VW Oil Change

The VW engine does not come with an oil filter. There is an oil
STRAINER surrounding the oil pick-up tube in the sump but its job is
exactly the same as the oil strainer found on the inlet of the oil
pump on a Ford V8... or any other modern engine... which is to PROTECT
THE OIL PUMP. Protect it from what? From 'chunkie' attacks... from
those brittle little bits of cast iron that are spawned by the cam, or
those glass-hard bits of steel that are the product of an improperly
adjusted valve.

In normal service the VW engine (and all others I know of) is capable
of generating 'chunkies.' On the VW, the ones you have to worry
about are those those made of iron or steel -- anything harder than
aluminum -- and less than about 0.060" in its greatest dimension,
meaning it can pass through the mesh of the oil strainer. These hard
chunkies can get into your OIL PUMP and cause scoring of the aluminum
pump-body. It takes only a minor amount of scoring of the pump body
to produce a dramatic loss of pressure and flow from the oil pump.
(Factory spec for maximum scoring dimension is 0.002" Any scratch or
groove of greater depth justifies replacement of the oil pump.) [see
the NOTE below]

After-market cams are notorious as a source of chunkies. (See my blog
for the article on how to prevent chunky attacks. Lotsa purdy
pitchers :-)

If you have not fitted your engine with a full-flow oil filter, a
chunky can keep circulating through the pump until it's totally
trashed... assuming the chunky hasn't been feed to one of your
bearings, in which case you're liable to trash the whole engine.

Even WITH a full-flow oil filter a chunky gets at least one shot at
your oil pump... unless you do something to prevent it, such as adding
a Chunky Collector. That's a fancy name I just invented for a rare
earth magnet such as the ones you can buy from American Science &
Surplus or a similar retailer. Big Chunky Collectors, with a pull of
up to 80 pounds, can be mounted on the OUTSIDE of the sump plate.
Smaller ones can go on the inside. (I use three big ones on the
outside). Chunkies small enough to pass through the oil strainer will
be attracted to the magnet(s) instead, along with any other iron or
steel debris. (Back in the Good Ol' Days, whenever that was, we usta
use Cow Magnets as chunky collectors.)

Then there are the Drips. These are caused by guys who think the oil
STRAINER is an oil FILTER, and pull it out of the engine on every oil
change. WRONG. Leave the damn sump-plate alone! The strainer is
only there to protect the oil pump... which you've already done with
your Chunky Collectors and Full-Flow Oil Filtration... just like a
modern engine :-) Install the oil strainer & sump plate ONCE, using a
good sealant. Then leave it the hell alone! The only time you'll
need to remove the sump plate is when you dismantle the engine.

Oil Change, whatcha wanna do is drain as much of the old oil as you
can. You CAN'T drain ALL the oil. There's always some residual oil
trapped in the engine, not only in the nooks & crannies of the
crankcase but in the geometry of the heads & valve covers and in the
push-rod tubes and oil galleries. You can wipe away the oil in the
valve galleries but there's no convenient way to remove the residual
oil from the push-rod tubes and oil galleries. (The inconvenient way
is to connect your pre-luber and pump fresh oil into the main oil
gallery until you see it coming from the business end of each of the
push-rods.)

The key point here is that an oil change doesn't get all of the old
oil out of the engine... so stop worrying about it. (And that means
stop messing with the sump plate.) You can pull the sump's drain
plug, if it has one, get the tail up until the sump is about level,
and drain out as much of the old oil as you can. Or, if you've
mounted your prop on the clutch end of the crank you can drill & tap
the crankcase so as to provide a new sump drain that takes the angle
of the engine into account. And while everyone recommends draining
the oil when the engine is warm, often times that isn't possible, in
which case you simply give it more time -- up to an hour in really
cold weather -- for the oil to ooze into the bucket. (When it gets
down to an occasional drip, you're all done.)

In fact, when you put the prop on the clutch-end of the crankshaft and
tap the case for a new sump drain plug location, that gives you full
access to the original sump plate, which only needs to be removed when
you dismantle the engine. That means you can use the sump plate as a
MOUNTING BASE, welding brackets to it for your carb heat, oil cooler
or whatever. Sturdy, convenient and generally lowers the under-engine
profile. Yeah, I know: Nobody does it that way!

I do. (Why? Because it's an AIRPLANE ENGINE, not a dune-buggy
engine.)

When it comes to Flying Volkswagens I'm often the Mechanic of Last
Resort, meaning guys bring me these really goofy engines converted for
flight by their local 'expert.' In fact, the engine is usually just
fine... if it were installed in a dune buggy. But it lacks the dozens
of 'unimportant' details that makes it suitable for use in an
airplane, such as the grub screw securing the distributor (if it uses
a distributor) or safety wire on the sump drain plug, or a full-flow
oil filtration system or some means of limiting chunky attacks. And
it usually leaks like a bitch. The sad part is that the difference
between an airplane engine and a dune-buggy engine is due to things
that are BUILT-IN to the engine, rather than something you can just
bolt on. So you smile at the guy and tell him you're too busy to take
on another engine right now. And suggest he take it back to whoever
built the thing.

-R.S.Hoover

NOTE: For a quick check of the health of an engine of unknown
provenance, pull the oil pump cover, pull the idler gear and check the
condition of the oil pump body, inspecting for score marks and
gouges. It takes surprisingly little scoring to reduce the output of
the pump when the engine reaches its normal operating temperature.
This often leads to complaints of high temps and low oil pressure.

If you've got a suitable puller, loosen the two parting-line studs
adjacent to the oil pump and remove the pump. With an inspection
light & mirror you can see the flange of the cam and any marks it may
carry. This will tell you if the cam is suitable for an airplane or a
dune buggy.

Lock the crankshaft in position and dismantle the valve train for the
1-2 cylinder head. Dismantle the rocker arm shaft and check for worn
washers and scoring on the shaft and rockers. Check the torque of the
head stays. On reassembly, unlock the crankshaft, set the valve lash
and estimate the valve train geometry using a dial indicator.

These checks take only a few minutes but allows you to judge the
condition of the engine with a high degree of accuracy. If the engine
is mounted and can be run, starting your inspection with a leak-down
test will allow you to determine the health of the engine with
near-100% accuracy. -- rsh

On Sep 24, 10:15*am, " wrote:
The VW engine does not come with an oil filter. *There is an oil
STRAINER surrounding the oil pick-up tube in the sump but its job is
exactly the same as the oil strainer found on the inlet of the oil
pump on a Ford V8... or any other modern engine... which is to PROTECT
THE OIL PUMP. *Protect it from what? *From 'chunkie' attacks... from
those brittle little bits of cast iron that are spawned by the cam, or
those glass-hard bits of steel that are the product of an improperly
adjusted valve.

In normal service the VW engine (and all others I know of) is capable
of generating *'chunkies.' *On the VW, the ones you have to worry
about are those those made of iron or steel -- *anything harder than
aluminum -- and less than about 0.060" in its greatest dimension,
meaning it can pass through the mesh of the oil strainer. *These hard
chunkies can get into your OIL PUMP and cause scoring of the aluminum
pump-body. *It takes only a minor amount of scoring of the pump body
to produce a dramatic loss of pressure and flow from the oil pump.
(Factory spec for maximum scoring dimension is 0.002" *Any scratch or
groove of greater depth justifies replacement of the oil pump.) *[see
the NOTE below]

After-market cams are notorious as a source of chunkies. *(See my blog
for the article on how to prevent chunky attacks. *Lotsa purdy
pitchers :-)

If you have not fitted your engine with a full-flow oil filter, a
chunky can keep circulating through the pump until it's totally
trashed... assuming the chunky hasn't been feed to one of your
bearings, in which case you're liable to trash the whole engine.

Even WITH a full-flow oil filter a chunky gets at least one shot at
your oil pump... unless you do something to prevent it, such as adding
a Chunky Collector. *That's a fancy name I just invented for a rare
earth magnet such as the ones you can buy from American Science &
Surplus or a similar retailer. *Big Chunky Collectors, with a pull of
up to 80 pounds, can be mounted on the OUTSIDE of the sump plate.
Smaller ones can go on the inside. *(I use three big ones on the
outside). *Chunkies small enough to pass through the oil strainer will
be attracted to the magnet(s) instead, along with any other iron or
steel debris. *(Back in the Good Ol' Days, whenever that was, we usta
use Cow Magnets as chunky collectors.)

Then there are the Drips. *These are caused by guys who think the oil
STRAINER is an oil FILTER, and pull it out of the engine on every oil
change. *WRONG. *Leave the damn sump-plate alone! *The strainer is
only there to protect the oil pump... which you've already done with
your Chunky Collectors and Full-Flow Oil Filtration... just like a
modern engine :-) *Install the oil strainer & sump plate ONCE, using a
good sealant. *Then leave it the hell alone! *The only time you'll
need to remove the sump plate is when you dismantle the engine.

Oil Change, whatcha wanna do is drain as much of the old oil as you
can. *You CAN'T drain ALL the oil. *There's always some residual oil
trapped in the engine, not only in the nooks & crannies of the
crankcase but in the geometry of the heads & valve covers and in the
push-rod tubes and oil galleries. *You can wipe away the oil in the
valve galleries but there's no convenient way to remove the residual
oil from the push-rod tubes and oil galleries. *(The inconvenient way
is to connect your pre-luber and pump fresh oil into the main oil
gallery until you see it coming from the business end of each of the
push-rods.)

The key point here is that an oil change doesn't get all of the old
oil out of the engine... so stop worrying about it. *(And that means
stop messing with the sump plate.) *You can pull the sump's drain
plug, if it has one, get the tail up until the sump is about level,
and drain out as much of the old oil as you can. *Or, if you've
mounted your prop on the clutch end of the crank you can drill & tap
the crankcase so as to provide a new sump drain that takes the angle
of the engine into account. *And while everyone recommends draining
the oil when the engine is warm, often times that isn't possible, in
which case you simply give it more time -- up to an hour in really
cold weather -- for the oil to ooze into the bucket. *(When it gets
down to an occasional drip, you're all done.)

In fact, when you put the prop on the clutch-end of the crankshaft and
tap the case for a new sump drain plug location, that gives you full
access to the original sump plate, which only needs to be removed when
you dismantle the engine. *That means you can use the sump plate as a
MOUNTING BASE, welding brackets to it for your carb heat, oil cooler
or whatever. *Sturdy, convenient and generally lowers the under-engine
profile. *Yeah, I know: *Nobody does it that way!

I do. *(Why? *Because it's an AIRPLANE ENGINE, not a dune-buggy
engine.)

When it comes to Flying Volkswagens I'm often the Mechanic of Last
Resort, meaning guys bring me these really goofy engines converted for
flight by their local 'expert.' *In fact, the engine is usually just
fine... if it were installed in a dune buggy. *But it lacks the dozens
of 'unimportant' details that makes it suitable for use in an
airplane, such as the grub screw securing the distributor (if it uses
a distributor) or safety wire on the sump drain plug, or a full-flow
oil filtration system or some means of limiting chunky attacks. *And
it usually leaks like a bitch. *The sad part is that the difference
between an airplane engine and a dune-buggy engine is due to things
that are BUILT-IN to the engine, rather than something you can just
bolt on. *So you smile at the guy and tell him you're too busy to take
on another engine right now. *And suggest he take it back to whoever
built the thing.

-R.S.Hoover

NOTE: *For a quick check of the health of an engine of unknown
provenance, pull the oil pump cover, pull the idler gear and check the
condition of the oil pump body, inspecting for score marks and
gouges. *It takes surprisingly little scoring to reduce the output of
the pump when the engine reaches its normal operating temperature.
This often leads to complaints of high temps and low oil pressure.

If you've got a suitable puller, loosen the two parting-line studs
adjacent to the oil pump and remove the pump. *With an inspection
light & mirror you can see the flange of the cam and any marks it may
carry. *This will tell you if the cam is suitable for an airplane or a
dune buggy.

Lock the crankshaft in position and dismantle the valve train for the
1-2 cylinder head. *Dismantle the rocker arm shaft and check for worn
washers and scoring on the shaft and rockers. *Check the torque of the
head stays. *On reassembly, unlock the crankshaft, set the valve lash
and estimate the valve train geometry using a dial indicator.

These checks take only a few minutes but allows you to judge the
condition of the engine with a high degree of accuracy. *If the engine
is mounted and can be run, starting your inspection with a leak-down
test will allow you to determine the health of the engine with
near-100% accuracy. *-- rsh

Does anyone build a full-flow filter for the VW? I imagine it
would need to be a modified oil pump body with outlet and inlet ports
for a remote filter, maybe? The only filter I ever saw for the VW was
a bypass filter that stole some of the pressuized oil from the
pressure switch port and ran it through a restrictor, through a remote
filter, and dumped it back into the case through another port (maybe a
rocker cover fitting). The restrictor was necessary to prevent total
pressure loss, as the oil would much prefer to go through the filter
rather than take the tougher route through the hot and noisy places.
Of course, the restrictor also prevented any big bits from reaching
the filter and would plug it off altogether. IIRC, the VW's pump was a
bit anemic anyhow and could little afford any extra flow, kinda like
my A-65. Same problem, with an oil pickup screen having holes big
enough for parts bearing serial numbers to pass through and a "filter"
screen only a little finer. Those oil pumps get torn up pretty good.
What do you do to stop the VW's case seam from leaking?

Dan

On Sep 24, 6:09*pm, wrote:
On Sep 24, 10:15*am, " wrote:



The VW engine does not come with an oil filter. *There is an oil
STRAINER surrounding the oil pick-up tube in the sump but its job is
exactly the same as the oil strainer found on the inlet of the oil
pump on a Ford V8... or any other modern engine... which is to PROTECT
THE OIL PUMP. *Protect it from what? *From 'chunkie' attacks... from
those brittle little bits of cast iron that are spawned by the cam, or
those glass-hard bits of steel that are the product of an improperly
adjusted valve.

In normal service the VW engine (and all others I know of) is capable
of generating *'chunkies.' *On the VW, the ones you have to worry
about are those those made of iron or steel -- *anything harder than
aluminum -- and less than about 0.060" in its greatest dimension,
meaning it can pass through the mesh of the oil strainer. *These hard
chunkies can get into your OIL PUMP and cause scoring of the aluminum
pump-body. *It takes only a minor amount of scoring of the pump body
to produce a dramatic loss of pressure and flow from the oil pump.
(Factory spec for maximum scoring dimension is 0.002" *Any scratch or
groove of greater depth justifies replacement of the oil pump.) *[see
the NOTE below]

After-market cams are notorious as a source of chunkies. *(See my blog
for the article on how to prevent chunky attacks. *Lotsa purdy
pitchers :-)

If you have not fitted your engine with a full-flow oil filter, a
chunky can keep circulating through the pump until it's totally
trashed... assuming the chunky hasn't been feed to one of your
bearings, in which case you're liable to trash the whole engine.

Even WITH a full-flow oil filter a chunky gets at least one shot at
your oil pump... unless you do something to prevent it, such as adding
a Chunky Collector. *That's a fancy name I just invented for a rare
earth magnet such as the ones you can buy from American Science &
Surplus or a similar retailer. *Big Chunky Collectors, with a pull of
up to 80 pounds, can be mounted on the OUTSIDE of the sump plate.
Smaller ones can go on the inside. *(I use three big ones on the
outside). *Chunkies small enough to pass through the oil strainer will
be attracted to the magnet(s) instead, along with any other iron or
steel debris. *(Back in the Good Ol' Days, whenever that was, we usta
use Cow Magnets as chunky collectors.)

Then there are the Drips. *These are caused by guys who think the oil
STRAINER is an oil FILTER, and pull it out of the engine on every oil
change. *WRONG. *Leave the damn sump-plate alone! *The strainer is
only there to protect the oil pump... which you've already done with
your Chunky Collectors and Full-Flow Oil Filtration... just like a
modern engine :-) *Install the oil strainer & sump plate ONCE, using a
good sealant. *Then leave it the hell alone! *The only time you'll
need to remove the sump plate is when you dismantle the engine.

Oil Change, whatcha wanna do is drain as much of the old oil as you
can. *You CAN'T drain ALL the oil. *There's always some residual oil
trapped in the engine, not only in the nooks & crannies of the
crankcase but in the geometry of the heads & valve covers and in the
push-rod tubes and oil galleries. *You can wipe away the oil in the
valve galleries but there's no convenient way to remove the residual
oil from the push-rod tubes and oil galleries. *(The inconvenient way
is to connect your pre-luber and pump fresh oil into the main oil
gallery until you see it coming from the business end of each of the
push-rods.)

The key point here is that an oil change doesn't get all of the old
oil out of the engine... so stop worrying about it. *(And that means
stop messing with the sump plate.) *You can pull the sump's drain
plug, if it has one, get the tail up until the sump is about level,
and drain out as much of the old oil as you can. *Or, if you've
mounted your prop on the clutch end of the crank you can drill & tap
the crankcase so as to provide a new sump drain that takes the angle
of the engine into account. *And while everyone recommends draining
the oil when the engine is warm, often times that isn't possible, in
which case you simply give it more time -- up to an hour in really
cold weather -- for the oil to ooze into the bucket. *(When it gets
down to an occasional drip, you're all done.)

In fact, when you put the prop on the clutch-end of the crankshaft and
tap the case for a new sump drain plug location, that gives you full
access to the original sump plate, which only needs to be removed when
you dismantle the engine. *That means you can use the sump plate as a
MOUNTING BASE, welding brackets to it for your carb heat, oil cooler
or whatever. *Sturdy, convenient and generally lowers the under-engine
profile. *Yeah, I know: *Nobody does it that way!

I do. *(Why? *Because it's an AIRPLANE ENGINE, not a dune-buggy
engine.)

When it comes to Flying Volkswagens I'm often the Mechanic of Last
Resort, meaning guys bring me these really goofy engines converted for
flight by their local 'expert.' *In fact, the engine is usually just
fine... if it were installed in a dune buggy. *But it lacks the dozens
of 'unimportant' details that makes it suitable for use in an
airplane, such as the grub screw securing the distributor (if it uses
a distributor) or safety wire on the sump drain plug, or a full-flow
oil filtration system or some means of limiting chunky attacks. *And
it usually leaks like a bitch. *The sad part is that the difference
between an airplane engine and a dune-buggy engine is due to things
that are BUILT-IN to the engine, rather than something you can just
bolt on. *So you smile at the guy and tell him you're too busy to take
on another engine right now. *And suggest he take it back to whoever
built the thing.

-R.S.Hoover

NOTE: *For a quick check of the health of an engine of unknown
provenance, pull the oil pump cover, pull the idler gear and check the
condition of the oil pump body, inspecting for score marks and
gouges. *It takes surprisingly little scoring to reduce the output of
the pump when the engine reaches its normal operating temperature.
This often leads to complaints of high temps and low oil pressure.

If you've got a suitable puller, loosen the two parting-line studs
adjacent to the oil pump and remove the pump. *With an inspection
light & mirror you can see the flange of the cam and any marks it may
carry. *This will tell you if the cam is suitable for an airplane or a
dune buggy.

Lock the crankshaft in position and dismantle the valve train for the
1-2 cylinder head. *Dismantle the rocker arm shaft and check for worn
washers and scoring on the shaft and rockers. *Check the torque of the
head stays. *On reassembly, unlock the crankshaft, set the valve lash
and estimate the valve train geometry using a dial indicator.

These checks take only a few minutes but allows you to judge the
condition of the engine with a high degree of accuracy. *If the engine
is mounted and can be run, starting your inspection with a leak-down
test will allow you to determine the health of the engine with
near-100% accuracy. *-- rsh

* * * * *Does anyone build a full-flow filter for the VW?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lotsa folks, including VW of Mexico (starting in 1981). Adding full-
flow oil filtration has been the most common mod for VW engines since
the mid-1960. Very straight forward mod.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I imagine it
would need to be a modified oil pump body with outlet and inlet ports
for a remote filter, maybe?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nope. Just plug the output of the pump and make or buy a new pump-
cover. Then drill & tap the main oil gallery. The oil is diverted
through the new pump cover, plumbed to the filter then back into the
main oil gallery. Google it. You should get lotsa hits.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The only filter I ever saw for the VW was
a bypass filter that stole some of the pressuized oil from the
pressure switch port and ran it through a restrictor, through a remote
filter, and dumped it back into the case through another port (maybe a
rocker cover fitting). The restrictor was necessary to prevent total
pressure loss, as the oil would much prefer to go through the filter
rather than take the tougher route through the hot and noisy places.
Of course, the restrictor also prevented any big bits from reaching
the filter and would plug it off altogether.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That's the old FRAM by-pass filter, a dealer installed after-market
kit. In 1958 VW issued a Service Bulletin telling dealers not to
install them because they could cause a catastrophic loss of oil
pressure.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

IIRC, the VW's pump was a
bit anemic anyhow and could little afford any extra flow

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Depends on which VW pump you're talking about. VW used about NINE of
them over the years. Basically, the size of the pump was increased
each time they increased the size of the engine. But they also
increased its size to obtain better cooling.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

kinda like
my A-65. Same problem, with an oil pickup screen having holes big
enough for parts bearing serial numbers to pass through and a "filter"
screen only a little finer. Those oil pumps get torn up pretty good.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Actually, the VW oil pump is larger than that used on the little
Continentals. It puts has a greater flow and can put out a higher
pressure, thanks to its greater speed of rotation.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * What do you do to stop the VW's case seam from leaking?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Assembling it correctly is always a good start :-) SN's & SB's
(Service Notes and Service Bulletins) issued over the years describe
all of the problems you're liable to encounter that can produce a leak
on the parting line. But staandard practice is to lay a strand of
silk thread in the Permatex... just like we do with aircraft
engines :-)

-R.S.Hoover

wrote:

Does anyone build a full-flow filter for the VW? I imagine it
would need to be a modified oil pump body with outlet and inlet ports
for a remote filter, maybe? The only filter I ever saw for the VW was
a bypass filter that stole some of the pressuized oil from the
pressure switch port and ran it through a restrictor, through a remote
filter, and dumped it back into the case through another port (maybe a
rocker cover fitting). The restrictor was necessary to prevent total
pressure loss, as the oil would much prefer to go through the filter
rather than take the tougher route through the hot and noisy places.
Of course, the restrictor also prevented any big bits from reaching
the filter and would plug it off altogether. IIRC, the VW's pump was a
bit anemic anyhow and could little afford any extra flow, kinda like
my A-65. Same problem, with an oil pickup screen having holes big
enough for parts bearing serial numbers to pass through and a "filter"
screen only a little finer. Those oil pumps get torn up pretty good.
What do you do to stop the VW's case seam from leaking?

Dan



Try this one, Dan.
It's an off the shelf item, but I can't recall the name.

I've tried remote oil coolers and remote filters.
Didn't care for all the hoses.

But the engine really needs and oil filter.

http://www.home.earthlink.net/~cave-2/


--

Richard

(remove the X to email)