Aircooled VW South Africa

Thanks Tony.

I am concerned by the lack of oil spash, hence pulling the rockers off again. Not willing to do any more cranking until that fuel issue is sorted. Hoping it's just an air lock that will clear now that the car is a little more level and the lines are fixed.

Success!

After the adjustment's and another cleaning of the carb for good measure, we got it to start.
Run in went well, but it did seem to burble a bit at closer to 2000rpm. Thermostat opened happily, and the most of it went well... Until we found the oil spill at the back.

Seems that something leaked around the flywheel.... I would guess around 200ml or so... nothing catastrophic. My guess is that it's one of the gallery plugs because it is more on that side of the case. Also hoping that's the case... Don't feel the need to split the damn thing...

Post mortem of the oil and filter shows only tiny flecks of metal in the oil. Nothing significant in size. The grey colour comes from the assembly lube apparently. Will be pulling off the mag plate some time to check further.









https://youtu.be/DYqc_D5SQk8

Even the wife pitched in to monitor oil pressure!
https://youtu.be/ZhVFxzbHgCs

Found the leak... It was the main gallery plug. Although it was still tight, it clearly had been dribbling. Doubled down on pipe sealant and some loctite for good measure.



I don't think the oil pressure is too high, which was my first worry. I wasn't in the car last week, but I think it was 300-400kpa cold during the start of the break in (2000rpm-ish), and seemed to drop to 300kpa toward the end when oil temp reached 60-70degC.
From what I am seeing on various forums, this sounds like it's in the ballpark and will drop off a bit once things loosen up a bit.

Hoping to get the engine in this afternoon and start get up again for a drive!

Well done.
Keep us informed. Always nice to hear of some success stories.

Good work! Glad the oil leak was a simple fix. Enjoy the test drive!

Good news enjoy the drive and let us know how it went.

Now you can stop grinding your teeth

Well done

Thanks guys... Leak seems to have been solved, but can't get the car to idle.

I sense the idle circuit is blocked/dirty because we checked the timing (static 7.5deg BTDC) and backed out the idle screw almost all the way with little to no change.
However it runs really smooth once you open the throttle just a touch, so it seems everything else is working mostly right.
Plan is to soak it overnight in some carb cleaner during the week, blast it clear and to then try again.

It's back on its wheels though, which hasn't happened is some time (engine in). Pleased to see it sits with pretty neutral camber, but the front needs some attention to get it to sit down (the lower right arm was bent years ago in an accident, I am told).

But let me not get ahead of myself... Super eager for a drive first! Thank goodness I am seeing the dentist tomorrow... These teeth are nearly down to their bases!

Glad there is progress I know the feeling. Installed my new engine saturday too after fixing some oil leaks.

cool man, well done
The idle jet is easy to clean, just pull it out and blow it through.
Otherwise, rev up the engine to a high number, then suddenly close the throttle and place a piece of wood over the carb intake at the same time. This is often enough to suck out any gunk in the jets. If it doesnt work, then do the same with the throttle fully open

That really sounds like a brisk way to solve the problem there Tony, but I will take your word on it!

I pulled and cleaned the carb up this evening. Will give it another bash tomorrow... After work... These day jobs really get in the way of doing useful stuff.

Simmy wrote: ↑Sun Jun 21, 2020 6:55 pm Thanks guys... Leak seems to have been solved, but can't get the car to idle.

I sense the idle circuit is blocked/dirty because we checked the timing (static 7.5deg BTDC) and backed out the idle screw almost all the way with little to no change.
However it runs really smooth once you open the throttle just a touch, so it seems everything else is working mostly right.
Plan is to soak it overnight in some carb cleaner during the week, blast it clear and to then try again.

It's back on its wheels though, which hasn't happened is some time (engine in). Pleased to see it sits with pretty neutral camber, but the front needs some attention to get it to sit down (the lower right arm was bent years ago in an accident, I am told).

But let me not get ahead of myself... Super eager for a drive first! Thank goodness I am seeing the dentist tomorrow... These teeth are nearly down to their bases!

Have the exact same problem on my Beetle, and a serious flat spot. Stripped and cleaned the crab four times already, even boiled it in lemon juice. Let me know what you find.

I did exactly the same as you - boiled, blow out, carb cleaner, blow again. I am pretty sure I could now dispense medication with that carb... but I believe that means its not the carb.

I also changed plugs (mine had a gap which I thought was too large, and that it wasnt sparking properly at low RPM), but that made little difference.

But, I did have some success if adjusting the timing to get 28deg BTDC with the vaccuum advance disabled. It still doesnt idle well below 1100RPM, and stutters off idle, because I believe I have advanced it too far.

My next plan is to check for vaccuum leaks, because valves, carb and spark all seem to be fine. Will be spraying some quick start around the manifolds and boots to see if that shows anything.


Note that I do have an issue with the alternator (its not charging), so I am not getting >13V, but that shouldnt make a difference at idle anyway. Just mentioning it, because I cant rule it out as a potential issue.

I finally got the damn thing to comply! It was the timing... Seems that the Engel cam needed more advance than stock... Does that sound normal? It's sitting about 10deg advanced after timing according to the all-out mechanical advance.

Anyway, here is a thoroughly unexciting first drive... Almost not worth posting.
https://youtu.be/kXvPYRPhhWc

But thanks to everyone here for the help and support getting to this point!

Cool, sounds as if it is going and looks like it is going, but not showing it's going.