On Sun, 28 Jan 2007 23:06:09 -0500, in rec.autos.makers.vw.watercooled
(message <D8qdnRx5Gp5Y7CDYnZ2dnUVZ_vupnZ2d@comcast.com>), William J.
Leary Jr. <Bill_Leary@msn.com> wrote:

I had two experiences on an 8v some years ago that might be of
relevance to you.

First, the wiring in the engine compartment generally was breaking
down.  The car was over 10 years old at the time, and the insulation on
wires tended to be brittle.  Moreover, with the combination of road
crap and heat under the hood, wires were themselves somewhat corroded,
which meant that their impedence could be higher than expected.  Among
other symptoms, I had a persistent but intermittent oil-pressure
warning happen.

On top of all of this, it turned out that I had a failing seal on the
oil cooler.  I ended up writing off the car when the oil pressure
warning came on, and I pulled over in my usual way to make sure it
wasn't just some stupid electrical connection.  It was not: there was
oil _everywhere_ under the hood.  It was dark night, it was winter, and
a snow storm was coming up.  I abandoned the car, and had it towed to
the wrecker the next day, since I had nowhere to work on it anyway.
Oddly, my father happened to be there when it came in (yes, I come from
a line of car geeks), and had a look at it.  He concluded it was
leaking at the oil cooler.  All he had to do was take the cooler off
the engine body, replace the O-ring, and put it back on.  He drove that
car for several more years.

As I say, that was an 8v with the "doughnut" oil cooler between the oil
filter flange and the engine proper.  But it might be worth
considering.

Good luck,
A

Not that I can see.  I've never found any oil on the ground under it.  The only
oil I see on the engine is where I sometimes spill some filling it.

I'll have to dig out the Bently.  It's in my office here somewhere.

Oil was just changed because the valve cover gasket failed around the #2
cylinder.  Filled the spark plug well with oil.  As far as I know, they used
the same parts they've been using on the other 16V for years, but now that you
bring it up, I'll check.

This warning thing has occasionlly occurred since I got the car (late last
year) after a high speed (4000RPM+) extended (five or more miles) run.  And it
often happened when the oil was over a quart low.  It's now happening more
often, with no dramatic driving, and with the oil full.  All it actually seems
to take is for the engine to reach normal operating temperature.

   - Bill

Like Peter said...........use different weights for different temps.

You might want to check the oil pressure during different rpms of the warm
engine.
Do you have any head gasket problems or leakage?

Your engine IIRC has two oil pressure devices on it, one being a switch and
the other being a combo pressure sending unit and switch.  Been too long
since I have worked on a Scirocco!  lol
Either or both devices could be faulty.  The one I would check is probably
on the oil filter housing or should be cheap to change.
You could also have a faulty low oil pressure warning module around the
speedo.

I insist on using good quality oil filters like MANN or MAHLE and good
brands of oil.  What are you using and did you just change it?

later,
dave
(One out of many daves)

I'm getting oil warnings on one of my '87 16V Scirocco's.  The oil is full.
I've checked it on level ground and dead cold.  The warnings usually come
around 2000 RPM, generally when in gear but occasionally when the car is just
rolling along with the clutch disengaged.  This Scirocco has 117K miles on it
and is filled with 10W40.

I have another '87 16V Scirocco with 225K on it filled with 20W50.  I put 20W50
in this one to cut down on it's burning oil.  It only gives warnings when the
oil is at least a quart low and I corner hard.  I think I recall it giving more
frequent alarms when it was full of 10W40, but I may be remembering another
car, and I've run it on 20W50 for so long I'm not sure anyway.

What weight oil is supposed to be in these cars?

   - Bill