Date: Sat, 3 Nov 2012 06:03:19 -0700
Reply-To: Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Soo- Oil Pan cracked
In-Reply-To: <50948EB7.2070109@turbovans.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
The diesel oil pan is cast aluminum. Not the strongest material when it
comes to holding threads.... The Bently has torque values for the oil
drain plug and cautions against over tightening it, I think.... it should,
anyhow. I think many people who work on their own cars and trucks just
ram the oil drain plugs, tight as they can... 'reef down' on them with a
lot of torque. Not a good idea on the diesel/inline pan. The
consequences of over tightening are unpleasant, as Dana is
discovering...Lots of extra work you don't need.
Side note: When you are considering a used vehicle or a major component
it is a smart thing to go over it really carefully if you can, looking for
broken things like this....broken castings and stripped bolts, etc...
Frequently, one of the reasons that something is on the market is that it
has a broken part somewhere, one that is a major fix if done correctly,
but the seller has just 'goo-ed up' with JB Weld or epoxy well enough to
sort of make it work, "for now".
I recently discovered a broken bolt ( I hope just the bolt) in a
motorcycle engine/trans I bought used to replace the one in one of my
sportbikes. This blob of JB Weld was way down under the shift lever on
the engine/trans casting. .One of the reasons I decided on a whole
replacement propulsion unit was to avoid the major and exacting work of
having to 'break open' the engine cases and dig into the transmission gears
to fix a slipping second gear. Now I will be doing that anyhow, replacing
that broken engine case bolt if I can't get it with an EZ-Out...
This Honda motor, by the way.....a 600cc fuel injected inline four, it
has 110hp, more than a standard Vanagon, yet the whole bike weights only
370lbs. But of course, you can't camp IN it.
>>
>> On Fri, Nov 2, 2012 at 8:43 PM, Dana Mueller <dmueller@wack.com> wrote:
>>
>> Thanks for the oil suggestions. Went to wipe down the drain plug area
>>> and clean off the pan when I noticed spot weld or whatever you call
>>> that stuff you can put on and it hardens. The only problem is when
>>> putting the drain plug pack in, that weakened and now I have one hell
>>> of a niagra falls happening.
>>>
>>> Backstory, purchased the vehicle and had it shipped from SC to WA
>>> because the westie was in good shape. Got it from some friends and
>>> reviewed the maintenance records, including calling the shop that
>>> rebuilt the engine. No one mentioned the cracked plan near the drain
>>> plug.
>>>
>>> This leads to my question-anyone have an oil pan for a 1982 VW diesel
>>> 1.6?
>>>
>>> -dm
>>>
>>>
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