Date:         Thu, 26 Sep 2002 01:37:12 -0400
Reply-To:     David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Subject:      Re: Saga of the missing oil was Re: Dipstick readability tip
              (getting kinda long)
Comments: To: Jeff Palmer <jpalmer@MTS.NET>
In-Reply-To:  <013e01c2651a$594a6cc0$171da18e@oemcomputer>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

At 01:05 AM 9/26/2002, Jeff Palmer wrote:
>So I make it to the VW dealer in Lethbridge Alberta where they tell me I was
>down about three or four litres of oil!  How about that.  The oil warning
>light never came on, although it lights up when starting the motor so I
>guess the sender must be toast.

The light isn't meant to tell you you're low on oil.  It's meant to tell
you that there's been a failure in the system that pressurizes the oil to
pump it through the engine.  If it lights because you're low on oil, you
aren't low, you're [basically] out of oil, far below the point where damage
can happen.

>maintenance and I feel like a big idiot for running out of oil.  Anything in
>particular I should do now or just start saving for the new motor?

No expert here, but I would start saving for that motor as a high
priority.  I suspect the old one is toast that hasn't quite crumbled
yet.  The pressurized oil keeps a bunch of important moving parts
(crankshaft, camshaft, connecting rods, wrist pins, bearings) from touching
each other -- once they touch they quickly scrape each other to death.  It
also provides lubrication and important cooling for the valves and other
parts of the engine.  Without it valves will burn as well as the various
bits scraping on each other.  The engine isn't working right now, so
clearly something(s) was damaged.

david


--
David Beierl - Providence, RI
  http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/
'84 Westy "Dutiful Passage"
'85 GL "Poor Relation"