same, the engine cradle is rigid and there is no evidence to suggest that the possible difference in frame mount location is tuned to different resonances. Note, the factory mount is through one rubber set to the cradle, then the cradle mounts to the frame through two sets of rubber isolators. The front transmission mount is common to any system. Many of the aftermarket mounts I have seen are hard mounted to the frame and coupled to the engine through a single compliant mount. Vibration resonances are (in my experience) due to poorly mounted exhaust systems.

Sorry for the length, hope this helps someone.

Frank Grunthaner


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