Date:         Fri, 12 Apr 1996 10:09:31 -0500 (CDT)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         jbrill@unlinfo.unl.edu (James Brill)
Subject:      Engine seal gaps

I am full of questions today.  I have a question about the engine seal
on my '71 bus.  I installed a new engine early last fall and it has 
performed flawlessly since, about 4,000 miles.  It is running a little
rich as evidenced by the plugs and the soot on the rear bumper.  This 
is a stock 1600DP with a Weber progressive.  Mileage is around 20 on 
the highway and a little less in town.  I think it could be better if 
it weren't running so rich.  Valves are set, timing is spot on at 28 
degrees at 3,500 rpm, dwell is perfect, etc.

Well, now it is spring in here in Nebraska.  This means that last week
we had blizzards and the last two days it has been in the 90's.  These
are the warmest temps the bus has seen and now it seems to running a 
little too hot.  It smells hot and fails the dipstick test.  So, I 
started checking the obvious, nothing in the fan, engine in great 
tune.  What I did find was a half inch gap in the engine seal at the 
rear corners.  It is as if that rear section of the bus could go a 
half inch further forward but it is exactly where it should be.  It 
sets flush across the back of the bus.  So basically it is sucking hot
air off of the exhaust pipe for the number 2 and 4 cylinders straight 
into the engine compartment.  The seal was new with the engine and is 
still soft and pliable.  The problem is that when it makes that bend 
at the rear corners the top piece bunches and pushes up and the bottom
piece bunches and pushed down.  I never saw the gap until I stuck my 
hand in there.

So, what to do?  My first instinct is to somehow glue the thing to the
tin but that would make pulling the engine a pain, and I would have to
do it each time.  I am wondering if I have the seal installed 
correctly.  It looks like this:

                \
                 \        <-----seal
          -----*  )       <-----tin
                 /        <-----seal
               /

The asterisk represents the half inch gap.  Across the back of the 
engine tin and up the sides the seal lays down flatly against the tin 
and does the job.  When it rounds the corners it bunches and parts 
from the tin.  The other thing I can think of is gluing a gob of some
high heat foam type stuff in the gap there.  The seal is from WCM.  
Any other ideas?  Thanks, Jim
-- 
James A. Brill Jr.         \\  //
jbrill@unlinfo.unl.edu   \\ \\// //      If you're not outraged
University of Nebraska    \\//\\//     you're not paying attention.
free-lance homo sapien     \/  \/