Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1999 11:30:33 -0600
Reply-To: Gary Shea <shea@GTSDESIGN.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Gary Shea <shea@GTSDESIGN.COM>
Subject: Re: New Motor completed, leaks oil, burns, smoke fills cockpit,
recovers!!!
In-Reply-To: <01BED2FB.7C393220@ip32.raleigh10.nc.pub-ip.psi.net>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
This sounds like the intelligent version of a little incident that
occurred when I started up my rebuild for the first time, about
three years ago. I had put in a similar obsessive amount of work,
painting tin and engine block, getting balancing done (but I couldn't
find a counterbalanced crank at the time -- good for you!), and the
whole endless process of getting the engine apart, the heads and
cam shipped off to California, etc..
So I've been dutifully following the Tom Wilson method of cycling
the rpm's for the first 8 hours of operation, taking about an hour
a day out in the garage with my hand on the throttle. I've changed
the oil twice during this period, and now am doing the final oil
change before driving it. Hanging out with a friend, exulting over
the success of the rebuild, drain the oil, dump in the three and
a half quarts of new oil, jump in and start the engine, it purrs,
wander back to the engine bay still talking, go to remove the oil
bucket from underneath the engine and boy does it look full. OH
SHIT! I forgot to put in the drain bolt. All the oil has run
directly from the fill tube directly out the drain hole and into
the bucket! RUN to the front, kill the engine which has been running
close to a minute on no oil.
As far as I can tell, no damage was done. But gawd was I a nervous
wreck.
I wish that was the end of your story, I don't even want to hear
the part about burning... :(
Gary
On Tue, 20 Jul 1999, Bulley wrote:
> Our new bigger Vanagon motor (for our 1982 Westy) hit the street 8:10 p.m.
> Saturday evening. I wish I could say it was uneventful. Everything in my
> life is normally full of drama and excitement, so why shouldn't starting my
> new expensive motor follow suit?
> ...
> So there I sit, head in my hands, praying about what to do next, as I hear
> little drops of oil trickling off the various formerly cleaned engine
> parts. Then it hit me...It couldn't be anything I had done, because I
> really did go straight by the book...so what does that leave? One thing.
> The oil filter. I quickly removed the oil filter, and SURE ENOUGH, the
> intake holes were semi-occluded with assembly grease, and the seal was
> blown out of its seat. KEWL!!!!
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