my 61 bug oil level keeps rising even after i took out almost a quart. it has not been driven
but when i checked it again after 2 or 3 days it reads almost a quart a over full again
can anyone tell me waht is goin on
I wonder if the float is stuck or the needle valve controlled by the float is open allowing gasoline to run down into the engine. Also, this VW has, I think, a mechanical fuel pump located on the engine. A defective fuel pump will allow gasoline to get into the oil.
You are removing the dipstick, wiping it off, reinserting it and then pull it out to check the oil level?
Tester
The Fuel Pump Diaphragm Is Probably Shot. The Mechanical Pump Attaches To The Crankcase So That A Pushrod Can Actuate The Diaphragm. When It Fails, Gasoline Can Enter The Crankcase.
Don’t run it until you diagnose and correct the problem You’re diluting your oil with gas. I’ll bet you could light your dipstick on fire with a match.
CSA
Does the oil have a gasoline smell?
Yep, gasoline. Not antifreeze, that’s for sure!
Good time to have the fuel system gone over, tank to carbs, make sure all the fuel lines are in great shape. Leaks/fires can happen.
Agreed with CSA it’s the fuel pump diaphragm and you really do not need to operate that engine with gasoline diluted engine oil. It will wash the crank bearings right out of it.
Agree with the others (these guys and gals are good). This same thing happened to me, and it was a failed fuel pump. Pretty easy and cheap fix! Make sure you follow the instructions when you replace it. You should be packing the area under the paper gasket with grease.
It’s unanimous. The fuel pump.
My first car was a '61 Beetle. Ah, sweet memories!
@the same mountainbike–wouldn’t it be great if all cars were as simple to diagose and repair as the VW Beetle. Your 1961 did have one complicated item–a fuel gauge. As I remember, the 1961 was the first year the VW Beetle had this useless gadget. The earlier Beetles had a reserve tank and a foot lever to kick when the the engine started to sputter.
I wonder if the Fiat 500 will become today’s VW Beetle. I guess time will tell.
“I wonder if the Fiat 500 will become today’s VW Beetle”
I’d be surprised if it did. It’s just as complex as the other cars out there, and the engine’s really complicated, it has the “Multiair” valve actuation:
According to Popular Mechanics:
“It operates the intake valves with a unique system: Rather than using the cam lobe to press open the valve, the lobe pushes on the plunger of a tiny oil pump. The resultant pressure accumulates in a thimble-size chamber that feeds a computer-controlled solenoid (the valve “conductor”). When the solenoid is open, the oil pressure flows to the top of the valve, forcing it to open. The engine computer directs the solenoid and can vary the timing (when the valve opens in relation to the piston’s movement), duration, and lift (how far the valve opens). With Multiair, the tiny 1.4-liter engine of the Fiat 500 produces a gutsy 101 hp and a healthy amount of low-rpm torque. Also, since the system is simple and compact, it’s not an expensive add-on. Expect Multiair to spread through Fiat’s—and Chrysler’s—lineup.”
@texases–I guess my only hope for a simple car is if someone brings back the King Midget.
@Triedaq - That, or you could buy a Ford Model A. We ran across about a dozen of them, the Ft. Worth Model A club on tour west of Austin. And no a/c or electronics to worry about!
Yeah, Daq, but they also had no heat, leaked air like a seive, leaked oil almost as badly, the radio had to be turned off seperately from the engine, the windshield wipers…were and adventure, the pedal levers were upside down (like the cars of the '20s), the brakes were, well, exciting, the engine had 40 or so half-dead horses, and I had to twist the trunk lid to get it past the upper bars of the bumper.
What makes the memories sweet is more the passengers than the bug itself.
Re: the Fiat 500. The thing that made the VW Beetle a legend was that it was dirt cheap to buy and run. It truely was the perfect design for the proletariat. I don’t see those virtues in the Fiat 500. A great city car, but at a regular price. No more dirt-cheap cars anymore.
@mountainbike Yes, the bug was the perfect car for the times. When it first came out shortly after the war, I lived in Europe. It fit the bill for a large part of the population who could afford a car. My highschool English teacher made just enough money so he could park his scooter and get out of the rain.
In North America it was the perfect second car and first car for young couples, and singles. The University of California looked like one huge VW parking lot.
What made the car really successful was the well trained dealer network and ready availability of parts. Numerous aftermarket kits also made for fun customizing.
How many cars have had 3 movies made about them. The Germans tried to make a Herbie the Love Bug movie called “Super Bug”. However, it bombed badly, my kids hardly laughed through it.
Hitler Had The Idea For The People’s Car And Ferdinand Porsche Made It Happen.
CSA
I think your Popular Mechanics article got it wrong. Its like the master and slave cylinders of a clutch, but the slave has a solenoid valve in it. The cam profile is a high performance, high RPM profile. If the solenoid fails, this becomes the default profile.
Under low rpm and idle conditions, the solenoid opens a small valve in the slave cylinder relieving pressure on the intake valve. This is used to shorten the duration and lift of the intake valve to match the load on the engine.
Right now, there are only three cam profiles programmed into the system, one of those is the solenoid off profile. Two other profiles will open the relief valve at both the beginning of the intake cycle and the end for idle and very low loads, the other just trims the end of the intake cycle to provide low end torque when needed.
I think this technology will get better as more programming is done to match the intake profile to more conditions. And then they haven’t even started using it on the exhaust yet, but the exhaust side doesn’t usually provide improvements as dramatic as the intake does.
I Believe I Saw That Valve Train Set-Up A Couple Of Years Ago In A Rube Golberg Museum.
I’ll make note. That’s one more thing that I don’t want on my next car.
CSA
Actually that is one technology that I am looking forward to. It has a lot of potential for big improvements in engine performance and efficiency. But I think this will just be an intermediate step to solenoid activated valves controlled by the computer. It will be thee third leg of conversion from mechanical control to computer control.
Ignition timing was the first to convert, then fuel delivery, now its time for valve actuation to be controlled by the computer.
Right now, you probably would not want to return to distributors and carburetors, in the future you would not want to return to cams and timing belts and chains
Internal Combustion Reciprocating Piston Engines ?
We need to quit torturing these things. Let them go. It’s been well over a hundred years, now. In just 50 years airplanes went from this type engine and wooden propellers to jet propulsion systems.
Is this the best we can do ? Just keep tweaking ?
CSA