Pulley question

[crvc]

Just curious, with the Ignitor ignition can the car be timed statically? I've got a timing gun but the light's too weak to be much use before sunset.

Thanks again,

kevin

[Marc]

...You can static-time with no test equipment merely by observing the spark.
Position the crank so the timing mark is a few inches to the left of 12:00, nearing #1 firing position. Switch on the ignition, pull the high-tension wire from the coil out of the distributor cap and hold it ~½" from a good ground. Rotate the crank slowly by hand until the spark occurs and note the crank position. If it's wrong, position the crank at the desired spot, loosen the distributor and turn it slightly clockwise, then CCW until the spark occurs; snug it down, turn the crank slightly clockwise and repeat the first test.

You can also use a table radio to hear the spark. Tune to a quiet spot between stations and turn up the volume. The spark should be audible as a click.

[FJCamper]

Hi Schmooey,

I use the audible click method myself, but no radio. Get your ear very close to the distributor as you turn it and when it fires, you'll hear a faint click from the distributor, presumably from the ignition module.

Can't say this works with all modules under all conditions, but it's been working here. It's possible I'm hearing a spark plug fire and can't isolate the sound.

FJC

[sideshow]

Stick a grounded spark plug and lead on the coil, turn and watch spark. Just like any spark ignition engine.

[crvc]

Still confused. I remove the #1 sparkplug and rotate the crankshaft clockwise til the pulley is on the 7 degrees BTDC mark. At the same time I stick a plastic probe down the sparkplug hole. If the probe doesn't drop into the cylinder I must be at or near the firing point. Is there any other time that the piston is at the top of the cylinder and NOT at the firing stage? IF the key is on and the #1 plug and wire are resting on the block as I move the distributor back-and-forth, I will see the sparkplug give a spark? When I see the spark I tighten the adjustment nut below the distributor? At that point the car is statically timed? BTW, I never took a shop class in high school or my nine years of college.

TIA,

kevin

[Marc]

...Is there any other time that the piston is at the top of the cylinder and NOT at the firing stage?...

Yes. The cam and distributor turn at half the speed of the crankshaft, so the firing event only occurs every other time that the piston approaches TDC. On the alternate times, the engine is completing the exhaust stroke and beginning to draw in a fresh air/fuel charge. http://www.animatedengines.com/otto.html

...the pulley is on the 7 degrees BTDC mark...When I see the spark I tighten the adjustment nut below the distributor? At that point the car is statically timed?...

Yes. But one should always verify by rotating the crankshaft CCW a ways and then repeating the check as you turn it clockwise towards 7.5°BTDC, so that any slack is taken up (there's likely to be a degree or two of "slop" when reversing direction).

[crvc]

So I rotated the pulley til hitting TDC then removed the valve covers. There was 0.06 slack on both of the #1 valves. I kept popping the 16 amp fuses when I attached the timing gun to the coil (+) and ground. Then I tried jumper cables from the battery to the timing gun and it worked. I got 7.5 degrees BTDC and it idles nicely. I drove it to work for the first time since taking the engine out a few weeks ago. I definitely notice less power since this engine doesn't have the racing cam.

But...I still have a drip.

After all this time and effort, I still have an oil drip on the midline at the FRONT of the engine. Maybe I shouldn't have re-used the flywheel seal from the other engine. But it was only six months old. After taking the engine out so many times I've shredded the engine bay seal. While I was in Salt Lake City for my daughter's college graduation I went to Bob's VW and picked up new spark plugs, wires, oil pressure switch and bay seal.

The older block is still on the work bench. Even after draining the oil it leaks residual oil. I noticed a 4" wide stain on the bench this morning.

I guess I can live with the drip if it's not a bad as the other engine.

kevin

[Marc]

...There was 0.06 slack on both of the #1 valves...Maybe I shouldn't have re-used the flywheel seal from the other engine...

I presume you mean .006" valve lash.
Did you install a new O-ring in the flywheel? They don't take kindly to re-use and a leak there will contaminate the clutch before it finds its way to the ground, so would need to be addressed ASAP. I've reused main seals many times, though. Assuming the seal wasn't distorted, the spring wasn't dislodged and the lip wasn't nicked in the process, if one that new is leaking it's likely to be more the fault of the finish on the sealing surface of the flywheel snout. Note that there are seals available with either a single or a double lip, so if there's a groove worn on the snout simply switching to the other style of seal can solve a leak. One can also fudge the installed depth of the seal slightly to shift the lip(s) away from a worn spot. Generally speaking the orange-colored seals on the market are made from a hi-silicone rubber that lasts longer, but tends to wear a groove in the flywheel faster than the OEM black-rubber compound.

[crvc]

Yes, I meant 0.006. I bought the O-ring and flywheel seal early this year. If I opt to pull the engine for the 100th time, I'll put in a new O-ring and seal.

But I'll live with the drip til it gets bad enough to annoy me. I wonder if the dog house is the source of this drip. I replaced the two tapered seals. The oil cooler unbolts with two 13mm nuts and one 10mm nut. But what comes off looks like there may be seals inside it? I didn't try taking it apart to see.

At lunch I wiped the oil up from the garage. I have new oil in the engine and the oil on the concrete was black. Perhaps it's residual old oil that dripped off the engine or tranny?

kevin

[Marc]

Most transmission oil will have a distinctive odor, that's been likened to cat urine. Typically, a leak from the cooler will cause oil droplets to appear along the bottom edge of the fan shroud on the LH side. While it's possible to renew cooler seals with the engine installed, on a doghouse setup with functional thermostat I personally prefer to remove the engine for the job.
I don't know what you mean by "tapered" seals. There do exist adapter seals (most often green in color, rarely they're grey) which are intended for grafting a large-passage cooler to a small-passage case or vise-versa.
On most `71 or newer cases all of the cooler hardware is m8x1.25; however Type IIIs continued to use m6x1.0. Sounds as though your dad reamed out the two holes in the "ears" to accept the 8mm studs on the doghouse adapter but did not drill/tap the blind hole for a larger stud. This is not a big deal, since two out of three should suffice to keep the adapter centered over the seals - you can make a spacer sleeve out of a short piece of tubing, but odds are you'll get away without one, just using a large-O.D. 6mm flat washer under the nut. There are two more seals between the adapter and the cooler itself, and although most consider it good practice to replace all four at the same time it's the two between case & adapter which leak more often. The OEM seals were black; most replacements you'll find these days are orange. They have a THIN flange around their circumference and ~10mm I.D.
There's another seal that comes in the universal gasket set which is 8mm I.D. with a thicker flange - these are for use ONLY on pre`70 Type IIIs which have spacers between the case & cooler, if used where the thin-flange 10mm seals belong they will leak and/or constrict to the point of inhibiting flow to the cooler.
This is what the correct seals for a doghouse cooler on a large-passage case look like (all four are identical, although only two come in the gasket set: http://www.bughaus.com/Oil_Cooler_Seals.jpg

Here's the early Type III seal: http://www.deimosaircooled.com/sites/de ... -151/1.jpg

The "conversion" seals: http://www.deimosaircooled.com/sites/de ... -029/1.jpg

And the pre`70 Type I seal (for use only with small-passage case and small-passage cooler - sometimes white in color): http://www.deimosaircooled.com/sites/de ... -151/1.jpg

[crvc]

This morning on the garage floor there's a smear of oil 3" wide by 8" long. Looking under the car It's definitely dripping from the flywheel seal region. The left side is dry. No dripping at all there. Also there's a small drip coming from the tranny. So probably I need another flywheel seal and O-ring. At least removing the engine and flywheel to replace the seal is a lot easier than removing the sheet metal to get to the oil cooler.

kevin

[Marc]

Be sure to take a good look at the O-ring, there are some lousy ones on the market. There should be no "flash" at the mold line, and the surface should be impregnated with a graphite coating which aids in slipping over the nose of the crank without catching and pinching/nicking.
The seal should be driven in squarely until it's flush with the surrounding metal or slightly deeper, where it'll be stopped by a step in the bore. Drive it in only by the extreme outer edge so as to not deform it. Check the surface of the flywheel snout where the seal lip rides and polish it if needed with some emery paper or fine sandpaper.

http://www.bughaus.com/flywheel_o-ring_-_311105295A.htm

[crvc]

https://www.facebook.com/erin.oneall.1

My daughters graduating from Westminster College was part of why I'm doing what I can to keep a 50yr old bug on the road; No car note for the four years they were in college.

The bug runs a lot better since getting rid of the racing cam. It's quieter and runs more smoothly. That alone makes it worthwhile, even though the leak is still there. I ordered the seal and o-ring from bughaus and will pull the engine one more time once the parts arrive.

Thanks for all the help,

kevin