TheSamba.com :: View topic - It's My Glittery Party, and I'll Cry if I Want To

Tue Nov 04, 2025 7:03 pm

Need opinions here…

'68 Beetle with an H Case … Somebody turned it into a 1600 DP before me .. I’ve had the car for 5-1/2 years.

Back in the spring, while chasing an oil leak, I discovered piston #3 blew a small hole in it. … You can see the piston here on my old thread:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=803095

When replacing the pistons & cylinders, I decided to up the piston size from 85.5 to AA thick-walled 88s and new heads to make it a 1679. Replaced the rings on the AA pistons with Grant rings.

I’ve been chasing an overheating issue ever since (most likely because I still have a non-doghouse), so I will address this issue and convert it to a doghouse probably come springtime.

In the meantime, I’m having an issue with the oil. I have run 3 different loads of oil through it, 3 different brands/types of oil, all with the same result.

Hopefully I didn’t get any big pieces of the piston inside the case. I didn’t split the case, but before installing the piston & cylinders, I blew out the inside of the case with some compressed air and put a load of fresh oil in it and hand cranked it a bunch in an effort to dislodge any pieces that could’ve been stuck in there. When I drained the oil, it was still perfectly clean.

I put some Lucas 20W-50 Break-In oil in the engine.

https://a.co/d/bQru1Ny

Ran the engine remotely, all looked fine, put the engine back in the car.

I took the car out to do a break-in session for the new rings. Was out driving it like 20 mins total, neighborhood roads, uphill/downhill in gear, so about 25-30 MPH most of the time with a little bit up the 40 MPH for a min or so total. Probably drove like 3-5 miles total.

Changed the oil to get rid of the glitter party from the rings. Was super glittery as expected and super black. Here’s the oil:

Then put in this Valvoline 10W-40 synthetic blend:

https://a.co/d/1ppejvg

Took the car out at a later time over the course of 2 or 3 different days, about 50 miles total. Drained the oil again. Glittery black again and silvery stuff eventually settled to the bottom. Pic of this round of oil:

Added an external spin-on oil filter. Added this Valvoline VR1 10W-30 oil:

https://a.co/d/9AW81We

Drove about 55 miles over 2 days. Drained the oil again. Still glittery and black. Here’s the 3rd load of oil and the filter after I cut it open:

Here's my finger after swiping it through the bottom of the oil filter

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9eM8f3z67NY

Any suggestions? Would this still be from the rings? The rebuilt engine has like 110 miles on it. I thought glitter from the rings would only last a handful of miles.

Or did something from the blown piston get in the bearings and I’m screwed and have to rip it all apart?

When I feel the oil between my fingers, it feels perfectly smooth, I doth feel any small pieces of anything.

Another thought I had is that the silvery residue is something in the higher zinc oils (the Lucas and Valvoline VR1) that settles at the bottom. But I had the same result with the Valvoline 10W40, which I don’t think has added zinc. But also, the silvery residue isn’t visible in the fresh oil before it goes in the engine.

Tue Nov 04, 2025 7:08 pm

My two cents? You should have tore down the entire engine when you holed your piston. You circulated metal throughout the engine to include bearings. Probably not related to the metal in your oil but did you recheck your deck height?

Tue Nov 04, 2025 8:43 pm

Too much glitter from just rings. Did you scrub the bores clean? Did you check and or adjust end play when the motor was out? New pulley or oil pump? Did you check the feel of the rods? Ring gap good? That about covers it. Good luck.

Tue Nov 04, 2025 8:43 pm

Is it magnetic? It looks like the piston chunk broken down to dust. All oil has added zinc BTW just how much.

You went this far keep going a few more times basic oil and filter see what happens

Wed Nov 05, 2025 5:25 am

bsairhead wrote: Too much glitter from just rings. Did you scrub the bores clean?
Yeah I thought that was too much to be from rings. You mean clean the bores of the cylinders out to remove the cosmoline that comes on them? Yep did that.

bsairhead wrote: Did you check and or adjust end play when the motor was out?
Yeah end play was good.

bsairhead wrote: New pulley or oil pump?
Both actually. Replaced the crank pulley when the engine was out. Oil pump was replaced when I added the external oil filter, however that has only been in place for the 3rd load of oil. The first 2 loads of oil still had the old oil pump.

bsairhead wrote: Ring gap good? That about covers it. Good luck.
Yeah the rings were all within spec out of the box, but I did check them all and clocked them.

Wed Nov 05, 2025 5:27 am

pondoras box wrote: My two cents? You should have tore down the entire engine when you holed your piston. You circulated metal throughout the engine to include bearings. Probably not related to the metal in your oil but did you recheck your deck height?

Yeah I have the deck heights written down somewhere, but I can't remember which cylinders were which heights, but I remember two were .049", one was .051", and one was .053"

Wed Nov 05, 2025 6:45 am

But, the good news is, the oil filter seems to be working....

Wed Nov 05, 2025 8:06 am

I second that you should've done a complete tear down. With the way that piston looked. There's no way I'd be comfortable firing up a top end rebuild knowing there is chunks floating around in there. There are crevasses in the case you cant get to or see with out splitting it open and thoroughly cleaning it out.
For the gold colored glitter, there is one gear on the crank snout that is brass. Its an important one too. It looks like the piston chunks are tearing up stuff you cant see without a full disassembly. Like the aluminum bearings and the brass distributor drive gear.
You can keep running it and changing the oil. Though if it doesn't clear up soon, you'll be tearing it down completely and doing a bottom end next. A spin-on filter will catch the bigger flakes but it wont catch the micron sized particles. All that pasty stuff.
As for the over heating, are all your tins in place? Did you remember to install the little deflector tin on the bottom of the cylinders? Is the rubber perimeter gasket in place?
When you switch over to a dog house setup make sure you also get the later fan as well. The earlier fans don't move as much air because they are not as wide as the later dog house fans.

Wed Nov 05, 2025 8:04 pm

DesertSasquatchXploration wrote: Is it magnetic? It looks like the piston chunk broken down to dust. All oil has added zinc BTW just how much.

You went this far keep going a few more times basic oil and filter see what happens

Oh yeah forgot to say this in my original post ... No not magnetic at all.

So you think throw oil back in and drive it some more and see what happens??

It's getting cold out ... If I need to take the engine back out to tear it back apart, I need to do it soon so I can take the case in the house to work on it in the basement over the winter since my garage doesnt have heat :o

Wed Nov 05, 2025 8:05 pm

Dougy Dee wrote: But, the good news is, the oil filter seems to be working....

HaHa yes!!!

Wed Nov 05, 2025 8:13 pm

Schepp wrote: I second that you should've done a complete tear down. With the way that piston looked. There's no way I'd be comfortable firing up a top end rebuild knowing there is chunks floating around in there. There are crevasses in the case you cant get to or see with out splitting it open and thoroughly cleaning it out.

Yeah I thought by putting oil in and rotating by hand would be enough to expel any chucks ... I guess not!! :o

Schepp wrote:
For the gold colored glitter, there is one gear on the crank snout that is brass. Its an important one too. It looks like the piston chunks are tearing up stuff you cant see without a full disassembly. Like the aluminum bearings and the brass distributor drive gear.

Wait ... am I color blind and don't know it? All the glitter looks silvery to me, I'm not seeing any gold glitter.

Schepp wrote:
As for the over heating, are all your tins in place? Did you remember to install the little deflector tin on the bottom of the cylinders? Is the rubber perimeter gasket in place?
When you switch over to a dog house setup make sure you also get the later fan as well. The earlier fans don't move as much air because they are not as wide as the later dog house fans.

Yep all tins in place ... You can look up my old thread from like 4 months ago to see what all everyone told me. And yep the deflectors are in place. And the engine bay seal in place also.

Yep I already have the bigger doghouse fan. I picked almost everything up I need to convert it at a swap meet in August. Only thing I need is that captive nut for the driver's side.

Wed Nov 05, 2025 10:04 pm

Pic #2 appears to be somewhat gold colored. Maybe it’s just the sunlight and angle.
Good to know that you’re on top of the cooling system.

Nonferrous particles indicate bearing material. I’d be curious what the rod journals and bearings look like. Just thinking about the cam lobes chewing on that between the lifters can’t be good for the long term reliability of the engine.

Thu Nov 06, 2025 7:54 am

Schepp wrote: Pic #2 appears to be somewhat gold colored. Maybe it’s just the sunlight and angle.
Good to know that you’re on top of the cooling system.

Nonferrous particles indicate bearing material. I’d be curious what the rod journals and bearings look like. Just thinking about the cam lobes chewing on that between the lifters can’t be good for the long term reliability of the engine.

Oh yeah I don't know what the gold color is from ... The pan was out in the sun, so I think it's some sort of funky glare.

Thu Nov 06, 2025 8:26 am

I wouldnt bother to keep changing the oil. Its not going to fix itself. All that stuff in the oil is indicative of major problems. Ive never seen any oil change look that bad. Its done.

Thu Nov 06, 2025 8:33 am

Was the new pulley aluminium ?

Thu Nov 06, 2025 9:07 am

bsairhead wrote: Was the new pulley aluminium ?

It's this pulley

https://www.cbperformance.com/product-p/1898.htm

Thu Nov 06, 2025 2:45 pm

Snoopy1971 wrote: bsairhead wrote: Was the new pulley aluminium ?

It's this pulley

https://www.cbperformance.com/product-p/1898.htm Not saying it's the problem, but did you read the note?

Thu Nov 06, 2025 3:22 pm

bsairhead wrote: Snoopy1971 wrote: bsairhead wrote: Was the new pulley aluminium ?

It's this pulley

https://www.cbperformance.com/product-p/1898.htm Not saying it's the problem, but did you read the note?

Yeah my case isnt aluminum, its an original case, so I guess it would be Magnesium/aluminum alloy

Thu Nov 06, 2025 3:30 pm

It would be easy to pull the pulley and look for tells.

Thu Nov 06, 2025 3:52 pm

bsairhead wrote: It would be easy to pull the pulley and look for tells.

What would I see? Why arent these pulleys compatible with Aluminum cases?

I did have the pulley off between oil rounds 2 & 3 when I added the oil filter/pump combo ... didnt notice anything out of the ordinary.