It has a 1.8 8v JH motor, it's a 1976 LS and would of originally had a 1.6 I imagine. Since it does go through fuel quite quickly, there could definitely be a leak... the fuel pump area is often wet after a drive... any advice on how to check for a leak? I'm going to install the catch can and outlet back to the carb, dump the oil and replace the filter and refill with fresh oil, then I had planned to replace the fuel filter... which I was going to ask the forum for help on how to do this... I guess it makes sense to check for leaks at the same time.
The car isn't juttery or starved under normal driving conditions.. I've only experienced starvation during cornerning once or twice and it could of just been because the engine wasn't warmed up yet. I've also only had to prime the carb once, when I came back after 3 days in QLD and the car had been sitting.
to summarise: oil catch can install, replace oil/filter then I'll monitor my oil levels and report back if I'm still losing oil and can see any problem areas.. check for fuel leaks and replace fuel filter. advice on the fuel related stuff??
It sounds like you have a fuel leak. Just replace the fuel pump, that way you don't have to worry about buying an electric fuel pump, wiring it in and then getting a fuel pressure regulator.
A compression test might give some indication of the state of the rings, or even better, a leak down test.
Diverting the breather into as catch can as mentioned above will quickly show you if it's blow by too.
Generally the oil can only go out the exhaust or on the ground.
If it's blowing smoke when you take off at the lights or first thing in the morning it might be valve stem seals.
Those Webers are notorious for fuel starvation when cornering, it's due to the fuel float pivot being 90° off to where it would normally be when they're mounted on a Passat manifold. Same carb on an Escort works fine. Judicious setting of the float level seems to be the answer.
I have noticed smoke/steam coming out very briefly when accelerating hard from the lights, though I can't recall if this happened once it was up to temp or only when cold...
I do have some audible valve noise when cold and less noticeable once warm. I had intended on doing a valve adjustment and stem seal replacement when I get back later this month. If the issue is excessive blow-by, could I enlist your help one evening if I were to drive over? More than willing to pay for time/parts, just like to learn to do these things myself and lack the knowledge/tools at this time. Plus it'd be good to finally meet someone from the club that appreciates the car...
That's petrol you're throwing away, looks like you need a new gasket.
Keep the problems coming, I love giving advice to someone else and not have to fix it myself.
The good thing is these are all little problems which just need a little bit of time to fix. In the meantime you're learing how to do things yourself and steadily building a better car.
Is that just a matter of "Unbolt pump and pull up, remove old gasket, put on new one, insert pump and bolt in"???
I'll leave it here for now so this thread doesn't leave the scope of what it was created to achieve (solving my oil issues).
I will install a catch can, do an oil swap and check the levels in the catch can after a few good drives. If it's filling up, then I know that I have a blow-by problem and will start looking at valve adjustments/stem seals.
I'll look in to adjusting the float level on the 32/36 and do some googling on how to install a fuel filter and a fuel pump gasket (or whichever gasket you think I need to investigate).
It maybe worth monitoring the oil more frequently, say every drive and trying very to measure oil usage against km travelled as it may give give clues as to cause. I think dipstick high to low is 1 litre, this can also be compared to the catch tank to see if this is the only cause.
Gav
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