Urgent help needed!

[Rippers]

Supposed to going on holiday in the van tomorrow and I have a oil leak issue I just can't sort out.

It's a 1600 with a weber progressive carb and stock exhaust.

There seems to be oil leaking from the rear and the front

I took the engine out and checked the float which was fine, the flywheel oil seal looked ok, but I changed it anyway for a genuine vw seal and also changed the o-ring.

This seemed to calm down the rear but then the front started to leak more, so I took the alloy front pulley off and put on a genuine pulley and this pretty much stopped leaking on the front completely... But the rear started to get worst again :roll:

So I pulled the engine out again and the rear seal still looked fine.

I wondered whether it could be a breathing problem forcing oil out of these seals.

I looked into the breather system and I read the case needs negative pressure, it has a stock type oil breather with a pipe that goes through the tinware to the underneath. I read that it should have a rubber valve on the end of this which it didn't so I bought one and put it on.

Whilst the engine was out I adjusted the valves and did the timing. Took it out for a 5 mile trip and the front pulley has leaked like crazy and the bay was covered in oil :evil: worst leak yet!

I'm going to take the rubber valve off and see if it improves. If it does it makes me think there is deffinetly a breathing problem. The breather itself seems clean and clear. I just can't understand how it can go from nothing to crazy, the only breathing thing I changed was the rubber valve.

Any ideas would dearly like to take the van on hols tomorrow if I can :|

 

[Rippers]

Small update, I removed the rubber valve I had put on the oil breather pipe and drove it another 5 miles and it seems to have stopped the oil leaking from the front pulley again!

It seems I have a breather issue of some sort any ideas?

 

[Trikky2]

You dont mention the main breather.

The down pipe is just a moisture drain and has the valve on it to maintain the slight negative pressure in the crank case.

In addition to the metal pipe with the rubber valve on that goes down through the tinware, there should be a rubber pipe from the top of the breather, next to the oil filler cap, that goes to the air cleaner. This pipe should be clear.

Its the small amount of suction from the air cleaner that limits the oil leakage.

 

[Araon]

the progressive carb will generally have a hose fitment front right corner of the filter base plate this is your crankcase breather connects to the oil filler pipe....

As Tricky has said the ducks bill is for the vapour to drip to the road and stops air/crud being drawn back up so refit it.

 

[Rippers]

Made it from North London to St Ives Cornwall. The oil leaking calmed down a lot from the front pulley enough for just a wipe down every 75miles. Averaged around 55mph so not to rev too high and lost very little oil in total haven't had to top it up yet. The worst oil lost was giving it some up a steep hill in Devon lol

Hopefully we'll get home being careful then I can pull the engine out for a rebuild over winter

 

[Tintop]

Have you checked the oil cooler itself? If this is lose, damaged or the rubber grommets connecting it to the block are worn you will get a leak.

Do you have a temp gauge fitted? If so does this move significantly?

 

[Araon]

pic of the engine bay