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On 5 Aug 2003 at 23:07, Chris J Valade wrote: > The pressure sensor does hold vacuum, and I also tested the fuel injectors by > removing them then having my father turn the ignition to 'ON' to let the fuel > pump run, I had him do this 4 or so times to make certain and not a drip came > out, I then pressed the nozzle with my nail and gas did come out. It's also useful to disable the spark and watch the injectors while someone cranks the engine with the starter. You should see each injector squirt. > As regards the oil, how do I know if there is fuel in it if all oil smells > of gas after running through the engine? Sometimes it's possible to put a drop of the oil on a fingertip and see how much it wicks out into the ridges in your fingerprints. Pure oil won't wick much, but a lot of gas in the oil will wick much more. > Also, when I had left the valve cover off of #3 and 4 I lost about a quart > and a half and replaced it ASAP--could this perhaps explain why there two > substances in the oil which haven't mixed? I think that any brand of oil would mix with any other, but I'm not sure about synthetics. Any chance that this was what was in there before? How long had the old oil been in this engine? Had you ever replaced it? Old oil in an "abandoned" engine is likely to be pretty awful, so one of the first things I'd do would be to replace it. > Even if it is the same brand and weight (Castrol HD 40W)? I don't see how, > but I figured I would ask. Also, is it possible that the oil is pretty near > black from the dust and heat of leaving the valve cover off during operation? I suppose it's possible that the rocker chamber picked up a bunch of dust while running open. I don't know how much would have gone down into the engine vs. how much would have washed out with the lost oil. > I did a little experiment and noticed that a fuel/oil combo makes the > mixture darker than either the fuel or the oil, am I just imagining things or > could this be another factor in the oil's color? Seems odd to me. Aren't both of these rather golden brown to start with, and I wouldn't expect them to react with each other in any particular way. > I put fuel injector cleaner in the oil, ha!)--could this account for the > dirt? I'm not sure, but that might have loosened up a bunch of dirt from the inside of the engine. > And I noticed oil flush products, would it be too dangerous to run the car > on idle for 5min without proper lubrication to flush it? If so, any > recommendations on which product/brand/etc.? No experience with these. I'd wonder if it was a good idea in an engine that doesn't have an oil filter to catch and remove the stuff that gets loosened up. > When I mix the oil around I the other liquid has a dark gray or > silver sheen, would this be the 'metal flake' sheen you mentioned? Possibly. > What else besides faulty injectors could cause a rich mixture? Could > it be the throttle switch? No, it's not the throttle valve switch. > I mean those round boots which are on the plastic pieces that attach > to the spark plugs, from what I remember hearing/reading they are to help > prevent compression loss. If you mean the black rubber parts that cover the junction where the SP wires disappear into the reddish bakelite pieces which connect to the spark plugs, then those are very far out from the head and should never get this hot. > What flaps? I think someone else already pointed you to the right illustration in the Bentley. The flaps either have to be opened by the thermostat when the engine reaches operating temp, or the flaps have to be wired permanently open. If the flaps just stay closed the engine will be ruined. You have to investigate this. > I still plan to recheck the timing (for a 1972 it should be 5 > degrees from TDC right? The 72 timing instructions are unique and complicated. You really need to follow the Bentley instructions in the engine chapter. > Also, I forgot to mention that when I went to check the oil level > after discovering that I had left the valve cover off white smoke or steam > was coming out when I removed the dipstick, but the dipstick was far from too > hot to handle. I think the smoke just means that the engine was hot, which we already knew. The dipstick test is just for beetles where the dipstick is short, unless you found that the oily end of the dipstick was easily touchable. > One last thing, I ended up lightly bending the screen on the oil > screen, should I worry about this or so long as it is still intact it > should be fine? Not a problem. All of ours are bent by now. -- Jim Adney jadney@vwtype3.org Madison, WI 53711-3054 USA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List info at http://www.vwtype3.org/list | mailto:gregm@vwtype3.org