Aircooled VW South Africa

Took the bus out this morning to piston ring lekker drive but still always nerves.

From Roodepoort to London road went smooth except the hills on the way had to gear down to 3rd and averaged 50 - 60 km/h concidering its a 1600 tp in the bus is that normal as 4th gear km just drop.
As we got close to the piston ring club my Gene Berg dipstick came into play and oil light was flashing ,stopped bus did not switch off and check engine bay to see if dipstick had made contact and yes so oil pressure must have been ok?
Jumped back in the bus and carried on my way no oil light flashing.

On the way home bus drove like a champ but take in mind no big hills as going there.
80-90 KM/H smoothly on the way home easy throttle to keep at that speed.
BUT as we approached Beyers oil light flashing stopped jumped out checked to see if dipstick is the cause due to heat ,yip puled off took exit and drove through Fairlands home lekker no concern.

At home tested Gene Berg dipstick on stove and it earthed at 210f so works like it should.

Could incorrect timing or fueling cause the as Im sure its set correctly as she's smooth and runs lekker even tappets are a 100%.When going up the hills in 3rd at 50-60 km/h oil light never came on.

Honesty section the hoover plate is still not fitted will this be the missing link.

Dont want to miss the Kombi camp out this year.

Any advice or check will be greatly appreciated.

If you have just do-up the engine, it will be tight.

You should not exceed 3000rpm, as this is the max cooling speed of the fan.

When you go to 90 with a tight engine the cooling will not keep up with the heat generated by the engine and will start to overheat.

This I have worked out by having a Temp Gauge as well as a rev counter fitted during the fleetline run in period.

Now your gearing should give you approx. 3000 rpm at 75 Kmh. so when the oil light comes on again co down to 75 or change to 3 rd gear.

She will soon loosen up and run right.

Good luck with it.

Herman

I'M SURE THAT THERE WILL BE A FEW THAT CONTADICT ME BUT I HAVE FOUND, AS HAVE YOU; THAT OUR BUSSES DON'T LIKE HILLS EITHER.
I BELIEVE THAT YOU JUST HAVE TO LEARN TO GO WITH WHAT YOUR BUS WANTS TO DO.
IN MY OPINION, GEARING DOWN AND DOING THE SPEEDS YOU ARE IS THE CORRECT THING AND QUITE NORMAL.

Thanks guys,what is the best driving style to run the engine in.

What works for me is, keep the rpm's at 3000 or below,

do not labour the engine,

go down a gear, do not exceed 80Kph even on down hills,

as you need them to cool the engine from the up hills increase.

OMO

Herman

Initial run-in procedure makes all the difference and 75% of the run-in will be done in just a few km.

The key when running an engine in is not to let it run at constant speed.

On first drive with a new engine, accelerate to 1/3 of total revs then let revs drop to half that and accelerate again to 1/3. Repeat. Do the same thing in all gears. After some time, start revving to 1/2 of total revs and repeat the process. After only a few km of this your engine will be mostly run in. After about 250km you'll be able to drive at 75% of maximum revs. Do your first oil change at 250km, then drive the car gently (max 75% revs and vary speed all the time). After 1,000km change the oil again and then you can drive it like you stole it. After that follow the normal oil change cycle (every 3,000k to 5,000km depending on conditions; oil is cheap and engines are expensive and type1 ACVWs have no oil filtration system). A new rebuild can take up to 5,000km to loosen up fully.

I'm told the reason to vary speed continuously during the run-in is that the most important part of running in is to get the piston rings to bed properly. When you open the throttle, pressure builds up in the cylinders; when you close the throttle, pressure builds up in the crankcase. Alternating this pressure build-up apparently assists the rings to bed in quickly.

Thanks all.

Use a SAE 40 not multi grade as multi grade has Teflon that coats the bores in Teflon and the rings don't bed in properly straight SAE allows the rings to bed in. Don't idle the engine for more than 5 minutes as it can glaze the bores and the engine will smoke
running in as Fig states you need to accelerate hard and deaccelerate its important that you accelerate hard and let it slow done on its compression as to get the best results. Just my 2 cents worth.

I TOOK A PIC FROM THE BOOK "HOW TO KEEP YOUR VW ALIVE" BUT I HAVE TO WAIT FOR CYNDI TO HELP ME PUT IT ON MY COMPUTER BUT BASICALLY I USE THE 20, 40, 60 PRINCIPAL WHEN I DRIVE THE 1600. (THESE ARE THE SPEEDS WHEN I LOOK TO CHANGE GEARS BOTH UP AND DOWN)
THE 2L I TAKE SLIGHTLY HIGHER 25, 45/50, 65/70 WHEN ACCELERATING AND 60, 40, 20 WHEN CHANGING DOWN.

Thanks
I have a 1600 Tp with a 1700 gearbox. What should my speeds be for gear change 1st to 4th.
My crank pull has a notch on the outer flange and a groove to the left on the inner and set the timing on the inner groove with a timing light. Dwell is 48.

Will the carb setting for volume screw and bypass screw cause the engine to get hot. She idles smooth and a very slight flat spot but very slight at times on acceleration.
When cruising does the carb setting come in play for running rich or lean as my understanding is air fuel mixture main jet that takes over.
Done about 300km on new motor and would like to take it to the vaal Saturday. So if I keep her at 75 km/h max will that speed be the best for cooling.

There is plenty info in this thread that I disagree with

Firstly, poor air fuel ratio can cause overheating and so can incorrect timing.

To my knowledge, the best cooling happens at around 3600-3800 rpm

Fig, the reason you load up the engine and then release the throttle is to build heat as you mention, but when you come off the throttle, the vacuum in the cylinders pulls oil up to cool and lubricate the hot rings - it does nothing to cause pressure in the crankcase - this would happen at high throttle with poor ring seal.

Your engine should not need to slow down on light hills.

When you say its a 1600tp mated to a 1700 gearbox, is this the long ratio gearbox like the 2L or the short ratio like the 1600.
As far as I know, there wasnt a 1700 kombi and thus no 1700 gearbox - but I am happy to be wrong.

I run in all my engines with good multigrade oil, never had a problem.
Which oil are you using?

Hoover bits help improve cooling, but wont cause overheathing.

3 rib box from a low light bus, I shortened the spicot shaft to acomedate the 1600.
Using Shell Rimula 15w40

Vintage man wrote: ↑Mon Jan 20, 2020 9:18 pm Using Shell Rimula 15w40

I would use Diesel Oil 15w40 as the diesel type oil can handle more heat before breaking down.

Tony Z wrote: ↑Mon Jan 20, 2020 8:49 pm ...................To my knowledge, the best cooling happens at around 3600-3800 rpm ...............

Totally agree with this statement ...... once run in.

The internal heat generated inside the new engine is so great at high rev's that the cooing can not keep up.

These two curves cross at 3000 rpm, and I have proved that to my self when running in the Fleetline engine after experts told me you can just floor any new aircooled motor.

What happened before I could see the goings on inside the engine, and before fitting the oil temp and rev counter, ...

Yes I cooked the en gin withing 100 Km.

Do your self a favor, get a temp gauge and rev counter, you do not have to fit them, have them in the clove box or mount on a string under the dash till your engine is run in and then take them out.

These two gauges will save you an engine and you will get to understand the driving style needed for an aircooled.

Good luck with it and if you look after the engine it will last.

I Now tow with the motor, run long distances at high speed with pleasure.

OMO

Herman

If you tested dipstick switch on the stove using boiling water...
At Jhb altitude boiling point of water is around 94 deg C - (201.1 Usa degrees).
One could use oil and a thermometer to test.

Think those Berg dipsticks are over-sensitive.

Type 4 engine option for combis started in 1972 until 1973. In74 it became 1800. From 76 was 2L.
Baywindow 1600 and 1700 have same gear ratios.

Thanks to all the input I really appreciate.
Gene Berg dipstick over sensitive make me feel a lot better.
I used oil on the gas stove to test.