My recollection, FWIW, is that the oil started frothing just above the full
mark; the admonition being to definitely not overfill, and perhaps a bit
under the mark would be better than over it.

This turned into a discussion on the lack of a plate in the engine to "put a
lid on the oil".  I do not recall what the plate is called, though I'm sure
someone else will.

YMMV,

Karl Wolz

|-----Original Message-----
|From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
|Edward Maglott
|Sent: Sunday, August 08, 2010 10:27 AM
|To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
|Subject: Re: Oil overfill... or not? (long post)
|
|Years ago, someone posted info on the list from watching the inside
|of the WBX through a borescope (I think that's the right word) while
|it was running.  They started with oil at a low level and added
|oil.  IIRC, at about the mid point on the dipstick the crankshaft
|starts hitting the oil in the sump.  That is what causes the unusual
|frothing that you never want in your engine.  As they added more up
|to the "max" mark, it got really wild in there with a great amount of
|oil being flung around and air being pumped into the oil in the
|sump.  Not only does the crank hitting the oil in the sump add air to
|it, the resistance of it passing through even a small amount of oil
|puts additional load on the engine.
|
|I think there are several things we owners have learned about the WBX
|over the past many years that are wise "adjustments" to the factory
|specs decreed by the loved/hated German engineers who designed our
|beloved Vanagons.  This is one.
|Edward