On Mon, Oct 19, 2009 at 5:06 PM, Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Another cause of low oil pressure on these engines is worn or damaged cam
> bearing journals. There are no cam bearings! The cam rides directly on the
> aluminum. An over tightened cam belt or any occurrence of no oil pressure
> wipes the head quickly. Rimco used to align bore these heads and fit
> bearings. It is difficult to check the bearing journal clearance. You have
> to remove the cam, lifters, and using plasti-gauge install the cam so the
> clearance can be measured.
>

Wah?

Crazy.  (cracks open his Haynes manual)

So I see what Dennis means. Cleverly, they say that cam rides on 5
bearings, then in same paragraph refer to them as "bearing caps".

IF head is the issue here....

Manual also says, in part:

"..... If the clearance at any of the journals exceeds the specified
limit, replace the head"

(I assume "journals" means cam bearing surfaces)

But more importantly, if cam on Bills engine was removed to do work...

Under image 10.3b of a cam bearing cap:

"Note that the bearing cap numbers are offset to one side -  make sure
they're reinstalled the exact same way!"   (not my exclamation point)

Under illustration 10.3a showing all camshaft bearing caps, it says
(logically) that the bearing caps "must be reinstalled in their
original locations"

Was this done?

Caveats: Haynes manual also says:

"On some engines, the bearing caps are numbered from 1 to 5 beginning
at the drivebelt end of the engine" .....

"All numbers face either the spark plug or manifold side of the engine."......

"On some engines, the bearing caps aren't numbered....."

Who knows what head work was done prior to Bill getting this engine.

Neil.
--
Neil Nicholson '81 VanaJetta 2.0 "Jaco"

http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/

http://groups.google.com/group/vanagons-with-vw-inline-4-cylinder-gas-engines