Carby bearings

I,ve noticed that now I have to fairly regularly work a bit of oil into the choke pivots or the chokes seize up on my T3. About every 6 months, not a big deal. Just get some light oil on pivot near where it enters body of carby and wriggle things for a few minutes. Never happened when I used leaded petrol oddly. Another side effect ? Or maybe just the original lubricant has vanished. No noticeable play in shafts. John

Reply to
John
Loading thread data ...

Maybe it's residue from the oiling that's gumming up the works.

I'd be inclined to dissolve the residues away and clean the area up with carby cleaner, and just leave it dry to see how that goes.

John

Reply to
John Henderson

Reply to
John

Many bearings and axles ( like gas flap axle) are originally desiged to be lubricated by small amount of lead in fuel. (Like valve stems and valves.)

It's very minimal lubrication but remove that and you might get problems in vehicles which stand still long times.

"Dry" fuel is always a problem in vehicles designed for fuel which includes (at least some) lubricants, applies to ethanol too.

Probably not as large as some think, nowadays. ;) More like minor annoyance.

Gasoline additive (lead substitution) might help but it's not cheap.

If I recall right VW used valves and valve stems suitable for unleaded fuel in all models from somewhere in the latter half of the 60s. (1968?) I tried to confirm this but quick googling didn't unfortunately find anything reliable.

I'm quite sure that this matter has been discussed here earlier, too, but I don't recall the results.

Reply to
Tuomas

As far as I know, the idea that tetraethyl lead is a lubricant is an urban myth. It decomposes in the heat of combustion, releasing metallic lead. This coats things in the combustion chamber and exhaust system. Lead does not lubricate valves, it cushions the valve seat against impact by the valve itself. Otherwise that impact can result in valve seat recession.

IIRC (I worked for VW Australia at the time), initially engines with hardened valve seats were marked by blue paint dots on the cylinder heads. I don't remember the year, but 1971 rings a bell. It may have been one or two years earlier.

I don't believe any other modifications were made to accommodate unleaded fuel.

John

Reply to
John Henderson

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.