I had an old Quantum on which some PO had pulled the oil pan.  Too tight to
buy a new gasket, he used blue silicone sealant instead.  When the pan was
tightened, a worm of silicone squeezed out and got stuck in the oil pump
pickup.  So long as I drove it around town, the worst that would happen
would be a flickering oil light.  When I took it for a long freeway drive to
the 7000 foot level, it fried.  Always wanted to seize an engine!

Karl
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bulley" <gmbulley@BULLEY-HEWLETT.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, May 09, 2000 5:37 PM
Subject: No oil pressure, was: Here's one to rack your brains............

> Okay, this is a core dump from the "wrack my brains" dept. Subject to very
> stupid ideas:
>
> A piece of trash (like the foil 'lid' from an additive bottle) is sucked
up
> into the oil pick up tube. Since I am a type2 guy, I'm not sure the
1.9/2.1
> uses the same set up as the beetle, which would trap such trash.
>
> The slot in the cam where the oil pump gets its torque is stripped. I
can't
> imagine this happening, but...
>
> Both your original and your replacement oil pumps have the wrong depth to
> the pump 'nose (which picks up torque). I know the type1, type3s and the
> 356 had a small variety (3?) of depths. In certain cases, you could get
the
> wrong pump to work for a short period, then the lack of mating surface
> would eventually come back to haunt you.
>
> Try removing the oil pressure relief spring, and the spark plugs (so the
> motor will spin faster) then crank the motor over for a few second. See if
> oil squirts out of the pressure relief hole. Try the same by removing the
> oil filter, and spinning the motor again. Do this with any other 'handy'
> ancillaries on your motor that might belch oil. I'm not sure what this
will
> tell you, but perhaps it will let you know where oil is and is not
flowing.
> Certainly it will be an innocent way to pass the time.
>
> Drain and refill the oil, and clean the screen/replace the filter.
>
> Pray. Go to the Church, Synagogue, Holy Place, whatever. (don't drive your
> van). Get in touch with all the positive thoughts that you can.
>
> Cheers.
>
> G. Matthew Bulley
> Bulley-Hewlett
> Corporate Communications Counselors
> www.bulley-hewlett.com
> Mount Olive, NC USA
> 877.658.1278 tollfree
>
> "I, the undersigned, shall forfeit all rights, privileges, and licenses
> herein and herein contained, et cetera, et cetera . . . fax mentis
> incendium gloria culpum, et cetera, et cetera . . . memo bis punitor
> delicatum!" It's all there, black and white, clear as crystal!      -Wonka
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From:   Vic Ahmed [SMTP:DrVic955@AOL.COM]
> Sent:   Tuesday, May 09, 2000 8:05 PM
> To:     vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject:        Here's one to rack your brains............
>
> Listees,
>
> I have a problem here with a '85 Vanagon I picked up a few months ago,
that
> was running extremely well until about 3 days ago. The vehicle has 105K on
> it, about 4 month old heads, 4-speed, had great compression, didnt use any
> oil, ran cool, and I used it as a daily driver. I was driving down the
> freeway one evening, van ran smooth as silk, doing about 70, when all of a
> sudden the oil light came on! I instantly threw in the clutch and killed
> the
> engine, coasted off the exit and pulled into a gas station parking lot to
> assess the damage. Pulled the dipstick, nice and clean oil all upto the
> mark.
> No oil leaks, underside of the engine nice and dry............ Turned the
> key, thinking it was a bad sender, and the engine fired up instantly,
> however, horribly loud clacking from the lifters, and the oil light stayed
> on.............. Towed it back,  ran a pressure test on it, zero, so I
> pulled
> off the pressure relief valve, it fell out smoothly, and the spring was
> nice
> and strong, checked again, same thing. So I pulled off the oil pump, put
in
> a
> brand new one, fired it up, same horrible clatter, so I checked the
> pressure
> again, ZERO!!!!!!!! What the ****??????? BTW, I use all OEM oil filters,
so
> that's not a problem................Any ideas or suggestions would be
> highly
> appreciated, as this was a great running van, till now, and it's got me
> puzzled.  I sure dont want to tear the engine apart unless I absolutely
> have
> to.
>
> TIA,
>
> Vic Ahmed
>