At 10:22 PM 7/5/01 -0500, you wrote:
>Well I took the van in this morning to get an idea on how much actual
>oil pressure I had.  Not good.  Only about .10 bar.  It should be
>between .15-.45 bar.  He said he could hear the bearings too.  So I
>got home pulled the engine, and split the case.  There was some
>definite wear on the cam bearings.  I'm taking the case, the crank,
>and the cam to a machine shop to be cleaned and checked and then
>I'm buying new bearings and putting it back together.
>Doug
>80 Vanagon

Be very sure to have the crank and cam polished or turned to right size
(smaller).

I did a dirty rebuild on our air cooled '78 2.0 because of low oil
pressure. I replaced all of the bearings and put it back together. Oh and a
new oil pump.

Same oil pressure. I measured the crank while building it and cam fit with
plasti-gage and found them both to be near the loose end of the factory specs.

In short I wasted my money on the gasket kit, oil pump and bearings. Be
absolutely sure to turn the crank and cam (or whatever is necessary) to get
the crank and cam to bearings fit tight enough. My next rebuild will be for
an engine as tight as specs allow.

I drove it about 10K miles like this (post rebuild) with no problems but at
idle when it's hot I hear the engine rumble in the bottom end. The oil
light does not come on ever. I run oil temp, oil pressure, and cyl. head
temp gauges.

I also use synthetic oil - just in case. Mobil 15W-50.

The van hasn't been driven for a couple years now - I am VERY slowly
working my way back from a complete paint and weatherstripping job and now
am working my way through an new interior. I have a spare 2.0 I will
probably build for the van.

Do what you want but when I read your message, the bells in my head started
ringing.

Keep us updated.

Chris in Tennessee

'78 VW Westy
'65 Beetle (type IV powered)
'99 CR-V
'81 Honda CB900 Custom (FOR SALE)

ICQ# 5544649