Well, as soon as I began to drain the oil from the engine today (or tried to
drain!), it became very apparent why it died! In the 7000 miles I drove it ,
to Oregon and back (fresh Mobil 1 oil at departure), the oil became SO thick
from soot that it now looks like nasty black molasses. Just a slow dribble
from the drain hole. So I guess you could say I KILLED IT!! It was 'fine'
all the way home, the cool morning after, when I started it up to drive to
my shop (to change the oil!), the oil light was flickering on and off, and
the brake vacuum pump was not working well. After a couple minutes these
symptoms disappeared, and I drove it. Apparently, the oil was so thick that
the auxiliary shaft was barely turning, leading to the demise of one or more
rod bearings. If I had known......I would have changed the oil a lot sooner!
My theory is that the rings allowed enough blowby (and probably a LOT of
blowby on the steep mountain passes!) to cause the thickening. The engine
probably spent 80% of the trip 'on boost'. It was a used unit, with around
90K miles of unknown type driving, so who knows. I guess I put the nail in
the coffin. I do have some leads on a TDI, hmmm...........I believe had I
stayed with the Delvac 1 the soot problem may have not been quite as
serious. Live and learn! Change thy oil more often even when using
synthetic!

Karl
'87 Syncro Westy TD (on life support waiting for a heart transplant)