I was not kidding about the STP -- the stuff has the consistency of honey on
a cold day and imparts some of this character to the rest of the oil. The
oil light on my '78 bus came on at idle when the engine was hot. It had low
compression in two cylinders that turned out to be rings. Those were
younger, more foolish days -- I did the P&C set and heads but had left
myself no time to deal with the bottom end. The thrust bearing had .020" end
float.

We were to take off on a long scheduled trip the following day (hot-springs
hopping tour of the Southwest), so I staked in the thrust bearing, and put
the thing back together. I used a quart of STP in the oil and the light went
out and stayed out, never came on again except when I forgot to add it
during an oil change.

I finally sold the van to finance a Europe trip. I told the new owner
exactly what the situation was with the engine and he bought the thing
anyway. It ran like a top at the time... I got a call from him four years
and fifty thousand miles later, after I had opened my own shop. It was still
running on the same engine, still using the STP oil change strategy. He
brought it in for some minor electrical work as I recall. A year or so later
I met him on the road and we both pulled over to chat. He was ready to sell
the bus and we arranged for me to look it over and smog it before the sale -
it had more rust than when I bought it, but it was running exactly the same.
Perfectly clean and sweet, never a peep from the lifters either. I'm sure he
told the new owner the STP story and although I haven't seen it since then I
expect it to come purring into my driveway someday...

This is NOT a plug for STP as the be-all and end-all of oil additives. I
don't go all googly-eyed over brand names. Increasing the viscosity of
engine oil simply works, I feel, especially for boxer engine lifter
syndrome. I think the steel lifter running sideways in an aluminum bore
eventually wears the bore to the point that hot, thin engine oil drains out
of the lifter and bore on shutdown in a way that did not happen when the
engine was new. Thicker oil doesn't run away so fast. That's my theory
anyhow, and I'm sticking to it. So to speak.

Coby Smolens of Valley Wagonworks

"Intimately acquainted with VW Vans since 1959"

Volkswagen Bus, Vanagon, Westfalia and Eurovan
Repair and Service Specialists

1535 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., San Anselmo, CA 94933
Voice:(415) 457-5628
Fax: (415) 457-0967
http://wagonworks.com
mailto:contact@wagonworks.com

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tom L. Neal [mailto:jneal@netcom.com]
> Sent: Friday, June 04, 1999 1:34 PM
> To: Coby Smolens
> Subject: Re: Loud Tapping Sound
>
>
> > old cam anyway.
>
> I originally read this as "old can" and thought it was pretty funny.
> Can van.
>
> The dealer and my local shop always throw in a $7 quart of oil
> treatment.  I never do.  The archives and references (New York taxis)
> suggest the treatment doesn't matter.  What's your opinion, other
> than to address specific issues such as this one?  You can reply to
> list, if you haven't already addressed this issue.  I suspect some
> people might be interested.
>
> Cheers, Tom Neal
>