Date: Fri, 9 Feb 2001 18:43:09 EST
Reply-To: NotaJeep@AOL.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Steven Denis <NotaJeep@AOL.COM>
Subject: Re: EXPERTISE NEEDED! oil pressure woes con't. part 4
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
In a message dated 2/9/01 2:19:10 PM Eastern Standard Time,
rangerbrian@HOTMAIL.COM writes:
<< Okay, When I got to the end of your letter and saw "BOSTON BOB" well,
jeez....expertise received!
yes it's sure is nice to have this on the list, eh?
You didn't address why the oil pressure came back up to normal
at slower speeds.
I, however, did..I'll bet that the rings are "iffy" at 90-95% power the
amount of super hot gases blowing into the crankcase heats the oil WAY
up...and so when you slow down (and the average brake mean effect pressure)
drops, the temps go WAY down
The engine was put in by a dealership in Denver (confirmed newly rebuilt, by
???) about
70,000 miles back.
yes, well.."rebuilt" means a whole bunch of things from a truly
"remanufactured" engine to a can of spray paint....
So if I just need bearings on the crank what do I
need to purchase? just bearings and rods? What about main bearings? What
size? Can I just mic the rod surfaces to see if they are out of round?
Whoa fella!...ANYTHING short of a full overhaul is just that...
Hoever, some "pointers"
1:You should, of course meaure the crank..what if your "rebuilt" engine is
0.010 undersized on the crank? you think you have oil pressure problems
NOW??!?!...install standard shells on an undersized crank.....hoe-boy....
2nd, the VW crank is harder than the Hinges of Houston...
why do I tell you that? ...the crank is, most likely, "round and
square"...Why is that important? because, unless you are pulling the case
apart, you really can't get a micrometer in there to check..the frame of the
mic hits the webs in the case..I've got a full range of full and 1/2 inch
sizes in both Starrett and some japanese ones and NOTHING allows me to check
even the size of the journal when it's installed...so..IF you are a gamblin'
type..get STANDARD rod shells (it's a bug part # !!!) have the rods resized
and put it together....
Probably not since this is my only car and I need it at the end of a
four-day weekend! (what I mean is I need everything I required before I
started the job. I can't wait for parts to come in the mail. What I want,
and NEVER have had YET, is to feel good about my vanagon in terms of it
reaching it's destination. Everytime I sit in it and drive, I know in the
back of my head, it might not make it. And that Sucks!
To answer other points made by others, I'm a fan of the oil cooler. If it's
on the '86 and up 2.1's why would it not be needed for the 2.1's in older
cars??
The later buses got heavier and the Digifant system runs them a bit hotter
and MOST of them have A/C and power steering an GL (heavy) interiors
and..well, you get the idea...
Oil cooler is a GREAT idea..but to plumb in the coolant is a goat rope....
As for the oil level, I check it before leaving and it was in the middle of
the two marks (cold). For what it's worth, I'll mention, while I'm thinking
of it that my engine hates having the oil checked while running, let alone
the oil cap removed. Breathing issues!! It will stall with the cap off,
rough with the dipstick out. Just a FYI, maybe that is a norm.
I don't know about synthetic oil. I'm skeptical and ignorant.
errr. tll me that you ar NOT checking the oil when it running...please tell
me that...please......?
and I would appreciate a response to the question of
the oil pressure coming back up after being low. That really baffles me!
Well grasshopper, if you are checking and *filling* your oil based on a
running engine you are foaming the SH*T out of it and it's a wonder that you
haven't blown the thing across 3 lanes of traffic........
AND if you are running sythetic oil? I may not cool as well..the stuff is
funny that way...
steve
"Hey! nice Jeep, Mister! "
"Look kid, it's NOTAJEEP! "
