oil leak localisation - then what??

[Hippy Mart]

Just got my ac/2l/pet back from the garage with replacement engine fitted, about 1 mile from home (1mile from garage) loads of oil is smoking from the back of the van. Significant oil leak noted. There is not a mechanic I know who is decent and trustworthy. My mission then is to get stuck in my self. Unfortunately I know nothing, my learning curve needs to be a steep one. The oil leak lateralises to the left hand side of the van and is double, with a gap of c. 3 inches between drips. I'm assuming this may help localise the source??? Answers on a postcard.

Cheers
Mart.

[Hippy Mart]

I have two ramps so I can raise the back of my van up to about .4m. I don't think this will be high enough to slide the engine out? Can anyone recomend a specific product/jack for 1.raising the van and 2. lowering the engine out?

Cheers!!

Mart.

[kevtherev]

sorry your description is useless.

Remember this we can't see what you can so unless you post pictures You could be here for days

Clean up the leaking area as best you can with a rag
run the engine until it drips.
take a picture of the area it was leaking from.
post it on here.

to start with

now if you can be more specific with the area.. like it's dripping ..near the gearbox, near the fan housing, bottom of the sump (to the left) (to the right)

[kevtherev]

I have two ramps so I can raise the back of my van up to about .4m. I don't think this will be high enough to slide the engine out? Can anyone recomend a specific product/jack for 1.raising the van and 2. lowering the engine out?

Cheers!!

Mart.

you need ten inch or foot tall ramps

[ghost123uk]

Err - Big welcome to the club Mart, but are you mad ?

Don't even think about touching it !!! (Unless you actually want to void your warranty )

Just phone the garage and tell them to sort it out, and quick too !!

.

[kevtherev]

Bugger why didn't i read that first

[Hippy Mart]

Ha! Yep - and thank you - yes I am mad! clearly took only a couple of posts to establish this! well under normal circumstances I would take the van back.. for lots of reasons and ongoing bonding issues between me and the mechanic this is not an option - warranty n/a in this instance. So yep will get a rag and start from there.

Thanks.

[ghost123uk]

Ha! Yep - and thank you - yes I am mad!

Well actually that will stand you in good stead on here

well under normal circumstances I would take the van back.. for lots of reasons and ongoing bonding issues between me and the mechanic this is not an option - warranty n/a in this instance.

As you say, "Ha!" - I have a mechanic with whom I now have a similar relationship

So yep will get a rag and start from there.

OK - we await the results of the rag test.

There have been issues recently on here with folks having bad oil leaks from newly fitted non genuine VW oil pressure switches - Could be that ? - If so not a big worry

p.s. = one is hidden between the nearside pushrod tubes, behind the tin pushrod cover and the other is just below and towards the nearside of the lower engine pulley.

.

[kevtherev]

p.s. = one is hidden between the nearside pushrod tubes, behind the tin pushrod cover and the other is just below and towards the nearside of the lower engine pulley.

.

steady now matey

Unfortunately I know nothing, my learning curve needs to be a steep one.

lets lead him in

[CovKid]

I usually drop the engine then jack one corner enough to pull it out

[VWCamperfan]

Aircooled 2 litre, oil leaking and smoke...

Sounds like oil is leaking from the rocker cover seal and dropping onto the exhaust. The rocker cover is held in place by a sprung bar running from one side of the cover to the other. Use a screwdriver to lever off the bar and the cover will come off quite easily.
Around the inside of the cover you will find a cork or rubber seal running right round and hopefully in one piece! ake this out, clean all surfaces of oil where the seal will sit and replace, being careful that the seal doesn't slip down (or up!) as you are putting it back.
If the seal won't fit properly or sit nicely in the rocker cover when you come to put it back on, it could be time for a new seal but as a temporary fix, a small dob of superglue can be used to keep it in place while you put the cover back on.

Hope this helps (and hope it's the problem!)

[Hippy Mart]

So then...here tis, start the engine clamber under the van to localise oil leak,,,there is a drip centrally, forward of the sump, (note the oil leak from yesterday lateralises to the near side) and the drip is not oil, it is petrol! Presumably i will need to run the engine for longer to recreate the oil leak.

So fluids of differnt type are escaping from various orifices.

...............***+££$$$!

[ghost123uk]

I (we) hope you are going to fix the petrol leak before continuing

[Hippy Mart]

Stopped the petrol leak, tightened jubilee clip so was nice and easy, and started unscrewing tinware to get a closer look at oil leek, but need a longer socket, so will come back to that. I recreated the oil leak and it looks as though drips are coming from the rocker cover. Thanks Mark. Is it possible that when I strip things back that the source may be different (not rocker cover) but just channeling toward the rocker cover from somewhere else?

Off to read posts about stripping things back to gain easy access.

Cheers.

Mart.

[Hippy Mart]

Should I have access to remove the rocker cover from underneath?

(I did say i Know nothing)