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Date:         Thu, 11 Dec 1997 12:16:37 -0400
Reply-To:     jdeck@TRENTU.CA
Sender:       Vanagon mailing list <Vanagon@Gerry.SDSC.EDU>
From:         Marcus Elia <jdeck@TRENTU.CA>
Subject:      oil loss connected to power loss?
Comments: To: "Rick Sherrod (Certifiable VW mech)" <kdf_cars@mylink.net>
In-Reply-To:  <348FBD14.82A@mylink.net>
Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

Rick: (and listmembers)

[This is a continuation of a private e-mail exchange, which I have opend up in case anyone else has input. Problem: power loss after 1 hour of driving on highway.]

Unfortunately (especially in summer) we don't have A/C. The engine doesn't shut off entirely, it just runs bad except-- that after exiting from the highway (where the problem _always_ pops up) and stopping at the first stop sign, the engine will want to stall when the clutch is thrown in. This is followed by very poor (almost non-existent) power pulling away from said stop-sign. This sounds like a fuel-starved engine to me, because in my other life I coach rowing, usually from an outboard-powered tin boat: If my rowers, in setting up the motor and fuel tank, have failed to open the vent on the tank, the engine dies after about 15 minutes, only to be revived after opening the vent and much pumping of the bulb on the gas hose.

I recognize that being a thousand miles away from a test-drive, this is pure theory for you, but is there any chance that this could be a problem other than fuel delivery? I remember reading someone's submission regarding the expansion of differently-composed engine parts, i.e. block and heads: He wrote that it could take an hour for the engine to be thoroughly hot, at which point a gasket might no longer make a good seal. The person was talking about coolant getting into the cylinders; could this be happening with oil? After these 1-hour episodes there is a noticeable drop in oil level on the dipstick, but no coolant loss. I don't have a oil pressure gauge, and the idiot light does not go on.

The engine runs great up until that point, with ample power and acceleration. My mechanic has said that if this was a injector or a valve problem, it would be felt all the time, at 5km/h or 50km/h.

Hoping there's a pearl of wisdom waiting to drop--

Marcus Elia '84 Westy (Dela)


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