The Gearhead Thread

[michigander]

I got a call from the shop regarding our 2014 Passat. Both the pressure relief valve and the oil cooler are toast.
This is going to be 'spensive and I take it a harbinger of things to come with the ol' Passat, so a new ride is probably in order. Right after I finish paying off the repair bill

Was the oil leaking into the coolant through the oil cooler?

[michigander]

We had to rent a car to get us through the weekend.
Hertz rented us a cute little Chevy Bolt.
I'm quickly learning to detest EVs.
Quickly.

Please expound.

[Hovannes]

I got a call from the shop regarding our 2014 Passat. Both the pressure relief valve and the oil cooler are toast.
This is going to be 'spensive and I take it a harbinger of things to come with the ol' Passat, so a new ride is probably in order. Right after I finish paying off the repair bill

Was the oil leaking into the coolant through the oil cooler?

Apparently, it was according to the service dude. This would have to be a recent development. I checked the radiator back when the oil first started leaking and didn't see any oil so I'll ask to see the cooler and where it failed.

[Hovannes]

We had to rent a car to get us through the weekend.
Hertz rented us a cute little Chevy Bolt.
I'm quickly learning to detest EVs.
Quickly.

Please expound.

First, it's a push button start. How long do I push the button? I couldn't get it started at Hertz---I either pushed to briefly or for too long.
No audible clues. No audible clues on any of the controls. Putting her in reverse is a mystery, though I think I've got it figured out now.
The dashboard display is distracting. I understand the back up camera but why the forward travel display?
But hey, I can't complain. we've got wheels for the weekend, At least for 167 miles until it needs recharging.

I'd prefer driving the T LOL!

[michigander]

I performed the valve lash/cam timing maintenance on my BMW R1250RT.

The lash was fine, and cam timing was only slightly off.

All in all a pretty easy job (especially when compared to the valve lash adjustment on my Kawasaki Concour).

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[michigander]

Now for the rest of the story:

That work was done in June, and my bike is finally back to normal (almost 3 months later).

After completing the work my check engine light came on at the first start.

The cam sensor was seeing the wrong number of teeth.

Long story but, I ended up taking it to the dealership who spent the next 9 weeks trying everything (with help from the bmw tech hotline). They changed the cam sensor, crank sensor, bypassed the wiring, even the ecu with no success.

Finally, I convinced them to put a scope on the camshaft signal (something I had been asking them to do from the beginning). They determined that it wasn't seeing one of the teeth.

When they sent that data to BMW, they were eventually told to change the bolt and spacer that holds the reluctor wheel to the camshaft (parts 15 and 16 in this diagram).

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The original bolt and spacer had quite a bit of slop (maybe .030-.040"). The new bolt had a shank and the new spacer was a slip fit to the bolt. (The reluctor wheel (part 12 in the diagram) that the cam sensor reads rides on this spacer).

I assume that when I loosened the bolt to align the camshaft the spacer shifted enough to cause problems for the cam sensor to read the reluctor wheel.

Perhaps this post belongs in the "Things Noone Cares About" thread.

If you made it this far, thanks for listening.

[Hovannes]

[Hovannes]

Suzelle and I go for a drive
https://youtu.be/JkmaDp16MwY?si=H08VUngbXvYFGnXX

[Hovannes]

[sweetandsour]

This vent tube from the carb to the atmosphere appears to be plugged intentionally. If so, why? (BTW, the engine is a Vanguard Twin-V 35 HP).

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