Date: Fri, 6 Aug 2010 16:53:17 -0400
Reply-To: dhundt@BENDBROADBAND.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Don Hundt <dhundt@BENDBROADBAND.COM>
Subject: Re: Fw: Diesel - too much oil saga
In-Reply-To: <ED388E9BFD5D4EFDB06F31983B04A8D0@HUNDTDESKTOP>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
It seems to me that any decent technician, while adding oil to a car, would say to himself, "hmm, 6 qts, that seems like a lot since most 4 cylinder cars take between 4 and 5. If he was that low, how was he able to drive it in here in the first place? Either the dipstick is wrong, or this vehicle has an abnormally large sump. I'd better consult with the owner of the vehicle" I would think that unless they consulted with the owner of the van, and the owner said "okay, fill er up", that the shop bears at least part of the responsibility, whether or not the vehicle had a stock configuration. What do you think the odds are of that shop ever working on a non-stock diesel vanagon again?
Years ago, I had a non-mechanically minded coworker who owned a gas Jetta. He asked me one day why it was blowing out so much blue smoke. I asked him if he had recently added oil. He said "yeah, it was really low, I had to add 4 qts just to read it on the dipstick". I looked at it, it turned out the Jetta dipsticks had a plastic shield around the top that would, if the dipstick wasn't completely centered in the hole, hang up on the dipstick tube, making the reading 4-5 qts. off. I drained a gallon of oil from his crankcase and checked the stick properly, the level was correct. The car stopped smoking and my coworker got another 80,000 miles out of it before he sold it.
YMMV,
Don
----- Original Message -----
From: "Scott Daniel - Turbovans" <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Friday, August 06, 2010 4:21 PM
Subject: Re: Diesel - too much oil saga
>I have a 'big rule' about 'speculation about a problem before the facts are
> known'...
>
> namely 'don't'.
> like if someone is freaking out that their engien is blown or whatever ..
> and no FACTS are known ..
> it is useless and counterproductive to start worrying say, about what a
> new
> engine costs.
> it might not be that at all.
>
> maybe I have not seen every word of the whole thread..
> but seems to me, first thing is to find out how much oil is actually in
> the
> engine ..
>
> and if it was way too much and that caused a real problem
> THEN talk about who might have messed up how.
>
> extra -
> here's a 'dipstick story' for you ..
> an example of how stupid 'too modern' things can be.
> Some BMW's have no engine oil dipstick.
> they have a warning light instead ..
> one that says something like 'oil level low' ...
>
> here's what happens in the real world when that warning goes off - you add
> oil, cause it says it needs some.
> if that doesn't make the light go out, you add more oil.
> Meanwhile you can never actually know what the oil level is ..since there
> is
> no dipstick.
>
> so, the official way to trouble shoot that is to drain the oil, then put
> the
> correct amount back in and see how it works then.
> and if there is still a problem, then you start thinking sensor , or
> cirucit
> etc.
>
> but isn't that frickin' DUMB ..
> a warning system that can be faulty ....and the only way to test it is to
> drain the oil and refill with proper amount ...
> when the good ole dipstick costs 20 cents for the manufacture make, has
> worked just fine since god invented cars ..
> talk about stupid !!!
>
> anyway..
> get the facts first.
> how much oil is ACTUALLY in it.
> is the dipstick goofy ?
> and what is the actual condition of the engine .
>
> and I would have to say, if a driver of an AAZ engine vanagon knows there
> is
> anything strange or odd about thier non-stock engine arrangement..
> then they should be very vigilant to make sure people do basic stuff right
> on it ..
> and .
> it just plain is not really safe to have strangers change your oil.
> Frankly..it
> 'should' be child's play easy to do right ..
> yet oil changes are screwed up on cars hundreds of times a day across
> north
> america..
> betcha !.
>
> Scott
> www.turbovans.com
>
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