Oil pickup came off inside engine!

[CaverncityYJ]

I am working on a friends 1993 Superbeatle convertible. I took off the oil drain plate and was going to remove and replace a couple of broken studs. The one stud that holds the oil pickup was short and had no nut on it so I thought it was one of the broken ones but instead I found that it had been screwed deeply into the case so that only a few threads where visible. This stud still has a nut on it inside the case and it screws freely. My major issue now is that the oil pickup is sitting loose inside the case and is not attached to ANYTHING. The engine was running OK with no oil light before I started work but I don't understand how it was getting oil with the pickup detached. The oil drain plate and strainer came off normally with no issues and I did not touch the pickup until I found it out of position .
My question is :How can I reattach the pickup without removing the engine and splitting the case? Of course I will not allow the car to be driven until I am satisfied that the pickup will not come loose again but the owner already owes me more than she can afford.
Also any clues as to removing the one broken stud will be helpful as well. it is broken flush with the case.
The owner has been taking the car to a fast oil change place and they told her that it was missing a couple of nuts the last time they worked on it.
I am assuming that this is the only air cooled VW they have ever worked on. Help please!

[Chris V]

You may see several variations of the same approach, but if you've got access to a grinder/torch/welder you can cobble something up like this:






It is surprising to hear there wasn't an oil pressure problem, especially on cold starts when the thick oil has a slower path back to the basement...and apparently corning speeds are very mild. The broken stud can be drilled with an EZ-out left-handed tap or drilled-out entirely for replacement with repair studs.

Rocky Jennings sells M7x1.0 to M6x1.0 step studs to repair damaged cases without butchering the case for the more common M8xM6 stud or something SAE.

[FJCamper]

Hi CaverncityYJ,

Getting the broken 6mm stud out is no worse (or easier) than any other stud removal. Get the car well and safely supported, get under it, and file the broken stud down flush. Carefully punch a centering dimple in the stud, and with a small, sharp but drill straight up all the way through it.

The trick is to get it straight, while you're under the car with a hand-held drill motor. You can then EZ-Out the stud. They're not really in there all that tight.

The engine kept running with no oil pickup because it was getting oil to the pump via the oil pickup hole. That means there was the right amount of oil or more in the engine. Less, and it would have died.

It is possible to hold the oil pickup with needle nose pliers and blindly fish around to get the pickup tube into the case. It is just a slip-fit. The factory depended on the tab on the pickup's edge to hold it in place with a drain plate stud.

In any case, good luck.

FJC

[Marc]

...This stud still has a nut on it inside the case and it screws freely...

That's good news, at least you shouldn't have to do any drilling/threading at this most-difficult location.
Unfortunately Rocky's m7x1.0 x m6x1.0 stepstuds don't come in sufficient length for this application, and the common m8x1.25 x m6x1.0 is too large to fit the slot in the pickup's holddown tab - so on an assembled engine this fix has to use either a stock stud or something made from all-thread. Neither Heli-Coil or TimeSert repairs are simple here, either, since there's limited thread engagement and nothing can protrude from the "top" side of the case. But if the threads are still reasonably good it should be possible to put things right using a modified wrench like Chris shows. A little masking tape can be used to keep the nut snug in the wrench when positioning it to accept a new stud driven in from below. There should be a flatwasher under the nut, and the nut should be shakeproof (either the spring-tab all-metal type or a new Nylock). Once the stud is through the case/pickup/washer/nut and protruding by a thread or so above the nut, remove the special wrench and if necessary back the stud out to the final installed length before going back in to cinch down the nut.
When the pickup isn't bolted down it can only swing upwards so far, so as long as it doesn't walk out of its bore in the case you'll have oil pressure if the sump level is full or nearly so.

[Chris V]

...The one stud that holds the oil pickup was short and had no nut on it so I thought it was one of the broken ones but instead I found that it had been screwed deeply into the case so that only a few threads where visible. This stud still has a nut on it inside the case and it screws freely...


Also any clues as to removing the one broken stud will be helpful as well. it is broken flush with the case...

[CaverncityYJ]

Wow, this group really knows their VWs!
Thanks to everyone who replied so promptly, especially Chris V with his photographs.That wrench is cool and something you won't buy off the Snap On truck! I have heated and bent several wrenches in the past and I am sure this will not be the last...it is good to have spare wrenches.
Yes, this little convertable is lucky it belongs to an older lady and not somone like me who would be driving it full throttle up and down the winding roads to the Carlsbad Caverns or Queen NM! I think I could get that oil light to come on.....and yes, it does come on when the key is turned.
I have one remaining question: if the spit in the case was at 12:00 towards the transmission, where will the pickup tube connect (I am assuming it mates with the oil pump, right?) I am guessing if the bolt is going through the tab and the round part is pretty much in the center of the hole I can't be far off.....I will try it after work tomarrow and let you all know how it goes.
Thanks to everyone who has and will post, you are helping a Jeep guy get back into VWs.

[FJCamper]

Here's a useful photo.

FJC

[CaverncityYJ]

OK FJC, I get the picture....this engine must have got a deep sump....a Microbus I presume? I miss my "68 Deluxe Microbus. I traded it to my friend for his "66 Beatle because his family was growing .
This is how I got the bus.... We found that bus in a trailer park in Midland Texas. We used to cruse for non running bugs and when I saw it I called it. It was full of old deposit coke bottles when we found it.I knocked on the trailer door and asked if the bus was for sale. The mom called for the owner, a cool looking hippy chick. and she got excited when I told her I was wanting to buy a really good VW bug but I might settle for her bus. We put some water out of the hose into the battery , checked the oil (good) and tied a rope to it. We got it out of sight of the trailer park and got the engine turning over while pulling it. It started and did not sound half bad. We turned the engine off and pulled it back. (no need to drive it back and get the owner too excited LOL ). My buddy told her that it was going to need some work (yeah,right,like an oil change, adjust valves, tune up, clean up......) and her face dropped. I held out $200.00 cash and she actually jumped up and down and hugged all of us! That was in 1979 and the bus was all there, nothing missing,good upholstery, never modified ,dent and rust free. The blue and white paint polished out just fine and we drove that "Magic Bus" for many a happy mile. When we all went camping or to a concert it was always the ride of choice.
Thanks agein..off to the garage I go!