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19K views 13 replies 6 participants last post by  bblument 
#1 ·
Not good oil comming from dip stick. sounds like a head gasket or crack somewhere allowing pressure into the crank, I'm gunna do a compression test any other suggestions? Its a brand new gasket the only thing that has been done differently is that I had the head bolts torqued last week 1/4 turn like the book said...............MM
 
#2 ·
Check that the hose that runs from the valve cover to the Intake is clear. The screen can get plugged and cause that to happen.

Why did you torque the head bolts? That is normal thing to do after the gaskets are replaced is to torque them to x lbs ad then 1/4 turn.
 
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#4 ·
And thats exactly what it was. After I had the engine rebuilt I put a new breather hose that wasnt an exact fit what happened was that it kinked and now all is well I plugged the hole on the intake now the breather is postioned behind the engine compartment..... All is well......thanks MM
 
#5 ·
You might want to take the breather hose and rig it to blow in a coffee can, as there is usually some oil that will spray out and drip and leak,,,,,
 
#6 ·
Where is said breather hose? I just had diagnostic work done on my brake booster at the shop and now have a similar leak (though I can't tell if it's from the dipstick or near it). I'm hoping it's that simple!
 
#8 ·
There are actually 3 breather hoses: valve cover to intake manifold, valve cover to air box, and throttle body to cylinder head*.



*Labeled as "intake manifold" in diagram; I'm working on changing that label.

Since the mechanic was working on the brake booster, make sure s/he didn't break something off the brake booster vacuum line.
 
#7 ·
The breather hose is on top of the valve cover. It goes from the valve cover to the Throttle body
 
#9 ·
Wow, am I relieved! It turns out the mechanic didn't get the dipstick seated and oil was splashing out. The lower radiator hose is pressed up against the dipstick tube, causing it to feel like the dipstick is seated when it is just barely making contact with the top of the tube.

Of course, I didn't discover this until I took off and inspected the breather tube between the valve cover and air box and in the process discovered my oil pressure gauge sender was disconnected. Nice to have that gauge finally working! :)

Thanks for the help guys!
 
#10 ·
I solved the top valve cover breather hose from pinching and now is connected correctly to the intake. I used an old spring from my nuts and bolts can stretched it out screwed it into the hose and viola! hose is able to bend with out pinching and no more annoying smoke comming from under the hood at stop lights.... MM
 
#12 ·
I removed both, and the car barely ran.
I put the restrictor back in and it ran quite well.
Is that restrictor OEM? Perhaps its existence should
be mentioned in the diagram below... are there any
OTHER restrictors that should be in any of the other hoses?


There are no other restrictors that I am aware of. It is a
OEM thing.


Second question... the breather hose from the cylinder head that
joins the junction at the bottom of the short rubber bellows
preceding the throttle body was not hooked up;
it was simply connected to the cylinder head and
plugged at the other end w/ a bolt, and the line that
goes to the charcoal canister from the aforementioned
bellows was attached with an L fitting instead of a T.
Once the issue in the above paragraph was addressed,
the car ran VERY well like that.. very smooth,
and a good bit of power throughout each gear spread.
I connected that cylinder head breather hose correctly
with a T fitting, and the car still runs but not quite
as smoothly and definitely not as strongly. Why?


Could be:
Timing as they had to bass ackwards adjust it for all the air/vacuum
leaks they were trying to resolve the wrong way.

It could also be that the Duty Cycle agjustments are off.


Third question .. in this thread, some mention is made of
a "screen," but I don't seem to have one anywhere on my car;
I've disconnected, cleaned, and inspected all of the vacuum hoses.
Does that just pertain to diesels?


The screen is in the valve cover itself. If you take the valve cover off
on the inside of the cover where the hose connects you will see a screen where the
hose attaches.... that screen can get clogged with oil blow by and
effect the crankcase ventilation.
 
#13 ·
Hi, Barry. :Ciao:

I'd like to take a moment to highlight two important issues:
1) Your 1982 Rabbit Convertible originally had a 1.7L.
2) Your 1982 Rabbit Convertible had that 1.7L swapped out for a 1.8L.

At first glance, the vacuum routing for those two engines appears to be the same; however, there are differences. The 1.7L did not use an idle boost valve, unless A/C was installed. Instead, the 1.7L uses a secondary vacuum line off of the distributor's vacuum advance. The 1.8L on the other hand, uses a vacuum boost valve; two valves if A/C was installed. The vacuum diagram, for comparison, for the 1.8L:


(Still need to correct that "to intake manifold" label.)

It sounds like you might be trying to "hybridize" the vacuum system: i.e., using the 1.8L engine, but utilizing the remnants of the 1.7L's vacuum system components, or am I wrong, which I very well could be(!)?

Second, one very important thing about CIS: it hates vacuum/intake air leaks. Along with that, any alteration you make to the vacuum system, intake air system, fuel system, timing, etc., you must check the duty cycle and adjust the air-fuel mixture accordingly. The hoses that were plugged, were done so in a "I give up!" manner, which effected the air-fuel mixture and idle. Compensating one for the other is never a good idea and is one reason many people condemn CIS (i.e. it can solve one issue and cause two more); however, it can sometimes get you by as a short-term fix. Therefore, if the vacuum routing has proven to be good, you'll now want to check the duty cycle and make any necessary adjustments: http://www.cabby-info.com/cis.htm .

And that's a good point about the restrictor; when I get around to changing that one label, I'll add the restrictor in. On the 1.8L, that restrictor doubles as a T-fitting between the valve cover, boost valve, and intake manifold hoses. On the earlier engines, the restrictor is mounted inside the hose.

And, as Brian already mentioned, the screen is on the inside of the valve cover. Give it a good cleaning, if need be, and install a camshaft cover/baffle:

 
#14 ·
Kam and Briano,

Thanks again for the replies. Kam, you are completely correct in your assumptions; my Rabbit had a 1.7L in it when I bought it. That engine was totally shot, and I had an impossible time finding pistons for it so we thought it would be easier, better, etc., to just get a 1.8L engine for which parts seem to be much more widely available and rebuild that. New slightly oversized pistons, rings, bearings, seals, the whole deal, and a freshly rebuilt head appropriate to that engine. The original car had no air conditioning, but I believe the engine we have came from a car that DID, so mounting the alternator was problematic. We fabricated a mount for it that relocated it so that the pulleys all lined up, but I need to revisit that... it won't keep tension on the belt and I have to tighten it up every day. We also put headers on it rather than the original exhaust manifold. That's the back story...

So, yes, I'm attempting to do exactly what you surmised; I reused as much of the original ancillary stuff from the 1.7L engine as possible and followed the vacuum diagram for the 1982. There ARE two connections to the vacuum advance on the distributor, and I do not have an idle boost valve. I've read, re-read, and re-re-read all the information you've posted on the other site about the CIS system, duty cycle and OXS tests, and idle/mixture adjusments and I think I understand them well enough to start going through those procedures. However, and I'm embarrassed to admit the following, but I'm not sure if there's a catalytic converter or oxygen sensor on the car right now; I had someone else do the exhaust work. I'll check and let you know. If they've been removed, how should I proceed? Should I try and find an idle boost valve and plug the second vacuum advance port? Do I need a different ECU for the 1.8L engine? The oil pressure sensor that's screwed into the valve cover is the wrong one; it only has one terminal on it. There's tons of other little gauge/buzzer/idiot light gremlins too, but at least it's running and driving for the first time in forever. I attacked the safety issues first (new brake lines all around, thorough check of the steering and suspension compenents), and figured that engine/performance stuff should come next... I want to get a lot of miles, years, and life out of this fresh engine. After that, I'll start sorting out the dash/sensor issues.. unless there's some interrelatededness there (if that's a word).

Obviously, my goal is not to get the car back to it's original factory condition and setup. I'd just like to have a fun car that I can take my muddy dogs to the beach in without worrying about it, BUT get the most performance out of what I have and enjoy driving it in a ... ahem... fairly spirited fashion when the dogs aren't aboard. Good gas mileage is also a plus these days, of course. Right now, I'm only in the mid-20s, mpg-wise. It's got the typical cold start woes that so many others have written about, too; catches right away, stalls right away... repeat that maybe three or four times, then you can keep it going by pumping the gas pedal... a minute later, everything's fine and it drives fine.

I've got some time tomorrow to do some puttering, as long as it's non-strenuous physically. Anything requiring heavy lifting or the like is going to have to wait 24 hours. Command, and I shall go forth and perform said tasks.. <grin>.

I know you have a ton of things more important to do than read my ramblings and solve my problems, but... well... I AM very appreciative of the help given so far, and would be grateful for any time you're willing to continue spending on this.

Thanks again, both of you.

Best wishes,

Barry
 
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