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Re: [T3] rebuild woes


On Sun, 2003-08-10 at 10:30, Rustad, James R wrote:
> I got the engine fired up yesterday...no leaks this time, but:
>  
> It was running pretty rough, so I wiggled the FI MPC plugs, and
> got it eventually to hit a decent idle, though it was still popping a bit.
>  
> Then while I was driving over to my local mechanic for some peer review,
> the oil light started to flicker at low idle.  So I stopped the car and used
> up a few AAA points, and had it towed over to the shop, where it now sits.
>
A flicker at low idle is kinda normal on some air cooled VW's. My '71
does it after a long drive.

  
> What do I do now?  Does this mean I have to disassemble the engine again
> all the way?  Here are a couple of my hypotheses and I would appreciate any
> advice:
>  
> (1)  I put assembly lube (lubriplate) in the oil pump, as the wilson rebuild
> book tells you (or maybe he says vaseline?).  Anyway I remember a recent
> post by Jim A. advising against this.  I suppose one possibility is that the 
> assembly lube goop is giving my engine congestive heart failure somewhere.
> Maybe it ends up at the screen and I will be lucky and can just remove it
> and be ok.
>
Lubriplate in the oil pump is fine. I have done it for over 30 years, on
probably hundreds of engines, without a problem. Lubriplate assembly
grease is oil soluble.
  
> (2)  I did not do anything with cleaning out the oil passages in the case.
> Maybe this was a grave error.  Nor did I check the pressure relief valves
> as I had lots of trouble getting the big screws out.  I figured the case worked
> before, so it should work now. (Jim A:  if you are wondering, this is not 
> the case you sold me last year...I am saving that one for later as I did not 
> want to deal with the full flow system until after I have moved and have more
> time and money)
>
Get the oil pressure relief valves out. If you have trouble unscrewing
the plugs, smack them hard with a hammer. This will jar the threads, and
compress the old gasket, making them turn easier.

  
> (3)  I was extremely diligent checking the bearing seating, and the 
> case torqued together without problems, so I don't think bearing seating
> is an issue.  This would probably create a more drastic problem than
> what I have now in any case (no pun intended).
>  
> I can't think of anything else, so at this point all I can do is check the screen,
> and if that's ok, then I guess its another teardown and rebuild from square one.
> At least the engine is now clean, so there's not that bother.  But this time I 
> am going to work fast (out of necessity) and avoid the lubriplate.  
>  
> Anything else I can do?
>  
How was the bores for the main bearings in the case?? If they were
bad/worn, it will contribute to lower oil pressure.

Check the actual oil pressure at about 2500 rpm. A $5 pressure gage, and
a couple hardware store fittings should work.

-- 
Russ Wolfe
'66 FB MT
'71 FB AT 
'65 Bug (not running)
russw@classicvw.org
http://www.classicvw.org



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