Excess oil usage and other bad stuff
Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2015 2:06 pm
At some point this winter, I need to really take a good look at what is happening with my engine. Here is some background info:
I rebuilt this engine (finished in 2011) with Raby components - cam, valves, etc. Headflow Masters rebuilt my genuine VW heads with the Raby parts. Did all the valve geometry, deck height, etc, myself. (actually had a helper with the engine). Used Mahle 94 mm P&C's. CR is 7.8:1.
Upon finishing the break-in in fall 2011, we immediately took the bus on a maiden voyage to Florida. The bus now has 4 trips to Florida under its belt, as well as a trip to Virginia. Many smaller trips in between. The engine has around 23,000 miles on it.
The engine has never let us down, and has been a strong runner.
Over the course of time, I've had a small spot of oil that would mark the garage floor, and usually oil along the bottom of the engine case. Usage was minimal (normal) for a VW engine. Until a year ago. It seemed like oil consumption had increased. Could never figure out where the leak was.
Pushrod tubes haven't dropped a drip yet. I used a used oil cooler (with new seals) during the rebuild. Could that be it? Rear seal? Who knows. So last winter, I pulled the shroud and fan to investigate. I bought some new oil cooler seals, a new oil cooler, rear seal, oil filler mount seal, dipstick tube boot, oil filter mount seal.
Everything seemed pretty dry. I installed a new oil cooler and seals, and a dipstick tube boot (third one?) I called it good for the upcoming 2014 season.
Drove the bus minimally this summer. Planned on going to Florida again around Halloween.
-Changed my oil (Brad Penn 10w-30) and filter (NAPA)
-Adjusted valves - (actually I barely adjusted any as the porsche swivel adjusters rarely are out of adjustment.
-Changed my 23,000 mile points, cap and rotor (Bosch)
-Installed new NGK plugs.
-Set timing.
-Did compression check - around 130 lbs on all four.
Good to go in my opinion!
Bus ran excellent to Florida. Around 17 mpg fully loaded. But over the course of 1,000 miles, I used 4 qts of oil! WTF? Where is my oil going?
The back of the bus is not covered in oil.
It does not smoke out of the exhaust.
It does not leave a puddle on the ground overnight (a small quarter size one is all)
The bottom of the engine does have a coating of oil on it along the case parting line. Which it did before.
HELP! Could it be blow by? Where is it going, if so? I'm so stumped.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next issue.
I have Dakota Digital gauges. OP, OT, and CHT.
When warmed up, oil pressure is usually in the 30-40 psi range. That's with a 26mm shadek pump.
Oil temps do rise to the upper 220's, and have gone to 233 degrees in some extreme heat.
CHT has never gone over 400. The probe is located under #3 spark plug. Normal summer highway driving is usually at a cool 330-350 degrees.
Everything on the way to Florida was in line temp wise for all three DD's.
On the return trip home, we decided to avoid some road construction on 65 in Kentucky and take I-75 through Knoxville all the way home. We've never taken this way.
We slept overnight in Knoxville and hit the road the next morning. Temps were in the upper 30s. I let the bus get warmed decently before hitting the highway.
So we get on 75 north and are heading into the mountains. We are on a big climb and I know eventually I will need to downshift. I then get pushed into the slow lane by a semi. Of course, we get pushed out of the way to where we are now right between two big rigs trying to make the climb. Due to the sudden lane change, etc., I'm forced to downshift quickly into 3rd to avoid rear-ending the semi in front of me. Bus revs pretty high (No tach) and I look at my DD CHT guage and it reads 530 degrees!! Holy Toledo! My bus!
It slowly drops back to under 400 degrees within a minutes time. Seemed like eternity.
The rest of the way home, the bus seemed normal but CHT temps a tad higher than normal. The bus made it the remaining 400 miles, but we drove through continuous rain once we hit Indiana. And cross winds. Anytime I approached the 60-65 mph speed for any sustained time, my head temps would go towards 400 without apprehension.
The bus has been driven 10 miles total since getting home from that trip. It's now stored for the winter at my shop................................................waiting on me to take a look at things.
I suppose the first thing to do is a valve check. Then check timing. Maybe another compression test.
What y'all think about this mess?
I rebuilt this engine (finished in 2011) with Raby components - cam, valves, etc. Headflow Masters rebuilt my genuine VW heads with the Raby parts. Did all the valve geometry, deck height, etc, myself. (actually had a helper with the engine). Used Mahle 94 mm P&C's. CR is 7.8:1.
Upon finishing the break-in in fall 2011, we immediately took the bus on a maiden voyage to Florida. The bus now has 4 trips to Florida under its belt, as well as a trip to Virginia. Many smaller trips in between. The engine has around 23,000 miles on it.
The engine has never let us down, and has been a strong runner.
Over the course of time, I've had a small spot of oil that would mark the garage floor, and usually oil along the bottom of the engine case. Usage was minimal (normal) for a VW engine. Until a year ago. It seemed like oil consumption had increased. Could never figure out where the leak was.
Pushrod tubes haven't dropped a drip yet. I used a used oil cooler (with new seals) during the rebuild. Could that be it? Rear seal? Who knows. So last winter, I pulled the shroud and fan to investigate. I bought some new oil cooler seals, a new oil cooler, rear seal, oil filler mount seal, dipstick tube boot, oil filter mount seal.
Everything seemed pretty dry. I installed a new oil cooler and seals, and a dipstick tube boot (third one?) I called it good for the upcoming 2014 season.
Drove the bus minimally this summer. Planned on going to Florida again around Halloween.
-Changed my oil (Brad Penn 10w-30) and filter (NAPA)
-Adjusted valves - (actually I barely adjusted any as the porsche swivel adjusters rarely are out of adjustment.
-Changed my 23,000 mile points, cap and rotor (Bosch)
-Installed new NGK plugs.
-Set timing.
-Did compression check - around 130 lbs on all four.
Good to go in my opinion!
Bus ran excellent to Florida. Around 17 mpg fully loaded. But over the course of 1,000 miles, I used 4 qts of oil! WTF? Where is my oil going?
The back of the bus is not covered in oil.
It does not smoke out of the exhaust.
It does not leave a puddle on the ground overnight (a small quarter size one is all)
The bottom of the engine does have a coating of oil on it along the case parting line. Which it did before.
HELP! Could it be blow by? Where is it going, if so? I'm so stumped.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next issue.
I have Dakota Digital gauges. OP, OT, and CHT.
When warmed up, oil pressure is usually in the 30-40 psi range. That's with a 26mm shadek pump.
Oil temps do rise to the upper 220's, and have gone to 233 degrees in some extreme heat.
CHT has never gone over 400. The probe is located under #3 spark plug. Normal summer highway driving is usually at a cool 330-350 degrees.
Everything on the way to Florida was in line temp wise for all three DD's.
On the return trip home, we decided to avoid some road construction on 65 in Kentucky and take I-75 through Knoxville all the way home. We've never taken this way.
We slept overnight in Knoxville and hit the road the next morning. Temps were in the upper 30s. I let the bus get warmed decently before hitting the highway.
So we get on 75 north and are heading into the mountains. We are on a big climb and I know eventually I will need to downshift. I then get pushed into the slow lane by a semi. Of course, we get pushed out of the way to where we are now right between two big rigs trying to make the climb. Due to the sudden lane change, etc., I'm forced to downshift quickly into 3rd to avoid rear-ending the semi in front of me. Bus revs pretty high (No tach) and I look at my DD CHT guage and it reads 530 degrees!! Holy Toledo! My bus!
It slowly drops back to under 400 degrees within a minutes time. Seemed like eternity.
The rest of the way home, the bus seemed normal but CHT temps a tad higher than normal. The bus made it the remaining 400 miles, but we drove through continuous rain once we hit Indiana. And cross winds. Anytime I approached the 60-65 mph speed for any sustained time, my head temps would go towards 400 without apprehension.
The bus has been driven 10 miles total since getting home from that trip. It's now stored for the winter at my shop................................................waiting on me to take a look at things.
I suppose the first thing to do is a valve check. Then check timing. Maybe another compression test.
What y'all think about this mess?