OIL CHANGE

Can you get your oil changed at any old Jiffy Lube type place?

They are called "IFFY Lube" for good reason. Part of a T1 oil change is the removal of the oil screen sump plate and cleaning of that oil screen. That's where I would question their work. The numerous small studs are easily stripped or lost. I'm sure even if they are willing to do it you will have to supply the gaskets and copper washers. That said I'm sure some folks do not remove and clean the screen every oil change since it only catches the big chunks.

I'm sure they can if you keep an eye on what they're doing. As the previous post says, just make sure they remove the screen and clean it up with solvent. Also make sure they use the VW recommended oil weight for your location (30w or 40w should be OK for you).

Plus when you're under there and got your fingernails dirty, you might as well adjust the valves. No way I'm gonna have JL do that.
ed

I wonder if you add a real spin on oil filter "kit" either as a full flow or the bolt on the oil pump type if you could disperse with the oil filter screed for what little it does. That would greatly simplify oil changes. Like someone else said watch them on oil weight -- most new cars take 5W30 which is probably too thin for an air cooled engine. I'm not even sure if they carry single weight oil but 20W50 would suffice for summer driving and 10W30 for cold winter. Over filling oil in an air cooled engine can cause a real mess too (blown seals, major oil leaks, oil foaming). On normal cars over filling is not that critical - a VW only takes like 3 qt and IFFY Lube is geared more at the 5 qt fill, I bet!)

I wouldn't let them. I have a saab. The transaxle and engine block sump are one interlocking
casting. They (jiffymen) drained the axle oil and then added five quarts to the engine
oil. Boy was he surprised when his feet were in a puddle of oil. I had to enter the bay and
give them a lesson. I should have charged them. Those places are for mainstreamers.
Your car isn't.

Those strainer bolts are torqued to only 5ft/lbs. Jiffy Lube would
strip'em all.

Jennifer,

OK to have the oil changed at a quik lube type place. But do it at the same place and watch carefully especially the first time. Once they know your car things should be OK. But be wary at a change in personnel. You have a T1 engine, and they change the oil in VW's regularly.

My 76 Jaguar was a small block chevy converted car. I used a local quick lube all of the time. The car has 17 grease zerk points. I provided a diagram of where they are as several are somewhat hidden until you rotate the axles. I pulled the hubcaps myself (as two are under the front caps) and let them have at it. No problems ever.

Conversely, I've never taken the spyder through a quick lube. That car is enough "different" that the potential problems are numerous. Starting with two drain points and takeing 2.5 gallons of oil to fill... So that car gets done here. All the other Lane family vehicles go to quick lubes.

angela

Not to mention where they put the lift "ears" to raise the car up.
ed

Before I got all mechanically inclined (a couple years ago), I took my jalopy to a Firestone and explained what it was to the attendant. I said something like, "It's a Volkswagen 1641 in a Volkswagen Beetle. Think you can manage a drain and fill in about half an hour? I'm trying to get up the road."
Dude said, "Drain and fill what? The radiator?"
He was serious. I left and bought a manual.

Jennifer, I wouldn't trust either of my VW engines to Jiffy Lube. The technicians are trained to rush through a series of procedures on late model water cooled engines. The VW engine "case" is made of softer material (aluminum magnesium alloy) the steel bolts on the strainer cover need to be very carefully hand started so they don't cross thread and strip the threads in the case. Then they must be tightened carefully to a low torque number. Over-tightening these steel bolts can also strip the case threads. I think most Jiffy Lube guys are one-trick-ponies. With the recommended oil change and maintenance interval (6,000 miles,I believe) it makes sense to take your car to a shop that has experience with VW or Porsche engines. There are other items that need to be taken care of when the oil is changed. A basic maintenance should include oil change, valve adjustment, checking the points and the timing, and perhaps some carburator tinkering. (The valve adjustment is done on a cold engine so you'll need to leave the car) The mechanic will generally diagnose other issues like spark plugs and distributor wires. Also, the generator / alternator belt should be checked for tension adjustment and wear. NEVER run the engine without this belt! You should be carrying a spare belt at all times and know how to replace it, or how to instruct a tow truck mechanic to change it if it breaks. For an overall understanding of the care of Type 1 Air Cooled engines you might want to go to Amazon.com and order "How To Keep Your VW Alive" by John Muir.

That'S A big NEGATORY on your last, Flower Girl!

Thanks everyone for the replies, I just thought I would ask. Vintage is only a 30 minute drive, I will play it safe and take it there whenever it needs one. I was just curious, there are so many "quick lube" places all over, but it makes sense that they wouldn't be to familiar with the VW engine. Ahh, just had a thought, Serrano is about 10 minutes away, that would probably be ok to.

Thanks again!

Talk to Vince Manto he may have a garage that he trusts and he's close by you I think Jennifer. There are probably more independent VW mechanics in Southern CA than than most of the rest of the U.S. But, I question if most builders have much interest in providing maintenance. Also, SCAT Enterprises is near you, southwest of Artesia Blvd and the 405. Just west of the Galleria at Southbay [1400 Kingsdale Ave. Redondo Beach (310) 470-5501] they might have a list of local VW Garages / mechanics that their customers use for ongoing maintenance. Worst case, next time you see a VW on the road ask the owner for a referral to a VW mechanic. It happens to me all the time when I'm driving my '67 BUG.

Or see if you can meet another owner near you who'd offer to help out. I would if I lived near you; it's fun and doesn't take that long.

Hey Bill!

'67 bugs are the coolest bug ever made by VW -IMHO.

Uh ...
http://www.enchorial.com/Pre_Chpt1/66_67.jpg

I've been following this thread (lurking from the Spyder side). I'm surprized that nobody seems to have one of those billet sump cover plates that have the single drain plug (magnetic tipped) in the center of it. Is there a reason nobody recommended that? It makes oil changing a no-brainer, and Oil Stop proof.

I'm sure there are the purists who feel the screen strainer must be removed and cleaned EVERY oil change. But I'm not sure that's so necessary. The "big chunks" should all fall out in the first oil change. After that, what else is in there that can clog that whole screen?

Anyway, Jennifer, I think I have one of those billet covers left over from when I changed to a CB extended sump. It's yours for the asking. If you are interested, let me know. If anyone thinks these covers are a bad idea, let Jennifer know.

Mark

This is taken directly from Aircooled.net's website (link, below.):

Maintenance Schedule
Schedule oil changes every 1000 miles (no filter), and every 3000-5000 if a filter is present. The oil strainer (stock VW) does NOT count as a filter, and in fact I remove it on engines that turn over 6000 RPMs! I have seen more engine failures caused by this strainer than I care to count (even on stock engines), so I leave it out and change oil religiously. One more thing! The new strainers that are available are of a much more corse "mesh" than the originals, so any "filtration" is minimal. The addition of a magnetic drain-plug is a good idea! I adjust valves to .006" every 3K miles (it does not take long, nor is it difficult) on old engines, and every 500 miles (until adjustments settle down) on newer engines. Keep a record of valve clearances at every valve adjustment; when a valve gets "abnormally tight" compared to the rest of them for 2-3 valve adjustments, it's a warning sign that the vavle is stretching and is ready to fail! Valve job time ( and replace exhaust valves)!

http://www.aircooled.net/gnrlsite/resource/articles/engnbrkn.htm

Change your own oil, it is easy, you get to hold your speedy and you will know what went in there, how and when. Oil change is easy and lets you bond with speedy.

Mark, I had Larry Jowdy remove my old sump plate and reinstall a new billet plate with a magnetic drain plug from www.mainelycustombydesign.com in Maine. You can see the ad in the back of Excellence magazine. They make billet plates for several of the older Porsche models.

Larry used a liquid sealer on the edge of the plate, then merely rebolted it in place, after having removed the screen. I changed the oil a couple of weeks ago. All I had to do was remove the drain plug. Worked like a charm. I had about 1000 miles on the oil. NO metal chips, flakes, powder anywhere, even on the magnetic plug. It costs about $90 and worth every penny. I use a motorcycle lift with a couple of 2x4s duct-taped to the top so the thing will miss the muffler to jack up the back of the Spyder. Now takes me just a few minutes to change the oil.

Any other member's thoughts on permanantly removing the filtering screen in favor of more frequent oil changes and magnetic plug? It would sure make oil changes a snap but I have heard from some that it is not wise. Has anyone done it and got good longevity? Has anyone done it and had engine failure?

I've heard it both ways; some people remove the screen if using a full flow filter; others remove it if the engine is going to see a lot of revs. Some others insist on keeping the screen even with the full flow filter. I don't have full flow but if I did I would keep both; the screen seems to work fine on stock engines so redundancy in this case can't hurt.

Barry, when doing oil changes you don't usually find metal or anything else till it's usually
too late.

I think I would keep the screen since it also prevents the oil pickup from sucking up errant hunks of gasket material before they clough an oil passage. Agree if you find metal shavings it time to begin engine tear down. I have found pieces of gasket -- guess from valve cover gaskets when doing quick valve adjustments.

I've gone to a Maxi Oil Filter Sump which elimates the screen and old plate - downside is the replacement filters are over $10 and don't have that much surface area compared to say an HP-1 canister filter.

http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=ACC%2DC10%2D5978

The original question was, "Can you get the oil changed at a regular oil change place like Jiffy Lube? The replies to the question have a lot of good information. I also think before visiting Jiffy Lube you might want to consider this local news film clip.

Open film clip: http://mfile.akamai.com/12924/wmv/vod.ibsys.com/2006/0503/9152183.200k.asx

Perfect film Bill!..... nuf said!

Jennifer,
I have my oil changed and valves adjusted by my mechanic on Artesia blvd between Inglewood and Aviation, expert mechanics, I have trusted them for over 30 years.........they are also open Saturday mornings...no trip to Vintage necessary for this....
Kirk will never say no, but I prefer to use him for special speedster stuff, not a simple oil/valve adjust thing.....
Contact me via email

I'd agree with everyone who suggested learning to do your own oil changes and valve adjustment. You may find the 'bug me video' training video covering these activities useful. More details are here:
http://www.bugmevideo.com/