Oil levels/dipstick readings/dry valve trains getting oiled for the first time.
 

I just fired up my car after a topend rebuild and the one pushrod tube that I thought was going to leak DID in fact leak,
and the good news/bad news was that I had a dry motor on one side. The pushrod tube leak was considerable, understandably because
it was caused by a tube being out of position
, (that is, "too far into the case, not enough into the head"). I think I corrected this when I GENTLY gripped the offending rod tube with a Channellock ( water pump pliers) and slid it more into the head, so that it seemed more centered between case and head. When I checked the oil I'd noticed that it had dropped PAST
the first line below the "full" mark and
almost twice that far, in fact. No way did that rod tube leak a pint-and a half in just 5 minutes running time! The heat exchangers wiuld be a MESS with that kind of leak, and they weren't. While sitting here away from the car I thought of a possible explanation: When I started the motor up for the first time after the rebuild, there was no oil in the valve train other than what gravity put there when I filled the crankcase very carefully to the "full" mark. Now that I have oil in my valve train, and that probably accounts for what is missing on the dipstick. If I am right here, I gives me a MUCH better idea of how much oil actually gets "changed" in an oil change on these motors...a lot must just sit up in the valve train and blends in later with the new stuff. Hmmmmm...what do you think?

Was the oil filter empty? They take about a half quart to fill unless you fill it before putting it on.

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Chris
75 914 2.0L

I fill all the pushrods with oil, and crank the engine with no spark plugs until it achieves 40 PSI oil press minimum..The oil gets to the valve train rather quickly..

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Jake Raby
Raby's Aircooled Technology
www.aircooledtechnology.com