Think I blew a piston?

I took my 72 SB out on a run today. Ran great, until I was pulling through
the hills and it started to lose power dramically. Thought maybe the coil
was shorting until I saw the blue smoke out the rear. Pulled over and there
was oil all over the engine compartment, especially running/dripping out of
the tube that hangs down from the oil fill tank.

Could I have punched a hole in a piston?

--
Looking for High Speed, Firepower & Sharpshooter backglasses in good
shape.

Check for too much oil in the engine.

"barnhart_pinball" > wrote in message
...
>I took my 72 SB out on a run today. Ran great, until I was pulling through
> the hills and it started to lose power dramically. Thought maybe the coil
> was shorting until I saw the blue smoke out the rear. Pulled over and
> there
> was oil all over the engine compartment, especially running/dripping out
> of
> the tube that hangs down from the oil fill tank.
>
> Could I have punched a hole in a piston?
>
> --
> Looking for High Speed, Firepower & Sharpshooter backglasses in good
> shape.

barnhart_pinball wrote:
> I took my 72 SB out on a run today. Ran great, until I was pulling through
> the hills and it started to lose power dramically. Thought maybe the coil
> was shorting until I saw the blue smoke out the rear. Pulled over and there
> was oil all over the engine compartment, especially running/dripping out of
> the tube that hangs down from the oil fill tank.
>
> Could I have punched a hole in a piston?
>


Do a compression test. Holed piston sounds likely.

If you don't have a gauge, do the "poor man's" test:

Ignition Off. Shift in Neutral.
Turn crank pulley CW by hand (easier to turn the Gen pulley).
Go thru 2 complete revs of the crank.
You should feel 4 very distinct compression "peaks".

Do the test a few times to get the feel of it.
If you only get 3 peaks, oh oh.

Speedy Jim
http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/

"Speedy Jim" > wrote in message
et...
> barnhart_pinball wrote:
>> I took my 72 SB out on a run today. Ran great, until I was pulling
>> through the hills and it started to lose power dramically. Thought maybe
>> the coil was shorting until I saw the blue smoke out the rear. Pulled
>> over and there was oil all over the engine compartment, especially
>> running/dripping out of the tube that hangs down from the oil fill tank.
>> Could I have punched a hole in a piston?
>
>
> Do a compression test. Holed piston sounds likely.
>
> If you don't have a gauge, do the "poor man's" test:
>
> Ignition Off. Shift in Neutral.
> Turn crank pulley CW by hand (easier to turn the Gen pulley).
> Go thru 2 complete revs of the crank.
> You should feel 4 very distinct compression "peaks".
>
> Do the test a few times to get the feel of it.
> If you only get 3 peaks, oh oh.
>
> Speedy Jim
> http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/

Are holes in pistons that common? Cheap gas might contribute to that
happening.
As you see I don't work on the ACVW engines as much as I used to! :-(

I would have thought that maybe the fuel pump was leaking fuel into the
crankcase and the oil was thinning out and the level was higher than normal.
Then going up the hill, this abundance of thinned oil/gas caused issues with
blowby and some possible sparkplug fouling as it was trying to burn off the
oil/gas mixture (Blue Smoke).

BTW I like that "poor man's" test! lol

One out of many daves

dave AKA vwdoc1 wrote:

> "Speedy Jim" > wrote in message
> et...
>
>>barnhart_pinball wrote:
>>
>>>I took my 72 SB out on a run today. Ran great, until I was pulling
>>>through the hills and it started to lose power dramically. Thought maybe
>>>the coil was shorting until I saw the blue smoke out the rear. Pulled
>>>over and there was oil all over the engine compartment, especially
>>>running/dripping out of the tube that hangs down from the oil fill tank.
>>>Could I have punched a hole in a piston?
>>
>>
>> Do a compression test. Holed piston sounds likely.
>>
>> If you don't have a gauge, do the "poor man's" test:
>>
>>Ignition Off. Shift in Neutral.
>>Turn crank pulley CW by hand (easier to turn the Gen pulley).
>>Go thru 2 complete revs of the crank.
>>You should feel 4 very distinct compression "peaks".
>>
>>Do the test a few times to get the feel of it.
>>If you only get 3 peaks, oh oh.
>>
>>Speedy Jim
>>http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/
>
>
> Are holes in pistons that common? Cheap gas might contribute to that
> happening.
> As you see I don't work on the ACVW engines as much as I used to! :-(
>
> I would have thought that maybe the fuel pump was leaking fuel into the
> crankcase and the oil was thinning out and the level was higher than normal.
> Then going up the hill, this abundance of thinned oil/gas caused issues with
> blowby and some possible sparkplug fouling as it was trying to burn off the
> oil/gas mixture (Blue Smoke).
>
> BTW I like that "poor man's" test! lol
>
> One out of many daves
>
>

No, holes aren't that common, but it does happen
when the engine is pushed to the limits (up hills for example)
and *especially* if the timing is advanced too far.
Inadequate cooling will contribute too.

Jim

"Speedy Jim" > wrote in message
t...
> dave AKA vwdoc1 wrote:
>
>> "Speedy Jim" > wrote in message
>> et...
>>
>>>barnhart_pinball wrote:
>>>
>>>>I took my 72 SB out on a run today. Ran great, until I was pulling
>>>>through the hills and it started to lose power dramically. Thought maybe
>>>>the coil was shorting until I saw the blue smoke out the rear. Pulled
>>>>over and there was oil all over the engine compartment, especially
>>>>running/dripping out of the tube that hangs down from the oil fill tank.
>>>>Could I have punched a hole in a piston?
>>>
>>>
>>> Do a compression test. Holed piston sounds likely.
>>>
>>> If you don't have a gauge, do the "poor man's" test:
>>>
>>>Ignition Off. Shift in Neutral.
>>>Turn crank pulley CW by hand (easier to turn the Gen pulley).
>>>Go thru 2 complete revs of the crank.
>>>You should feel 4 very distinct compression "peaks".
>>>
>>>Do the test a few times to get the feel of it.
>>>If you only get 3 peaks, oh oh.
>>>
>>>Speedy Jim
>>>http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/
>>
>>
>> Are holes in pistons that common? Cheap gas might contribute to that
>> happening.
>> As you see I don't work on the ACVW engines as much as I used to! :-(
>>
>> I would have thought that maybe the fuel pump was leaking fuel into the
>> crankcase and the oil was thinning out and the level was higher than
>> normal. Then going up the hill, this abundance of thinned oil/gas caused
>> issues with blowby and some possible sparkplug fouling as it was trying
>> to burn off the oil/gas mixture (Blue Smoke).
>>
>> BTW I like that "poor man's" test! lol
>>
>> One out of many daves
>
> No, holes aren't that common, but it does happen
> when the engine is pushed to the limits (up hills for example)
> and *especially* if the timing is advanced too far.
> Inadequate cooling will contribute too.
>
> Jim

Thanks Jim...................

Geez,
I used to pull other Beetles or boats with my '67 Beetle Conv. and its stock
engine with no problems. Uphill too from Iowa back to Chicago or from
Michigan to Chicago! Of course I did not "push it to the max" though.
I think I will drop a Type IV engine in my 1970 Beetle when I put it on the
road.

I hope it is sometime simple, cheap and easy to fix for the OP. ;-)

"dave AKA vwdoc1" > wrote in
et:

> Thanks Jim...................
>
> Geez,
> I used to pull other Beetles or boats with my '67 Beetle Conv. and its
> stock engine with no problems. Uphill too from Iowa back to Chicago
> or from Michigan to Chicago! Of course I did not "push it to the max"
> though. I think I will drop a Type IV engine in my 1970 Beetle when I
> put it on the road.
>
> I hope it is sometime simple, cheap and easy to fix for the OP. ;-)
>
>
>
Well, I didn't really push it...just climbing slight hills like it always
does (come out to Missouri, we have nothing BUT hills). It wasn't pinging
or anything...I just put new points/condensor in it. Plus a cap and
rotor. It's a stocker, and I don't race it.

Oil temp was fine all the way through. Pressure did drop, that's when I
turned it off (10 psi, checked oil - still has oil showing 1/2 full).

Only thing I can think of is that now I have the proper carb (had a 30,
swapped to a 34) and fixed the throttle (was only opening 3/4) that maybe
there was a stress crack on one of the pistons - and I aggravated it. Who
knows?

I'll pull it apart later this week and see. Hopefully without pulling it
out of the car...pull the intake, exhaust...then drop the heads. Then
I'll know.

I'm figuring on 4 new pistons/cylinders.



--
Looking for High Speed, Firepower & Sharpshooter backglasses in good
shape.

"barnhart_pinball" > wrote in message
...

> I'll pull it apart later this week and see. Hopefully without pulling it
> out of the car...pull the intake, exhaust...then drop the heads. Then
> I'll know.
>
> I'm figuring on 4 new pistons/cylinders.

drop the engine...you are asking for more work trying to do the teardown,
much less the reassembly, with the engine still bolted in the car.... to
even pull the heads with the engine in the car you will have to remove half
of the headstuds on each side, and i recommend against removing them unless
you have to.(specifically if the case doesn't have case savers.) removing
and replacing the pistons with the block bolted in the car gives you too
many opportunities to drop parts into the engine, or even the chance of
dirt, grease, and grime being knocked into the inside of the block....on top
of all that, it's tougher to get to the things and takes much longer....drop
it and tear it down...

Joey Tribiani wrote:
> "barnhart_pinball" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>> I'll pull it apart later this week and see. Hopefully without pulling it
>> out of the car...pull the intake, exhaust...then drop the heads. Then
>> I'll know.
>>
>> I'm figuring on 4 new pistons/cylinders.
>
> drop the engine...you are asking for more work trying to do the teardown,
> much less the reassembly, with the engine still bolted in the car.... to
> even pull the heads with the engine in the car you will have to remove half
> of the headstuds on each side, and i recommend against removing them unless
> you have to.(specifically if the case doesn't have case savers.) removing
> and replacing the pistons with the block bolted in the car gives you too
> many opportunities to drop parts into the engine, or even the chance of
> dirt, grease, and grime being knocked into the inside of the block....on top
> of all that, it's tougher to get to the things and takes much longer....drop
> it and tear it down...
>
>


Do not fear engine pull.
It's a piece of cake.

Need a rolling floor jack though.
Even a cheapie one will do.


http://www.geocities.com/bugfuel/engineremoval.html


Jan

"Joey Tribiani" > wrote in
:

>
> "barnhart_pinball" > wrote in
> message ...
>
>> I'll pull it apart later this week and see. Hopefully without pulling
>> it out of the car...pull the intake, exhaust...then drop the heads.
>> Then I'll know.
>>
>> I'm figuring on 4 new pistons/cylinders.
>
> drop the engine...you are asking for more work trying to do the
> teardown, much less the reassembly, with the engine still bolted in
> the car.... to even pull the heads with the engine in the car you will
> have to remove half of the headstuds on each side, and i recommend
> against removing them unless you have to.(specifically if the case
> doesn't have case savers.) removing and replacing the pistons with the
> block bolted in the car gives you too many opportunities to drop parts
> into the engine, or even the chance of dirt, grease, and grime being
> knocked into the inside of the block....on top of all that, it's
> tougher to get to the things and takes much longer....drop it and tear
> it down...
>
>

That's all and good if I had full strength in both shoulders. I've done
it before with it in the car (yeah, it's not much fun). I've never pulled
the engine out of a stock Bug...the ones I've done were out of baja
versions (open back). They didn't have all that tinwork and such...plus
as mentioned in my shop manual - I don't have 4 strong men to pick the
bug off the motor (once dropped)...

I thought the heads would drop off once the intake/exhaust was out of the
way? Good to know...

--
Looking for High Speed, Firepower & Sharpshooter backglasses in good
shape.