How to: changing oil on a Type 4 engine

[furgo]

How to change oil on a Volkswagen Type 4 engine

This guide describes how to change the oil on a VW Type 4 engine. It is geared towards a bus, but for the most part it should apply to other models and makes equipped with the Type 4 engine (VW Type 4, Porsche 912E, Porsche 914). To make it easier and with the hobbyist with a limited toolset in mind, the bus is kept on the ground. A seasoned mechanic with access to heavier equipment would most probably lift the vehicle.

While the whole process, including oil strainer cleaning and oil filter replacement is described, they are not necessary to do at each oil change. Check the service intervals on your owner's manual to decide when you need to do these.

Materials

Consumables

The most essential items you will need to do an oil change. Note that the picture is simply showing one brand and grade of engine oil for the sake of example, but not advocating for its use

1. Engine oil
2. Oil filter
3. Oil drain plug washer
4. Oil strainer gasket set (two gaskets and a crush washer)
5. Oil strainer

Which oil should I use? => Skip to the FAQ section below
Which oil filter should I use? => Skip to the FAQ section below

Unlike other procedures in your car, and perhaps except for the oil itself, the parts required for doing an oil change are cheap. Do yourself a favour and order each set more than once. It can be a lifesaver if you lose or damage any part, and it will save you postage fees for the next oil change if you ordered them online.

Unless your old strainer is damaged, a new one is optional. But it can save you the time to clean the old strainer. You can then keep the old strainer, clean it in your own time, and swap them on the next oil change. Also, oil strainers are made of aluminum and thus relatively fragile, so if you happen to crush one of them, you will then have a replacement.

Tools

Essential
• Socket wrench
• Torque wrench in·ft or N·m (e.g. 6 - 30 N·m)
• 19 mm socket
• 13 mm socket
• Drain pan (min. 4 l or 1 gallon)

Good to have
• Disposable gloves: nitrile or latex, you don't want blackened nails when you go to dinner later
• Large paper roll: to clean parts and any mess left behind
• Bowl or container: for oily removed/replaced parts
• Funnel: to do the oil refill
• Old toothbrush: to clean oil strainer
• Carb and choke cleaner or dish soap: to clean oil strainer and plate
• An old mat: to lie on the floor while doing the oil change

Use the torque wrench for tightening only, you do not want to overstress the torque limiting mechanism while applying lots of force. Use the regular wrench for undoing nuts and bolts.

If you use lbf·ft where you are, you will be better equipped with an inch pound torque wrench for low torques such as here. Pound foot tend to have a wider range and are less accurate on the lower torque band.

Procedure

Drainage and cleanup

1. Find a place on level ground: it will ensure effective draining and accurate oil level check
2. Warm up the engine: drive or run the car idle for a few of minutes to heat up the oil. It will make it less viscous to ease draining
3. Prepare the change pan: place it underneath the drain plug
4. Remove drain plug with a 19 mm socket
5. Let the oil drain for some minutes
6. Remove the oil strainer nut with a 13 mm socket
7. Clean or replace the oil strainer: an old toothbrush works wonders here
8. Clean the strainer cover plate with dish soap
9. Remove the oil filter (by hand or with tool). Move the change pan underneath the filter first.

As the filter is obviously filled with oil (half a liter/quart of it), a thick black mass will start quickly dripping out of the filter as soon as you remove it from the thread. Have your oil pan ready for it underneath. If your pan is not large enough to cover all the places where oil is dripping from now (oil strainer, oil drain, oil filter holes), put the filter in another container and then pour the oil back to your pan. Alternatively, assemble the oil strainer and drain plug first, and then undo the filter.

When removing the oil strainer nut, you will notice the old crush washer will be firmly attached to it. Use a thin knife or metal plate to pry it out and then replace it by the new washer.

Assembly

1. Drain plug: use a new copper washer [3] and tighten the drain plug [4] with a 19 mm socket at 22 Nm (16 lbf·ft)
2. Oil strainer: use a new gasket set [1] and crush washer [2], tighten the nut [5] with a 13 mm socket at 10-13 N·m (7-9 lbf·ft)
3. Oil filter: coat its rubber seal with engine oil and install the oil filter hand tightening it.

Do not overtighten the oil strainer nut. This is probably the most important thing you need to watch out for while doing the oil change. Keep to the torque spec of max 13 N·m or 9 lbf·ft. Do yourself a favour and get a torque wrench. If you are however in the middle of nowhere only armed with a regular socket wrench and sticks and stones, get it tight and then a tiny bit more.

Fitting the oil strainer and the two sandwiched gaskets while lying on the floor on a tight space and trying to keep it level is not everyone's idea of fun. An easier way is to attach the gaskets to the strainer so you are dealing with only one part. Glue them up with something that's oil and temperature resistant and that's easy to remove next time you need to replace the gaskets. I use Hylomar M (non-setting gasket compound) as it was what I happened to have at hand last time. I've heard of other folks using grease or RTV for instance. Your mileage might vary.

In a pinch, if you do not have a new copper washer for the drain plug, you can anneal the old one by heating it with a propane torch after removal. This will soften and expand the metal, preparing it for a fresh crush. Tip courtesy of lil-jinx.

Refill

1. Open the oil filler and refill with oil to the required capacity
2. Check the oil level on the dipstick (no need to wait for it to settle, as you've only filled the sump). At this point it might seem high, but particularly if you've changed the filter, which will be filled with half a quart (liter) once you start the engine.
3. Replace the oil filler cap . Don't be that guy.
4. Start the engine, and check that the oil pressure warning light goes out after a few seconds as expected.
5. Check for leaks and address them –e.g. retighten the filter.

If you forget to put back the oil cap, you will be creating a vacuum leak in the crankcase. The oil filler is not part of the oil circuit, so the oil pressure will not be affected. But other than potentially adding contaminants to the sump (e.g. you've been driving offroad with the cap off), the main issue is the vacuum leak, which won't allow the engine to run well. Particularly in fuel-injected engines, you will be introducing unmetered air to the intake, the symptom of which is a poor idle, generally stalling the engine.

While checking for leaks, you might want to put a cardboard on the floor underneath the engine. This will help you see the most obvious leaks, particularly if some oil was already spilled on the floor during the change.

There seems to be one school of thought that favours prefilling the filter before fitting it in, as opposed to fitting it dry. As described in Tom Wilson's "How to rebuild your Volkswagen air-cooled engine", pp148, the idea behind it is to speed priming at engine start.

Reference

Torques

Capacities

FAQ

Which oil should I use?

Ah, you've happened to reach a very hot topic, and outside of the scope of this guide.

Folks with more expertise than I have been discussing this at length, so I'll just point you to that conversation and some other resources to make your own decision. For instance, this website, despite the "welcome to the 90s" look goes into the concepts related to oil characteristics and usage in a very concise and clear way.

TL;DR – use a multi-grade oil with at least API Service Classification SE or higher (current is SN). Then decide on mineral vs. synthetic, then decide on its grade (thin vs. thick) depending on the age of your engine and the area where you'll be driving it. I myself ended up picking up the same grade the previous owner had been running the bus with for the last 10 years.

Which oil filter should I use?

Just get one of the OEM ones for VW's 021115351A:
• Mann W920/17 filter
• Mahle OC 28 filter
• Bosch 0 451 103 084 (or P3084) filter

From what I gather, some folks in the US also recommend the NAPA Gold 1521 or the WIX 51521.

Note that only Mann and Mahle seem to be doing their own filters. All of the rest outsource fabrication to one of a set of companies. Often the same filter manufacturer delivers filters to different companies. While not exactly for the same filter model, if you want to learn more about oil filter manufacturing, their quality and more, you can check out this great comparison of German (read for VWs) oil filters

Further reading

• Oil change, by Sean Bartnik
• Oil change video by KorduroyTV
• Type 4 oil change with pictures, by user felixqld66 on the Australian Kombiclub forum
• Oil selection, by Richard Atwell
• Engine oil service classifications
_________________
'79 Westy, P22 interior, FI 2.0 l Federal, GE engine (hydraulic lifters)

Decode your M-Plate

[furgo]

Motivation: there was a question recently about changing oil on a Type 4 engine, and it struck me that there wasn't any howto in the forums to do that.

Possibly because it's a fairly simple procedure once you've done it once or many times. It is also well understood and described in the owner's manual.

Yet I thought that particularly for a new owner who has never worked on a bus before it would be good to have a more in-depth guide to complement the manual with some tips and more pictures.

I also generally document what I do in a personal wiki, so I don't forget it the next time I need to do it. As I had started doing this already, I thought I'd paste my notes here on the forum in case they can be useful to others.

Caveats:
• This howto is for a Type 4 engine on a late bus. It does not cover the Type 1 because... well, I don't have one. Besides, I find one-for-all guides difficult to maintain and to read.
• The target audience are new bus owners or long time ones that want to start doing some work themselves. If you're a seasoned bus owner, mechanic (or both), you won't be using this guide, but perhaps you can share some of your experience here too –or who knows, learn something new

Comments, critique, corrections, appreciated!
_________________
'79 Westy, P22 interior, FI 2.0 l Federal, GE engine (hydraulic lifters)

Decode your M-Plate

[notchboy]

Nice write up. Its these precevied simple things that represent atleast half the questions on forums. The rest is how to ad a battery door or how to overheat my new engine with the wrong muffler.

You forgot the beer. Where in this process do you have a beer?

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[Hoppy Camper]

I agree, good job. Though simple, you effectively cover many topics. Like the gaskets and crush washer for the oil strainer. Which, BTW, I don't know where to get?
_________________
1979 Mexico Beige Westy auto
The Wilds of New Hampshire!
www.hoppycampernh.com
https://youtube.com/@hoppycamper

[LazyLightning75]

Very well done! Clear and concise. While I grew up changing my own oil, my teenage son wouldn't have a clue where to start. Thanks for taking the time to document the process for the next generation of VW mechanics.
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1975 Riviera 1.8L FI

[aerosurfer]

Any equivalent of a Motorcraft FL-1A filter will work too (Ford F150 and Mustang) They are longer than the stock size but unless you are driving some very unimproved roads, it doesnt hang down too low, about a half inch below the heater boxes. Plus you can run with a slightly larger capacity of oil.

Some will say, and i agree, to just run a full 4 qts worth.
_________________
Rebuild your own FI Harness..My Harness

77 Westy 2.0L Rockin and Rolling Resto!

72 Sportsmobile (sold)
79 Tran$porter... Parts car money machine (gone)

[old DKP driver]

Furgo,

\Why would you say the (inspection plate) is NOT used on a Bus

Also, ONLY periodic removal is needed for the sump screen since 1972 have
an very effective spin-on oil filter. and,removing the screen is only required
if a "known problem" may exist which is questionable.

carry on, i'm just an old guy.
_________________
V.W.owner since 1967

[udidwht]

[mcdonaldneal]

Excellent!
It wasn't too long ago that I was that novice!
TheSamba is a vast resource and so it can be reassuring to find a clearly titled thread that gives you a detailed walk-through for something like this.
Well done.
_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[furgo]

Thanks everyone for the comments. To address some of the direct questions and suggestions:

[furgo]

[old DKP driver]

Furgo,

Your info here will help new members and i am sure many will benefit
from your post.
I spent all my young life working on these cars and always like reading
from members here that can add any helpful info on maintaining our
vehicles. Cheer's .

Chris
_________________
V.W.owner since 1967

[jtauxe]

[lil-jinx]

If you do not have a new copper washer for the drain plug,you can anneal the old one by heating it with a propane torch,after removal,this will soften and expand the metal, preparing it for a fresh crush.
The inspection plate is just that,a plate that you can remove to inspect the inside of the engine,check cam gear and lash or look deeper with a scope.
_________________
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620186
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=668799
1974 Bay Westfalia. she likes to be called Ethel.
1968 Dune Buggy sold dec 2024

1974 parts bus
A smart man learns from his mistakes,a very smart man learns from other's mistakes.

[furgo]

[lil-jinx]

You may be right as to the purpose of the mystery hole.As an inspection hole it sucks,all you can really see is a few teeth on the cam,with a good scope you may see into the engine,of course there weren't any good scopes back then.
Here is a picture of what you see when the cover is removed,the 2 square holes is where you would see the cam,a small mirror is required.other then that the oil pick-up tube blocks the view into the engine.

_________________
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620186
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=668799
1974 Bay Westfalia. she likes to be called Ethel.
1968 Dune Buggy sold dec 2024

1974 parts bus
A smart man learns from his mistakes,a very smart man learns from other's mistakes.

[Wildthings]

Nice how to. One thing that I like in the instructions is that they say to only let the oil drain for some minutes. Excessive drain times can cause the oil pump to lose prime, which is not good. It will also give you more time to forget the sump is dry, increasing the chance that you or someone else will start your rig up and and maybe even drive off with no oil in the engine.

Also one should never install any drain plug unless they tighten it right then. Losing an engine because you only hand tightened the drain plug on an engine, tranny, or other box, is enough to make a grown man cry. The spin-on oil filter is on this list as well, put it on and tighten immediately, that phone call or potty break can wait.

One thing that needs to be corrected, is that the labels for the two charts (Torques and Capacities) are reversed.

[Abscate]

Unprimed engine damage on startup is an internet myth. Just don’t go into Indy 500 mode on startup, give the engine 30 seconds before loading. This is good practice on regular startup too.

Great write up for reference purposes! Nice catch on the table labels WT
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[jtauxe]

[vwwestyman]

Anyone disappointed that this wasn't a post with video from Erb?

Nice write up!
_________________
Dave Cook

President, Wild Westerner Club

1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing