Oil Change, Griping

I changed Ludwig's oil last weekend as part of an attempt at a general tuning-up. The results were mixed, as we'll see. This post and its random assemblage of photos covers the oil change, though its details are germane more to my aberrant psychology than they are to any technical details useful for doing such a thing one's self. 

Oil is seeping out from the lower part of the case/filler neck interface. Great. Let's also ignore that poor thermostat cable, just hanging there waiting for a thermostat to go through life with. Or, we could just pretend that I'm from SoCal, or Arizona, or Florida, or Southern Nevada and think I don't need a thermostat.

Some goop, likely assembly lube, was in the oil but no slivers or anything, which is good. There was also some water, which isn't good--it's not terrible, it just means we don't do enough highway driving and don't have a thermostat.

Grady, M. Untitled (Oil with Goop). 2012. Digital photograph. Private collection.

There's that oil leak and lonely thermostat cable we were going to quit thinking about, again.

The two thin pieces of what seems to be construction paper and copper gasket in this packet are what keep the oil in the case (well, them plus a bolt; and then there's another bolt and some other stuff, but you get what I mean). Labels like this probably serve to further certain unwarranted myths about the oh so mysterious Type 4 engine. I mean, it says "Porsche" right there, man!

Tater Tot wandered over to see if Dad had actually expired, as the position of his corpse suggests.

All cleaned up and nowhere to go. The hyper-alert are advised that yes, I put that missing warm air duct back on. But still no thermostat. Nine foot-pounds and not a foot-pound more on that 13mm oil strainer cover bolt (center right), please. That's 108 inch-pounds for you nervous types with inch-pound torque wrenches purchased solely for this purpose, like the present freak writer.

Let's put 3.5 quarts of 20W-50 (too thick, some say) back in so it can leak out again, shall we? Oh well, VWs don't leak oil, they mark their spot, right? (That sound you hear is my eyes rolling.)