1.8 8v nom nom nomming oil

[Mk1DUB]

Ok, so I have a 1.8 8v JH motor... with a breather on the oil return (no idea what it's called, the part where oil returns to the carb from the head of the motor). So it basically just evaporates oil into the air. Would this cause me to go through ALL of the oil that I just put in the motor about 1.5 months ago? Because if not, then I have a serious oil leak.

Now the engine is pretty dirty, so I can't see fresh oil being dumped anywhere except for the breather, though the oil pump/oil filter/distributor area is "wet". I realise that this is going to be one part deciphering my lingo and one part knowledge and experience... so, please help if you can :p

I will post pics of the concerning areas, once the sun is up.

[sports racer]

Is there an oil patch on the ground where you park the car overnight?

[Mk1DUB]

nothing noticeable, I'll take a look in a minute when I roll out. Good point though, if there is nothing on the ground then am I to assume that the breather is just exhausting all of the oil?

[dubstar]

Start by degreasing and pressure washing your engine. Then you can look for leaks. Does it blow smoke?

[Mk1DUB]

It doesn't smoke out of the exhaust and there wasn't any oil on the ground. Perhaps it's just evaporating all of the oil and I should put a return tube into the carb?

When I pressure wash the engine, could I do this at the coin operated car washes? Otherwise I don't have another option >.> if I can, what should I cover with plastic bags before getting into it? carb/distributor/coil?

While I have the attention of the learned mk1 owners I was also thinking of replacing the mechanical pump with an aftermarket electric pump (high volume, low pressure) as I get fuel starvation in hard corners... pretty sure the float bowl on my 32/36 webers is going low because of the mech pump (also the car requires manual feeding of fuel into the carb cylinders if the car sits for 3+ days, making me think that the pump is **** anyway). So my question is, any advice on bypassing the mech pump? should I leave it in the car? Remove it? if so, how do I blank off the mounting point? And, I guess, is this something I should be attempting?

Cheers guys, I'll owe many beers by the time I'm done with this car

[ericcs]

to go through that much oil in that short time, i would think you would be seeing oil vapour coming out the breather. the only other way to prove that theory would be to fit a catch can instead of the breather. otherwise get someone to follow you and give the engine a bit of a workout, and see if if it's definitely not smoking.

[sports racer]

Get rid of the mechanical pump. Fit an electric one down low near the fuel tank so it's gravity fed. Electric pumps are great at pumping fuel, lousy at sucking. You can make up a blanking plate to cover the hole where the mechanical pump is located.

Wrapping the coil, dizzy and carby in plastic when you clean is a good idea. If you don't the car will still run but you might have to leave it for several minutes to dry out. Worse case scenerio is 30 min.

+2 on the catch can. You're loosing a lot of oil and it has to be going somewhere. Is the back of the car covered in a thin film of oil spots, especially below the bumper?

[dubstar]

Disagree about the need for an electric pump. A good working standard pump delivers the perfect volume and low pressure for a weber 32/36. I don't know if running out of gas while cornering is indicative of the pump. Might be that you need to set your float level again.

[Mk1DUB]

So if I rev the engine up by hand, from the carby, I get oil mist coming from the breather... enough that I would believe that to be the culprit as the carby manifold, brake vaccuum and other pipes in that area, are all wet with oil in a large spray pattern directly around the breather. I will be picking up a catch can from supercheap today... otherwise I'm just wasteing oil >.>

As for the pump, 2 quick questions. a) I had the carby professionally tuned only 1.5-2 months ago, could the float level need adjusting already? and b) Does the fuel pump eject fuel through a pressure relief valve? It is regularly wet right around the top and on the body of the engine, as if it was spraying fuel out... that was a 2nd reason as to why I was just going to remove it and go electric (after reading about my carbies and finding out that they need high vol/low pressure.

It does go through fuel quite quickly, though that's probably a result of driving heavy footed and from running rich as we come in to summer (haven't bothered to change the jet over yet) but I had thought that going with an electric pump would solve a few problems (fuel pressure/volume, the potential leak/relief valve issue, the problem with leaving it sitting for 3 days and being too weak to pump fuel without feeding the carby manually). Any input in regards to these would also be greatly appreciated

thanks.

[Vinda76]

I have siezed an engine before due to the PCV pipe to the carb dumping oil into the carb and subsequently running out of oil. It was years ago and I didn't investigate why, though I assume blow-by past worn rings/bore pressuring the crankcase. So be careful and try and find cause, seized engine at >120ks is not fun.

Fuel starvation during cornering hard is more likely swirl pot in the fuel tank not working correctly, are these long hard corners or short hard corners? The swirl pots differ dependent on year and engine type, what year is the car and what engine did it originally come with?

Having to prime the carb is a concern as the fuel pump should hold the fuel (do to vacuum) forever, so have you got a fuel leak in the fuel lines?

Gav

[Mk1DUB]

It has a 1.8 8v JH motor, it's a 1976 LS and would of originally had a 1.6 I imagine. Since it does go through fuel quite quickly, there could definitely be a leak... the fuel pump area is often wet after a drive... any advice on how to check for a leak? I'm going to install the catch can and outlet back to the carb, dump the oil and replace the filter and refill with fresh oil, then I had planned to replace the fuel filter... which I was going to ask the forum for help on how to do this... I guess it makes sense to check for leaks at the same time.

The car isn't juttery or starved under normal driving conditions.. I've only experienced starvation during cornerning once or twice and it could of just been because the engine wasn't warmed up yet. I've also only had to prime the carb once, when I came back after 3 days in QLD and the car had been sitting.

to summarise: oil catch can install, replace oil/filter then I'll monitor my oil levels and report back if I'm still losing oil and can see any problem areas.. check for fuel leaks and replace fuel filter. advice on the fuel related stuff??

[dubstar]

It sounds like you have a fuel leak. Just replace the fuel pump, that way you don't have to worry about buying an electric fuel pump, wiring it in and then getting a fuel pressure regulator.

[Peter Jones]

A compression test might give some indication of the state of the rings, or even better, a leak down test.

Diverting the breather into as catch can as mentioned above will quickly show you if it's blow by too.

Generally the oil can only go out the exhaust or on the ground.

If it's blowing smoke when you take off at the lights or first thing in the morning it might be valve stem seals.

Those Webers are notorious for fuel starvation when cornering, it's due to the fuel float pivot being 90° off to where it would normally be when they're mounted on a Passat manifold. Same carb on an Escort works fine. Judicious setting of the float level seems to be the answer.

[Mk1DUB]

Thanks Pete, as usual :p

I have noticed smoke/steam coming out very briefly when accelerating hard from the lights, though I can't recall if this happened once it was up to temp or only when cold...

I do have some audible valve noise when cold and less noticeable once warm. I had intended on doing a valve adjustment and stem seal replacement when I get back later this month. If the issue is excessive blow-by, could I enlist your help one evening if I were to drive over? More than willing to pay for time/parts, just like to learn to do these things myself and lack the knowledge/tools at this time. Plus it'd be good to finally meet someone from the club that appreciates the car...

[Mk1DUB]

Here is a picture of the dizzy base/fuel pump area... it's usually wet like this after an average drive.