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Bob, Jim, Mark, et. al.;
I put new oil in--as well as a new oil screen with new gaskets
and washers, that I picked up for $5--after running a full quart through
and letting it drain to lightly clean the sump, then tried to start her:
she nearly started right up, just needed a little push on the gas, then I
had to keep tapping on the accelerator until she warmed up, then she
stayed pretty constant with no problems. I had also redone the timing
via the static timing method and 5 degrees off of TDC, adjusted the
valves, cleaned the spark plugs, and that was it--unless I inadvertently
tightened some loose connection when I was checking all the electrical
connections for the FI. The engine still sounds weaker until I rev it
enough, then once I let it go back down to idle she regains that muffled
sound--but not as bad as previously.
I finally decided to take her for a test drive around the
neighborhood and here is what I found: even though I warm her up for a
good 2 or more minutes she goes about 10mph at full throttle then inches
her way up very slowly, until, all of a sudden, bam! the engine is clear
again and power is restored, then as long as I keep it at a high rev she
keeps it going, but once I try to steady around 25 or so she will go in
and out or back to muffled completely. I then took her up a long but
minor incline and no matter how long I had her going a full throttle the
engine wouldn't fully kick in, but down hill it kicked in with much more
ease (mind you, I'm going by sound not speed, although I got 15mph max
going up and got up to 50mph down and was no where near full throttle--I
know the incline/decline is part of it, but overall it is an
incline/decline of maybe 6 or 7%).
Also, I was trying some other random things and discovered that
the engine kicks in easier in 2nd gear, and even easier in 1st.
Basically, she needs a certain amount of RPMs before she growls with full
force. Could this be a distributor problem? Maybe somehow it isn't
timed right until a certain vacuum (I have a vacuum advance dist)
pressure? I have had it timed both at 0TDC and 5TDC (static timing both)
while it has been acting like this and before. I also checked the vacuum
advance and it is working and it does hold a vacuum. Or maybe the
injectors--I still need to test this when someone is turning the starter.
Perhaps their minimum duration of spraying is too long and causing
insufficient power in a cylinder or two but it catches when the engine is
at a high enough RPM?
Then when I pulled into the garage I was looking and listening
some more and by this time the oil light was flickering whenever the RPM
dropped (the idle still hunts, sometimes drastically, sometimes not at
all, this goes for both in neutral and under a load), I went to check if
the connection to the oil sensor was loose, and tried to fit it on
tighter, this reduced the flickering only a little. I then put her in
drive with the emergency brake and she stalled, tried two or three times
with the same result. Although, I believe I found the cause of the
flickering oil light, I need a new gasket for the valve cover on #1 and
2: it was dripping and had gotten the heat exchanger soaked in oil which
was bubbling and smoking quite considerably for maybe 10 minutes. When I
went to change the valve cover gaskets I decided to check the valves
while the gasket remover was setting in and doing its job to remove the
glue and #4 had tightened up about .002" since I adjusted it last night!
In other words, it went from .006" to .004", and the .004" feeler scraped
through, it didn't slide or fall through. Also, the air leak I heard
coming from #3 while turning the engine by hand returned (it wasn't there
the last time I checked for it).
It sounds as if either cylinder #3 or 4 isn't performing as it
should before the engine reaches regular power.
She also seemed to be a tad hot when I was looking at the engine,
but then again I have nothing to compare to so these are mostly
assumptions, here are my reasons for thinking this: the gen pulley
housing was quite hot as was the air cleaner (I tend to think this is
normal, but uncertain), then the front part where the engine lid clips
into was too hot to touch, the rest of the metal rim that the lid lays on
was hot but not as hot as the front part.
I still need to run a compression test (turns out I don't have a
compression gauge even though I thought I bought one to replace the first
one I bought which was too short), test the injectors with the starter
being turned, and find why the AAR causes the fuel pump fuse to blow (the
wire is hooked up to terminal 87 on the fuel pump relay, at least I'm
assuming that is the AAR wire, and when I switched the fuel pump and AAR
wire to different parts of 87 I had the same results; there is probably a
short that I'll have to hunt down). Also, get a new hose or something
for the AAR to the IAD since the one I have now with the position it is
sitting in causes the hose to be at least half way pinched.
I put a drop of oil on my fingertip and compared it with a drop
from what I got out of my engine and the oil out of my engine wicked only
a tad bit more, so I guess I wasn't running all that rich.
The oil that was in the engine when I bought it was most likely
recent, either at the end and about to need to be changed or recently
changed, I'm not certain, but the PO did get his oil changed every 3000
miles, or at least as soon as he could because of his financial
situation--the same reason why he didn't get full tune-ups or get small
problems fixed when they occurred but only when it made the car
undrivable. I changed the oil about a week after I got the car because
of the fuel injector cleaner I had put in it, and then again the day
after I had left the valve cover off and had to refill the oil.
Good point about how it may be dangerous to use an oil flush
product without having a filter! How would I install a filter anyhow?
It turns out the rubber boots I mentioned for the SPs were melted
since that sheet metal which makes the hole small enough to fit the SP
but not the boot is missing, so I had those boots pretty much on the
cylinder heads.
I believe the flaps are wired open, but I will have to take the
pulley housing and fan housing off to check, unless you know a quicker
simpler way...?
The instructions Bentley gives to time the engine don't seem so
complicated, disconnect and plug the vacuum hose, the use a strobe timing
light so it matches with the 5TDC mark...is that what you were referring
to?
I have checked the oil quite a few times during my recent test
runs or after the engine has been idling a bit just to see what's going
on, and every time--now--I see how hot the end of the dipstick is and it
is too hot to hold for a long time, but I can touch it, wipe it off, etc.
with no problem.
More than anything else I have nothing solid as to why the engine
is running very weak except at a certain RPM.
This Saturday I plan to go down to one of the MWAPs and talk with
the mechanics there since I was told by some other MWAP employees that
they love to just chat and are very supportive of VW owners. I'm
basically talking with anyone who knows anything about cars and better
yet about air cooled VWs for ideas.
I apologize if I am getting too detailed or including things that
don't relate to this specific problem, but as I said I have no idea why
it would do this so I want to supply all the info possible. Thanks for
the understanding=)
Sincerely,
Christopher J. Valade
1970 Squareback (AT, FI, w/1972 originally dual carb engine) -- Rosie
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