Something Wrong With My 69 VW Bus!!!!

[HUGGY]

I recently did a complete rebuild of my 69/71 bus engine. I've heard that they ALL leak some oil. Mine has been running for about three months and it is completely dry at all the seams and gaskets. I have to keep checking to make sure I have oil in the damn thing. It's driving me crazy!!!

What did I do wrong???????

 

[Sarah G]

I recently did a complete rebuild of my 69/71 bus engine. I've heard that they ALL leak some oil. Mine has been running for about three months and it is completely dry at all the seams and gaskets. I have to keep checking to make sure I have oil in the damn thing. It's driving me crazy!!!

What did I do wrong???????

You didn't just buy a new one.

 

[HUGGY]

I recently did a complete rebuild of my 69/71 bus engine. I've heard that they ALL leak some oil. Mine has been running for about three months and it is completely dry at all the seams and gaskets. I have to keep checking to make sure I have oil in the damn thing. It's driving me crazy!!!

What did I do wrong???????

You didn't just buy a new one.

Probably should have. The rebuild cost just over $1000 in parts!

 

[Sarah G]

I recently did a complete rebuild of my 69/71 bus engine. I've heard that they ALL leak some oil. Mine has been running for about three months and it is completely dry at all the seams and gaskets. I have to keep checking to make sure I have oil in the damn thing. It's driving me crazy!!!

What did I do wrong???????

You didn't just buy a new one.

Probably should have. The rebuild cost just over $1000 in parts!

It probably doesn't even have air, right? Do you visit those Automobile websites? Sometimes they have all the answers. I even look at them sometimes when my car is acting up just so I can talk to the mechanic.

 

[Ernie S.]

I recently did a complete rebuild of my 69/71 bus engine. I've heard that they ALL leak some oil. Mine has been running for about three months and it is completely dry at all the seams and gaskets. I have to keep checking to make sure I have oil in the damn thing. It's driving me crazy!!!

What did I do wrong???????

Once it's warmed up, let it idle for 5 minutes and have somebody goose it while you watch the exhaust. If it blows a cloud of white smoke, it's valve guide seals, or the guides themselves.
You did stagger the ring gaps, didn't you?

 

[Dot Com]

pancake engine? like the Porsche? I'm not familiar w/ those. I had a 1493cc single-port that almost never gave me any trouble. Mine didn't have much in the way of gaskets. Most of it was metal to metal.

 

[Warrior102]

What did I do wrong???????

You posted this query on USMB, dumbass.

Don't those POS VW Peace Bus owners have a fucking forum?

Ask those asswipes, if they're not too busy spitting on soldiers, burning the U.S. flag or protesting some Goddamned war.

 

[tjvh]

I recently did a complete rebuild of my 69/71 bus engine. I've heard that they ALL leak some oil. Mine has been running for about three months and it is completely dry at all the seams and gaskets. I have to keep checking to make sure I have oil in the damn thing. It's driving me crazy!!!

What did I do wrong???????

You shouldn't have intercepted that joint while you were overhauling your Choomwagon.

 

[HUGGY]

I recently did a complete rebuild of my 69/71 bus engine. I've heard that they ALL leak some oil. Mine has been running for about three months and it is completely dry at all the seams and gaskets. I have to keep checking to make sure I have oil in the damn thing. It's driving me crazy!!!

What did I do wrong???????

Once it's warmed up, let it idle for 5 minutes and have somebody goose it while you watch the exhaust. If it blows a cloud of white smoke, it's valve guide seals, or the guides themselves.
You did stagger the ring gaps, didn't you?

I did a leak test on the heads and they were both tight so I left the valves alone. All I did was polish the valve head area and hand fly cut where the cyl tops meet the heads.

No smoke. I cross hatched the cylinders 30 deg and replaced the single piece oil rings with three piece. More difficult to get right but worth it. It used about a quarter of a qt in the ring break in but it hasn't used any oil at all in the last two months.

 

[HUGGY]

You didn't just buy a new one.

Probably should have. The rebuild cost just over $1000 in parts!

It probably doesn't even have air, right? Do you visit those Automobile websites? Sometimes they have all the answers. I even look at them sometimes when my car is acting up just so I can talk to the mechanic.

You mean "air conditioning"? Nope! I could add it but It has a Westfalia top with leuvered windows on both sides so I can get quite a bit of air movement thruout the bus. There are several good "bus" sites. I like SAMBA. It's just bus. I built my first VW engine back in 73... a 67 bug I did a complete restoration of. I know plenty of VW mechanics..but when it comes to most things automotive I just talk to myself.

 

[Warrior102]

Hav Bob Collum put his mouth on your hose and see if that helps.

 

[Ernie S.]

I misunderstood your post I thought oil was disappearing without a leak.

So, it doesn't leave a puddle like a Harley Davidson of that era does. Maybe it's embarrassed. You see, Harleys didn't leak. They marked their spot.

 

[Warrior102]

I misunderstood your post I thought oil was disappearing without a leak.

So, it doesn't leave a puddle like a Harley Davidson of that era does. Maybe it's embarrassed. You see, Harleys didn't leak. They marked their spot.

Speaking of HDs - rode an Ultra Classic all last week in the U.K. What a fucking blast!

 

[Ernie S.]

How did you make out with all those lunatics driving on the wrong side of the road?

I rented a Harley in Jamaica and without the point of reference sitting on the wrong side of a car gives you, it was next to impossible to stay to the right.

 

[HUGGY]

I misunderstood your post I thought oil was disappearing without a leak.

So, it doesn't leave a puddle like a Harley Davidson of that era does. Maybe it's embarrassed. You see, Harleys didn't leak. They marked their spot.

Ya...It wasn't exactly a trick post... just back handed bragging...

I've built a couple hundred motors since I was 12. First one was an eng/trans in a Mini my dad brought over to the States from England in 61. Had that sucker spread out all over the front room for about a month. The main problem with the first transverse English engines is that they shared the same oil as the trans. Blow a trans...blow an engine..

The mechanic in East Sound up on Orcas Island refused to work on a car with a "sideways" engine. So I being me..convinced my mom I was up to the task and she let me use the front room as a workshop for a few weeks and I fixed the trans..a few bearings..(first-reverse gear/ 2nd 3rd 4th gear syncros) and replaced the bearings/ oil pump and rings and got a pretty good mostly self taught( I did have the factory manual) first effort at major car repair. I had fixed a few small gas motors around the farm before that so I wasn't completely over my head. In all fairness and truth that Mini did leak a bit after I worked on it. Hey! what-a-ya want from a pre teen ager? No matter.. I raced em autocross style in my late teens and early tewenties and fact is that ALL Minis leak from various places. Turns out British tractor motors were never originally designed to put up with the stress of an automobile's forces.

Ya..I saw the automotive forum was supposedly dying and decided to contribute a thread on my ol bus I just re-engined.



PS.. For you others that didn't "get my little joke"..

Thanks for the kindness and help!

 

[JWBooth]

I misunderstood your post I thought oil was disappearing without a leak.

So, it doesn't leave a puddle like a Harley Davidson of that era does. Maybe it's embarrassed. You see, Harleys didn't leak. They marked their spot.

Ya...It wasn't exactly a trick post... just back handed bragging...

I've built a couple hundred motors since I was 12. First one was an eng/trans in a Mini my dad brought over to the States from England in 61. Had that sucker spread out all over the front room for about a month. The main problem with the first transverse English engines is that they shared the same oil as the trans. Blow a trans...blow an engine..

The mechanic in East Sound up on Orcas Island refused to work on a car with a "sideways" engine. So I being me..convinced my mom I was up to the task and she let me use the front room as a workshop for a few weeks and I fixed the trans..a few bearings..(first-reverse gear/ 2nd 3rd 4th gear syncros) and replaced the bearings/ oil pump and rings and got a pretty good mostly self taught( I did have the factory manual) first effort at major car repair. I had fixed a few small gas motors around the farm before that so I wasn't completely over my head. In all fairness and truth that Mini did leak a bit after I worked on it. Hey! what-a-ya want from a pre teen ager? No matter.. I raced em autocross style in my late teens and early tewenties and fact is that ALL Minis leak from various places. Turns out British tractor motors were never originally designed to put up with the stress of an automobile's forces.

Ya..I saw the automotive forum was supposedly dying and decided to contribute a thread on my ol bus I just re-engined.



PS.. For you others that didn't "get my little joke"..

Thanks for the kindness and help!

I've got a 76 Super that I have to find the time to do the body, paint, head liner, clutch, carb, and engine on....