Itinerant Air-Cooled

The exact RPM really doesn't matter. Just rev up the engine until the light no longer advances and make that to be the 28º BTDC (hose(s) off).

Any chance you could find Mobil 1 15-50 at Walmart in the 5 quart container? My oil filter of choice is a NAPA Gold here in the states.

Update - we do have a tach so we made sure the timing is straight and we are good there. The timing at idle is a little off (10 degrees ATDC) which I think Colin said is fine. We did an oil and filter change (Castrol 20W50 and Napa Gold). No leaks and all is good there. It seems very ambient temp and altitude dependent. I do need to work on closing some holes and gaps in the sheet metal, which may be a piece of it. Running highway speeds anywhere from 225 to 255 Fahrenheit at 50 to 60mph.

And now today I've noticed a new symptom that I think is transmission related - starting a new thread for that now and would love feedback!

83AC wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 01, 2017 3:57 pm

Update - we do have a tach so we made sure the timing is straight and we are good there. The timing at idle is a little off (10 degrees ATDC) which I think Colin said is fine. We did an oil and filter change (Castrol 20W50 and Napa Gold). No leaks and all is good there. It seems very ambient temp and altitude dependent. I do need to work on closing some holes and gaps in the sheet metal, which may be a piece of it. Running highway speeds anywhere from 225 to 255 Fahrenheit at 50 to 60mph.

And now today I've noticed a new symptom that I think is transmission related - starting a new thread for that now and would love feedback!

Stupid gauges. What if your VDO gauge is just getting stupid? The sender has a thermistor that could be getting oil-logged and changing its resistance, I dunno, but when i don't trust my gauges, I go into senses-mode. At 255*, the dipstick would be too hot to pull out comfortably after you fill the gas tank and way too hot to touch down at the marks. The oil would be smoking lightly, and I would also think that the insides of the valve covers would be getting a little brown burn coating on the inside surfaces. Use your senses. And get a laser reading off the case. Hot 90* + hill climbs should give you a 250-265* at the left rear corner of the crankcase, anything above that suggests you do have a hot problem.
What elevation are you at?
Colin

Elevations have been varying - about 4700 plus currently and Butte earlier today was higher, but temps were lower today and we seemed to do okay then. Also have been at elevations over 6000 and will be for the next few days while in and around Yellowstone and Jackson.

When temps have been up to 250 I've never had a problem taking out dipstick, using a paper towel to clean it, and no smoking oil. So that seems to be a plus. May invest in an IR thermo gun for some peace of mind.

For the temp reading did you mean case near cylinder 3 or 4? I hear a tok tok tok coming from what I think is cylinder 3 and makes me nervous. It doesn't seem to change tempo or sound when driving, not that I have heard anyway.

83AC wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 01, 2017 7:09 pm

For the temp reading did you mean case near cylinder 3 or 4?

The diagonal corner of the case near the oil filter, just up from the air stream:

I still like retarded timing. If it were me I would remove & plug both of the vacuum lines going to the distributor can and time this thing to about 30º +/- 2º BTDC when all of the centrifical advance this distributor has to offer is all in. I normally like the 28º side but at altitude I like it closer to 30º. Set the idle then plug in the vacuum hoses. Just note, but don't change, the timing when you are all hosed up. Take it for a drive.

Make sure those vacuum hoses are not switched around. I think you vanagon guys have some sort of idle stabilizer that we bus guys don't have, so deal with that accordingly.

I don't see where the oil temps are an issue unless you are letting it climb above 260F sustained in the sump. That means that the oil after hitting the cooler is lower than that, It means that the oil shed off the heads and pistons is higher. All in all if you keep it near the full mark and change it every 3,000 to 5,000 miles you will be fine. As to tics and tocs when you have hydraulic lifters - you can't tell sh_t what is really going on like you can with solid lifters. A solid lifter and cam will let you monitor the valve and cam wear easily. Not so with hydraulic but the whole idea of a hydraulic is you don't want to be bothered with those things and that is why VW put them in. If you have hydraulic lifters and are monitoring every tic and toc then it is like telling your kids "I really don't want to know where you were or what time you got in , but where were you and when did you get in?"

Ive got an 83 AirCooled federal. there is no idle stabilizer unit in mine (im ass-uming you mean the box with the two round plugs sandwiched between the ignition coil and ICU module on CA or later WBX vanagon models). i have a VDO head and oil temp with the sensor at the taco plate. Recently i fixed my distributor vac can, (SVDA, electronic) and set timing at around 30 with the hose off. i took a loop trip atlanta - charlotte - asheville. my head temps were between 350-375, and oil temps 225-240 depending on the terrain. ambient @75-85. averaged 18mpg@65-75mph. oil is Mobil1 15W50 with a wix(napa gold) filter.

just throwing it out here for reference as i run the same boat.

Problem - or lack of problem- solved. Got an infrared thermometer. Wouldn't you know the gauge will read 260 while the case measures 210. Never had an issue to begin with . . . No worries just a very anxious driver. And the noise is an exhaust leak, not lifters or pistons etc. So that issue was a non issue and we have been traveling with good temps, even when ambient was pushing 90 at elevations above 6k in the sun cruising at 55. 18-20mpg consistently.