WBX oil level, as viewed from the inside

[silverbullet]

Idle curiosity... low is 27mm from the end of the dipstick and is level with the top of the pump suction tube. High is 55mm from the end and level with the bottom of the cam followers.

So to extend camshaft lobe life (allowing each one to pick up some oil between closing and opening followers/tappets) the oil level really needs to be at the high mark imho.
Remember that when engines are running a quantitiy of oil is trapped in a cloud around the rotating crank, so the sump level drops...

[itchyfeet]

Interesting pic, asked about this before and nobody had an answer.
I estimated just below tappets full by holding a dipstick outside the engine.

I would have thought there was plenty of oil flying around with crank on the move.

[silverbullet]

It is worth considering the speed that parts go past each other inside an engine:
At idle of 900rpm, the outer edge of a DJ big end cap is moving past the camshaft at 6.6m/s (outer radius 70mm, 15 times a second, 440mm each rev)
That is almost 15mph.
At 4000rpm it is nearly 60mph!

Hurricane force winds are generated inside a running engine, it's not a friendly place or easy to say what the oil is doing without drilling holes in one and adding ports for an endoscope.

[itchyfeet]

Need the worlds smallest windscreen wiper for your endoscope

I hear what you are saying but your cam lobes can't be very much longer than standard.

[DSM]

The old type 4 engines had a windage tray to alleviate foaming on steep inclines/cornering. I don't know why it was deleted for the WBX. Could be a nice addition for your 2500! Sorry I couldn't post a picture but Google is your friend as usual.
Duncan.

[itchyfeet]

The old type 4 engines had a windage tray to alleviate foaming on steep inclines/cornering. I don't know why it was deleted for the WBX. Could be a nice addition for your 2500! Sorry I couldn't post a picture but Google is your friend as usual.
Duncan.

probably because the T3 doesn't spend hours climbing a hill and doesn't roll around corners

[ghost123uk]

Someone else mentioned on here recently that their oil light came on momentarily during an emergency stop situation. Their oil level was up to the correct mark.

[silverbullet]

Regarding oil foaming, I think that additives have pretty well got that under control (think how shallow some engine sump pans are these days)
The idea of a sump baffle had crossed my mind, but I suspect that it might just be an overkill for what is already a "wing" sump. The lifter bosses constitute a pretty good windage device but having said that, a simple baffle tacked to the oil pickup wouldn't do any harm in controlling oil surge

[silverbullet]

Hmm....http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=265383" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[silverbullet]

A bit of cardboard cutting. Something like this would control oil surge and stop it going up the pushrod tubes to fill the rocker boxes; good for those of us who like going round corners fast or the last of the wbx syncro faithful who get their wagons on steep side-slopes:

The slot is to clear the crankcase web/baffle, of course.

[silverbullet]

PS thanks to Duncan for the tip-off, a bit more added to my air-cooled history knowledge

[silverbullet]

I reckon something like this should do the job:

Various features designed to keep oil down in the sump and not rushing up the pushrod tubes under cornering (or on side slopes), also to catch the spray coming out of the mains & rods and channel it around the cam before returning down below.
Got ahead of myself when the spotter was playing up, as a result I forgot the drain slots in the middle
A gentle fiddle to get it around the oil pickup and the cam has to go in after, not before!