I once owned a '68 VW Bug (air cooled) that manufactured water in the oil. I would change the oil and in within 50 miles the dipstick and area would have yellowish foam. Oil froze in winter. Car ran well and never seized up. I changed oil regularly at 500 miles.
How long did it take you to accumulate 50 miles on the odometer? Since you state that you used to change the oil every 500 miles, I am assuming that this car was used only for very short drives, and not many drives, for that matter.
My best guess is that you only drove the car for very short distances, thus allowing the byproducts of combustion (including water) to build up in the crankcase without being able to be burned off by high engine heat.
I used the car always… yes many short drives… but also longer drives of 30 minutes to a couple of hours… same thing. The 50 miles often was in one non-stop trip. I bsically aagree with what you say, but wouldn’t there be more similar complaints if that were the case? I owned 3 different VW bugs…no problem with the other two.
Gotta be something besides short trips or condensation . . . oil can also be contaminated by other liquids . . . the only one in the air-cooled bug would’ve been gasoline. I’ve seen this when the intake is somehow breached and gas mixes with the oil, sometimes resulting in a yellowish foam on the dipstick. But freezing in the winter? Got me there . . . gas doesn’t freeze that easily. I don’t think that you had water in your oil. Ever have it to a VW mechanic when you experienced this problem? Why did you change oil at 500 miles? Something sounds peculiar about this. Rocketman
That is likely condensation. Not much you can do about it, but change the oil often and take more longer trips. It was sort of the norm in my 1970 bug during the winter. No problem for me during the summer.
I changed the oil at 500 to ensure the car would get at least some new clean non-fouled oil on a regular basis. Never had a VW mechanic look at it…in hindsite I should have. And yes in the winter before I could use the car I had to warm up the oil. You could pull the drain plug and nothing would come out.
Yes this is condensation. You may have excessive blowby so you might have a leakdown test done on the cylinders. Also make sure that the thermostat system is in place and operating. Most engine rebuilders will usually leave out the mechanism that closes the air exit doors to forestall the system failing to open and cooking the engine or even omit the lower duct work all together. I am pretty sure that you do not have the inflow choke ring on this year. The water condenses on the oil filler pipe and the dip stick tube because these are in a cool area of the engine. Make sure that the PCV valve is working and the vent hose is connected to the air cleaner. Otherwise, take the car out for longer drives and get it as hot as you can.
This would happen regularily on my 65 engine in a 61.
Nice car. I prefer the 67 as the ultimate VW.
I must defer to Joseph and Researcher . . . who have posted many great posts in the past and seem to have this one nailed. Sure is a new one on me . . . I must drive my air-cooled stuff a bit harder & hotter than most. Good work fellas! Rocketman
If you read my post (the first one in this thread), I also stated that it was excess moisture in the crankcase. Whether you want to call it water or condensation, it is fairly obvious that the OP had a problem with contamination of his oil with H20 that resulted from the combustion process and was not burned off.