Aftermath of the MOTB 2015

[rzeller]

Aftermath of the MOTB 2015:

Well, circumstances forced me expand my winter project on the buggy to having to remove the hood to get to the gas tank. While at the MOTB this year I did a little sand plowing (wanted to show Bruce that his little car was great for smoothing out ruts) and did have a passing thought about where all that sand was going....


... not quite as bad as a Scott Bussard experience but still a lot more than I was expecting. I'm afraid to look in the tunnel since I don't have a front inspection plate installed That's now on the list for this winter.

[vincent9993]

The sand underneath your hood appears lighter than it is! I've seen that picture before...

[rzeller]

The sand underneath your hood appears lighter than it is! I've seen that picture before...

That is very true. It was deep and stuck. It packed in those recessed areas around the sending unit and up to the filler neck. I had to use a heavy brush to break it lose while vacuuming. Additionally, a lot of it had blown into the cabin area (floor and seats) not to mention on all the wiring. Imagine this picture... me laying on my back under the dash pulling connectors. Each time I did it I got a face full of sand. I felt like I was at the beach in my garage

[Tom-Kathleen]

Bud - you may want to clean off your engine & transaxle also. I am having to rebuild the engine in the "beater" due to a bearing issue, and it was a real job to get all the sand off of the slightly oil covered engine. A pressure washer would have been nice to have. Tom

[rzeller]

Bud - you may want to clean off your engine & transaxle also. I am having to rebuild the engine in the "beater" due to a bearing issue, and it was a real job to get all the sand off of the slightly oil covered engine. A pressure washer would have been nice to have. Tom

Tom, thanks. I'm actually pulling the motor next weekend. I'm having an oil pressure issue (WAY too high) that I need to sort out. I don't run gauges for a reason (ignorance is bliss as Sue says). I put a temporary oil pressure gauge on it over the weekend and freaked myself out. I've been running it that way for a year (trip to NY and back). My buggy looks very sad in the garage right now.

[Tom-Kathleen]

Do you have a "stuck" oil pressure spring or plunger? Tom

[rzeller]

Do you have a "stuck" oil pressure spring or plunger? Tom

I don't know yet Tom. That's on the list of things to check. I'm also going to check on what size gear I have in the external/spin-on oil pump/filter. I hear 30 and larger are common. Looking to reduce that if I can. Do they make small geared ones?

[Tom-Kathleen]

I run 30MM oil pumps with remote filter, 30W oil, and don't have excessive oil pressure. What I do get with that combination is @ 15psi pressure at idle in 100F + temps. What is your excessive pressure number? Tom

[rzeller]

I run 30MM oil pumps with remote filter, 30W oil, and don't have excessive oil pressure. What I do get with that combination is @ 15psi pressure at idle in 100F + temps. What is your excessive pressure number? Tom

Tom, here is the data I gathered. I can't speak to the accuracy of the gauge itself so I compared results on two different 1776cc motors I have (one in the buggy and one in the bus. Both in the same garage - similar outside temp).

I hooked up a pressure gauge and took the following readings from the buggy in the garage - temp in the garage ~60. Oil is Rotella (don't know the exact viscosity right now but guessing 15w-40) + 7oz of STP oil treatment
Cold idle - 80 -85lbs (actually went up as the motor ran)
Cold/cool (running for about 5 mins) -
3000 rpm - 90 lbs
2000 rpm - 80 lbs

Warm idle (running ~10 mins in the garage, did not drive it, probably not very warm) - 75 lbs

Drove the buggy about 5 miles, outside temps in the 50's, probably not as hot as it needed to be but I was getting ready to pull the hood to get the gas tank out.
Warm/hot -
2000 rpm - 76-78lbs
2500 rpm - 87lbs
3000 rpm - (three different readings at different times) 89,84,87 lbs
3500 rpm - (two different readings at different times) 85,86 lbs
Warm/hot Idle (in the garage when I got back from the drive) - ~900 rpm - 58lbs

Since I don't have a real baseline for the gauge I decided to put it on the 1776 that is in the bus. It is a MOFOCO motor with about 10K miles on it. Didn't drive the bus but did a cold start and let it warm up (with a little rev'ing). Oil is Pennzoil (I think) 10w-30:
Cold idle - 62lbs and decreased to 57lbs
Approx 2000 rpm - 70lbs
Warm idle (about 10 mins running) - 45lbs

[Tom-Kathleen]

2 different engines with (really) high oil pressure? Are you sure the gauge is correct? Sounds fishy to me. BTW - Rotella doesn't have Zinc in it anymore, if that is why you are using it. Tom

[rzeller]

2 different engines with (really) high oil pressure? Are you sure the gauge is correct? Tom

Yeah, not sure on the gauge. It is a brand new Bosch mechanical or whatever you call one that has a small hose that the oil goes into (not electrical). The purpose for hooking the same gauge to two motors was to compare numbers. One motor is leaking oil from various places (the one in the buggy) and the other one is not. Unless and until I can put a known working gauge on both motors, this is the best I can do. I certainly don't consider the readings in the hot range to be overly accurate since I didn't run either motor very long.

[Tom-Kathleen]

Can you get your hands on a small mechanical gauge that screws right into the port for the VW idiot light? You won't be able to see it while driving, but it should work for the test that you need. Tom

[rzeller]

Can you get your hands on a small mechanical gauge that screws right into the port for the VW idiot light? You won't be able to see it while driving, but it should work for the test that you need. Tom

I haven't seen one. I'm pulling the motor this weekend to start digging into it. I have the gas tank out of the buggy right now and heading to Dr. Zarkov's for surgery so running it much more is doubtful.

[pongo]

will the motor be going to the Dr.s laboratory also?

[rzeller]

will the motor be going to the Dr.s laboratory also?

No, the motor is going to a local surgeon for examination and repairs (if needed). I've also got "something special" planned as a facelift of sorts for it's appearance