Date:         Mon, 20 Nov 1995 14:31:00 -0800 (PST)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "Maher, Steve (SD-MS)" <SMAHER@PO2.GI.COM>
Subject:      Re: '73 van, Water in Oil


> Can anyone explain how any water can get in the oil, I noticed that the
> rubber grommet type thing at the bottom of the dipstick tube was a bit
> shot away, but this is a small hole for water to get in ? and there has
> been no rain for the last day or so.

Here's a real stretch:

Maybe you had a tankful of bad gas, with water in the gas... AND, at the
same time, you had a fuel pump with a perforated diaphragm (a fairly
common failure with older VW engines), which lets gasoline drain down
into the crankcase. Put the two together, and voila!

Before you got the water-in-the-oil problem, did you ever notice any
odd oil-level behavior, such as the oil level never going down even
while you kept finding oil drips below the engine in the morning? Or,
and oil level that INCREASED, when you didn't add any oil? These are
the signs of a bad fuel pump. It still pumps enough fuel to your carbs
to run the engine well, but also leaks it down into the case. You won't
see gasoline in your oil since they dissolve perfectly in each other. But
If you get a load of gas with water in it, suddenly you'll see the water
in the oil.

I know, it's rare for two complementary things to go wrong like this at
the same time. But I've seen coincidences wilder than this, turn out to
be true.

Steve Maher smaher@gi.com   '71 VW Transporter
                            '80 V6anagon soon