Date: Sat, 14 Nov 2015 09:31:29 -0500
Reply-To: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Oil pressure light and buzzer Checking engine grounding1
In-Reply-To: <CAHTkEuJM7-hg1p5afOr3owyiqP0OQfJ6esRppPQhYCmz+rAB+w@mail.gmail.com>
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The head corrosion issue has nothing to do with current going through the heads. The corrosion is usually limited to the gasket area. What happens is the gasket fails and the space between the gasket and head get coolant in there. Coolant when heated and exposed to air becomes corrosive. To make thing worse as coolant seeps out we keep adding more with some fresh dissolved oxygen and feed it even more. We even use some tap water to make sure we get a good mineral supply to build up in there and grow between the head and the gasket. In the Snow Belt we then spray road salt and stuff to speed up the mess and at some point the gasket tears and we are on the side of the road.
Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Don Hanson
Sent: Wednesday, November 11, 2015 9:57 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Oil pressure light and buzzer Checking engine grounding1
That is very insightful of your old mechanic. It makes sense and explains why the WBX motors seem to have such a nasty habit of leaking at the heads.
Now before everyone chimes in with "Well, MY Vanagon, it went a million miles with the factory motor....." or the like, In the real world, other than Vanagon List, that motor doesn't seem to be particularly dependable or well designed. The engineers seemed to have overlooked electrolysis, and they 'sent on' some of the problems from the air cooled pancake VW motors
If I had a WBX motor in my Vanagon, I'd certainly add some grounds to the heads...makes sense and as Stuart says, can't hurt...I guess.
On Tue, Nov 10, 2015 at 7:23 PM, Stuart MacMillan <stuartmacm@gmail.com>
wrote:
> This is so important. I bought my first Vanagon, an '84 Westy, in 1986
> with 30k miles on it. At 45k one of the heads leaked, and the dealer
> replaced both heads under a "partial" warranty--VW gave me one new
> head, the other for 50% off ($400) and a gasket kit, but the dealer
> charged $1000 for the labor to install them. This was in 1988, about $2800 today!
>
> I also got 205,000 out of this engine before I replaced it with a
> rebuilt 2.1. It was running well, I just wanted more power.
>
> I had a conversation about why this happened with the tech who did the
> job, and he thought the head corrosion problem he saw so much of was
> from bad/failed engine grounding. They also replaced the engine ground
> strap and he recommended that I run a 6 ga wire from each head to the
> case, and showed me where to attach it.
>
> Makes sense when you think about it. The heads have a rubber gasket
> between them and the case, rubber hoses connect them to the intake
> plenum, and the cap nuts on the studs have sealant under the flange.
> This leaves the cylinders, exhaust system, and push rods to complete
> the ground connection to the case, which is completed to the chassis
> by the engine & transmission ground straps. This is a connection
> system that is ripe for high resistance over time and floating
> micro-voltages that can cause electrolysis.
>
> Extra grounds can't hurt.
>
> Stuart
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
> Behalf Of Dennis Haynes
> Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2015 6:23 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Oil pressure light and buzzer Checking engine grounding1
>
> You are onto something. I never mentioned it for this symptom as a bad
> ground on the engine can cause so many other problems. The alternator
> path includes the engine case and the grounding at the left head and
> transmission. If there is a higher resistance there than there should
> be you will get a voltage drop that will appear between the engine
> case and the chassis. This can interfere with the oil pressure warning
> system as that signal has to go to 0 to keep the light and buzzer off.
>
> With the engine running and a lot of electrical consumers on measure
> the voltage between the engine case and the chassis. If you see a
> voltage approaching 1/2 volt or more that is a problem. After
> repairing the original grounds a separate on from the alternator to
> the chassis is a good idea. I have also found that excessive
> resistance in the power circuit from the ignition switch back can also cause havoc.
>
> Dennis
>
