Date:         Mon, 16 Sep 2002 00:29:19 +0100
Reply-To:     Clive Smith <clive.harman-smith@NTLWORLD.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Clive Smith <clive.harman-smith@NTLWORLD.COM>
Subject:      Help with diagnosis (please)
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Ok, we all seem to be in the wars this weekend.


I would like some help, but the symptons are a confusing on ''88 Syncro 2.1 DJ with supposedly 55,000 miles on rebuilt engine.

Several things happening.

After vans longest run for a while (only 50-60 miles)... temperature gauge middling, ran OK until
a vibration at 60-65 mph getting worse, to the point that rear-view mirror blurrs, not throught the steering so could it be a rear driveshaft (propshaft has been removed).

... then pulling off a motorway and going around a sharp uphill bendy bit, the oil light starts flashing and the buzzer comes on.
lifted off and stopped within a couple of hundred yards, turned off. Upon re-starting on level ground, the starter had  ahell of a job turning motor over, as if its hydraulic locked. However, once it got a piston over TDC , it spun and started, no oil light no nasty noises, and idled OK. Turned off and restarted with exact same starting difficulty, so cruised off home (2 miles) - ran fine.

When parked up noticed oil dripping from underframe beneath exhaust cross pipe at front(ish) of engine and some more hot oil that was forward of the driveshafts alongside transaxle. The enderframe that was really quite covered is the front and wider cross-member of the two on the syncro with 3 or 4 holes pressed into it. Like a drip, drip, which slowed down considerably in 5 minutes.

Dipped oil after an hour and it was 1/4 way up from MIN, towards max. on reasonably level surface.
Also, engine runs fine, no light etc BUT quite a grumbling noise (from pilot bearing, 1st motion shaft of gearbox) which disappears when clutch is down - this noise was there before but not so loud and so dry sounding.

Maybe some of these events are not related, but would appreciate some feedback, without me prejudicing what I think the hell is going on, whatever it is, it didn't exactly leave me in a good frame of mind this evening.

Ta...
Clive
'88 Syncro Transporter