Don's Engine Refurbish: 10,500 Miles Later, Running Great!

Moderators: Sluggo, Amskeptic

User avatar
vwlover77
IAC Addict!
Location: North Canton, Ohio
Status: Offline

Post by vwlover77 » Sun Dec 02, 2007 8:04 am

Life is good! I had an enjoyable day driving the Westy yesterday, and our golden retriever (in my avatar photo) got to get out from under the Bus to take a ride to her favorite trail for a long walk!

It's running great. Much peppier than before, and the balancing made a HUGE difference. It revs oh-so-smoothly and cannot be felt at idle!

I parked it in its winter storage spot last night, and not a moment too soon. The freezing rain and sleet hit at 7PM.

It's great to know that it's all sorted out for next year's adventures. :cheers:
Don

---------------------------
78 Westy
71 Super Beetle Convertible Autostick

"When we let our compassion go, we let go of whatever claim we have to the divine." - Bruce Springsteen

User avatar
Amskeptic
IAC "Help Desk"
IAC "Help Desk"
Status: Offline

Post by Amskeptic » Sun Dec 02, 2007 4:58 pm

vwlover77 wrote: It's running great. Much peppier than before, and the balancing made a HUGE difference. It revs oh-so-smoothly and cannot be felt at idle!

Congratulations, Don. Youttabeprouderyerself. :compress:
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

User avatar
Sean Gallagher
Addicted!
Status: Offline

Post by Sean Gallagher » Mon Dec 03, 2007 7:14 pm

Congratulations Don on getting it done. You deserve a great deal of praise for taking on the problem and solving it with your own two hands. You have given me, and no doubt others, the viable hope that we too can solve our own nightmares. (I have many!)

I know what you were going through. I personally saw your frustration on many occasions. You persevered and solved the problem.

I hope everyone on the IAC knows what a great person Don really is. He is down to earth and truly loves the ACVW community. I always look forward to meeting up with him. His wife and daughters don't seem to mind his VW obsession, and I'm glad about that because when my wife scratches her head about me, I can just point to Don!

I would also like to mention that while Don may not say it, he told me on many occasions how valuable his consultations with Colin were and he said great things about Jim at the air-cooled ranch.

Cheers Don, I'll see you at a LEAKOIL gathering soon!
1957 Oval (36HP 6 volt)
1959 SO-23 Westfalia (36HP 6 volt)
1978 Kombi (6 volts too many!)

User avatar
vwlover77
IAC Addict!
Location: North Canton, Ohio
Status: Offline

Post by vwlover77 » Mon Dec 03, 2007 8:07 pm

Thanks for the kind words, Sean!
Sean Gallagher wrote:His wife and daughters don't seem to mind his VW obsession, and I'm glad about that because when my wife scratches her head about me, I can just point to Don!
I think there's a lot of "pointing - counterpointing" going on between us! :drunken:
Sean Gallagher wrote: I would also like to mention that while Don may not say it, he told me on many occasions how valuable his consultations with Colin were and he said great things about Jim at the air-cooled ranch.
Let me say it loud and clear! COLIN AND JIM ARE GREAT! (Couldn't and wouldn't have done it without you!) :cheers:
Don

---------------------------
78 Westy
71 Super Beetle Convertible Autostick

"When we let our compassion go, we let go of whatever claim we have to the divine." - Bruce Springsteen

User avatar
vwlover77
IAC Addict!
Location: North Canton, Ohio
Status: Offline

Post by vwlover77 » Mon Dec 31, 2007 1:44 pm

The Westy is back in its winter storage now - I had to bring it home over Christmas since my neighbor came back from Florida and needed his garage. I've run the engine for half an hour a few times during the past couple of weeks, and took a brief drive around the neighborhood before putting it back into storage.

It's running great, but after each session, it has dripped some oil from both ends of the engine. :pale:

Until it warms up in the Spring, I'm not going to look into it, and even then, not until I go through at least one tank of gas to see how bad these leaks really are.

I thought I was very generous with the Permatex avaition sealant and careful with the seal installations, but maybe not careful enough!

Perfection is elusive.....
Don

---------------------------
78 Westy
71 Super Beetle Convertible Autostick

"When we let our compassion go, we let go of whatever claim we have to the divine." - Bruce Springsteen

User avatar
vwlover77
IAC Addict!
Location: North Canton, Ohio
Status: Offline

Post by vwlover77 » Sun Jan 06, 2008 3:54 pm

It was 50 degrees here today so I crawled under the Bus today to check out my oil leaks. The one at the fan end of the engine looks like an easy fix! It appears to be leaking ever so slightly at the case half bolt just below the oil pump.

Does this bolt pass through a pressurized oil gallery?

I think I can remove the nut, clean everything, and apply a healthy dose of thread sealant to stop the leak.

I ran the engine for over half an hour and no drip from the flywheel end... Weird, but I'm not complaining!
Don

---------------------------
78 Westy
71 Super Beetle Convertible Autostick

"When we let our compassion go, we let go of whatever claim we have to the divine." - Bruce Springsteen

User avatar
Westy78
IAC Addict!
Location: Stumptown OR
Status: Offline

Post by Westy78 » Sun Jan 06, 2008 5:15 pm

That should be a stud from the other half of the case and not a through bolt in that location. Are you sure it's not leaking from the pump?
Chorizo, it's what's for breakfast.

User avatar
vwlover77
IAC Addict!
Location: North Canton, Ohio
Status: Offline

Post by vwlover77 » Sun Jan 06, 2008 7:23 pm

Sorry - bad terminology on my part. It is indeed the stud (with nut and washer) that appears to be leaking. I was carefully checking for the source of the leak by using the corner of a paper towel to try to wick up any leaking oil. It did not seem to be flowing down to this location from the pump, but coming from behind the washer and along the threads of the stud.

I guess it can't hurt to try to seal it up.

I'm still curious to know if the stud passes through an oil gallery on the driver's side of the case...
Don

---------------------------
78 Westy
71 Super Beetle Convertible Autostick

"When we let our compassion go, we let go of whatever claim we have to the divine." - Bruce Springsteen

User avatar
Amskeptic
IAC "Help Desk"
IAC "Help Desk"
Status: Offline

Post by Amskeptic » Mon Jan 07, 2008 2:48 pm

vwlover77 wrote:Sorry - bad terminology on my part. It is indeed the stud (with nut and washer) that appears to be leaking. I was carefully checking for the source of the leak by using the corner of a paper towel to try to wick up any leaking oil. It did not seem to be flowing down to this location from the pump, but coming from behind the washer and along the threads of the stud.

I guess it can't hurt to try to seal it up.

I'm still curious to know if the stud passes through an oil gallery on the driver's side of the case...
It is a known oil leak spot, it leaks only due to immersion. Remove the washer and nut, clean the case around the hole and make sure it has finished weeping, apply Permatex Aviation or case sealant to the stud threads, then the washer side that faces the case, then the nut side that faces the washer. That'll do ya.
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

User avatar
vwlover77
IAC Addict!
Location: North Canton, Ohio
Status: Offline

Post by vwlover77 » Mon Jan 07, 2008 7:45 pm

Wow, it was 60+ degrees here tonight, so I sealed it up per Colin's instructions. But, I only drove it back down the street to its winter storage garage, so the jury will be out for a little while.
Don

---------------------------
78 Westy
71 Super Beetle Convertible Autostick

"When we let our compassion go, we let go of whatever claim we have to the divine." - Bruce Springsteen

User avatar
vwlover77
IAC Addict!
Location: North Canton, Ohio
Status: Offline

Post by vwlover77 » Tue May 05, 2009 7:13 pm

Thought I'd revive this thread a bit.

Today marks 5000 miles since the rebuild. It's still running great. :cheers:

The little oil leak in the previous post is long-gone, but I still have some "weeping" from the front of the engine. It's either the flywheel seal or one of the threaded oil galley plugs leaking. I clean off the oil residue from the bottom of the engine periodically and keep the engine oil topped off. It doesn't even drip on the floor. Good enough for me!!!
Don

---------------------------
78 Westy
71 Super Beetle Convertible Autostick

"When we let our compassion go, we let go of whatever claim we have to the divine." - Bruce Springsteen

User avatar
airkooledchris
IAC Addict!
Location: Eureka, California
Contact:
Status: Offline

Post by airkooledchris » Wed May 13, 2009 10:04 pm

vwlover77 wrote:Thought I'd revive this thread a bit.

Today marks 5000 miles since the rebuild. It's still running great. :cheers:

The little oil leak in the previous post is long-gone, but I still have some "weeping" from the front of the engine. It's either the flywheel seal or one of the threaded oil galley plugs leaking. I clean off the oil residue from the bottom of the engine periodically and keep the engine oil topped off. It doesn't even drip on the floor. Good enough for me!!!
congrats.
id put my money on the flywheel seal, as the dreaded oil galley plugs would usually dump a whole lot (or will soon if that really is the source)

a little drip drip here and there is what I had before tackling the flywheel seal. if you do that seal, which isn't that big of a deal (but a full weekend) - get the good red kind of seal. Viton I think they are called.
1979 California Transporter

User avatar
vwlover77
IAC Addict!
Location: North Canton, Ohio
Status: Offline

Post by vwlover77 » Thu May 14, 2009 12:52 pm

I replaced the flywheel seal during the initial engine re-do.

Pulled the engine again a few months later - polished the flywheel hub with emery cloth and installed another new seal.

Still drips about the same amount, maybe a little less.

Not gonna sweat it!
Don

---------------------------
78 Westy
71 Super Beetle Convertible Autostick

"When we let our compassion go, we let go of whatever claim we have to the divine." - Bruce Springsteen

User avatar
airkooledchris
IAC Addict!
Location: Eureka, California
Contact:
Status: Offline

Post by airkooledchris » Thu May 14, 2009 1:20 pm

i didn't see that you had this since the initial re-do.

mine showed up about 12k miles into a fresh rebuild/install which I thought was a little soon, but I can't rule out overfilling the oil a bit at some point and probably blowing it out.
1979 California Transporter

User avatar
vwlover77
IAC Addict!
Location: North Canton, Ohio
Status: Offline

Post by vwlover77 » Thu May 14, 2009 7:43 pm

airkooledchris wrote:i didn't see that you had this since the initial re-do.
Yeah, that's my dirty little secret... :drunken:

Actually, I think I covered it in another thread somewhere.....

viewtopic.php?t=4026

Thought I nailed it that time, but I didn't.
Don

---------------------------
78 Westy
71 Super Beetle Convertible Autostick

"When we let our compassion go, we let go of whatever claim we have to the divine." - Bruce Springsteen

Post Reply