WBX Breather tower oil filler - itchyinfo

[itchyfeet]

I made this a yer or so ago and I have been asked a few times how it's done.

It's all written up in a thread somewhere but buried deep in page 15 it's hard to find so here it is on it's own thread.

All the breather towers I have ever seen are long since broken, the rubber membrane has perished and it is no longer a valve just an open breather so no loss cutting it open.
Dia 40mm hole saw then filled out to be a tight fit so no seal needed, tube is dia 42mm ish




next I got an old broken oil filler tube plastic part ( Thanks Mark) cut it down and added a hole to align with the vent




it's a push fit in the tower



a piece of 15mm pipe prevents the tube turning when you fit and remove the cap ( which can be quite stiff) and provides some air flow restriction.







fitted



Since this I have removed the insert that pushes in from below as in winter you still get some mayo stuck in there.

[itchyfeet]

If you have a broken oil filler tube and used the top to make this you will be left with a hole to seal off.

I asked on FB if they were available as a stock item to blank off and Marco had the answer...

The're called type 3 block off plates
https://www.coolairvw.co.uk/Item/Shop_b ... cases.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I made this oil filler tower so I could use the hole for an oil temperature gauge sender, I had to make the plate.


VDO temp gauge sender has a tapered M10x1 thread

I have made a plate with a standard M10x1

https://www.vdo-gauges.com/temperature- ... 1-9-3.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[itchyfeet]

You may even want a PCV breather so you could fit one, this is off golf part number 06A 129 109 D

19mm silicone hose is required

it's not ideal because the valve should be horizontal to drain but it works.

Having said that this is just for emissions so if you don't do much mileage and are not so bothered about saving the plannet with your 20mpg gas guzzler you can vent the breather to air and seal up the pipe it connected to.

I found mayo gets stuck inside in winter also so it needs cleaning out every year minimum.

[itchyfeet]

.

[Snowmark]

Thanks Paul.......can I have that broken oil filler tube back if you’ve finished with it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[itchyfeet]

Thanks Paul.......can I have that broken oil filler tube back if you’ve finished with it
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

forgot it was yours, bet you regret giving it away now.

[Mr Bean]

Funny thing this topic popping up as when I got my van the top of the breather tower had been cut off and re-afixed with a plastic bag and a elastic band. I never worked out why the PO had done this and just changed it for an unmolested tower. ( I did buy the van for £500 as a virtual rebuild).

Am I correct in assuming that the one of the KPI's for the breather tower mod is to facilitate a suitable location of an oil temperature sensor?

[itchyfeet]

Am I correct in assuming that the one of the KPI's for the breather tower mod is to facilitate a suitable location of an oil temperature sensor?

yep, didn't read the second post then?
https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.p ... 2#p8249284" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

or if your filler tube is broken and you don't want to spend 75 quid on a new one
or if you are tired of spilling oil all over the bumper

[Mr Bean]

OK while we are on the subject:
I am on the last knocking of chasing down an idling problem coincidentally with the commissioning of a rebuilt engine. My final (probably frowned upon) test for a fully controlled idle is to to gently let up the clutch in 1st gear and observe the rev counter while the idle control system maintains idle - 850 - and pulls the van away up the gentle slope outside my house - technique I developed over the years for ice and snow. It achieves this perfectly.

My only niggle now is that the (big fat) idle screw on the throttle body needs to be all the way in to achieve an idle of 850 rpm. One of the obvious reasons for this is vacuum leakage in the plenum side of the throttle body which I believe I have eliminated. But then I stumbled on this:

In https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.p ... 9&start=45" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (page 3) itchyfeet wrote:
So the main reason they are 80 quid is because nobody buys them. (the tower that is)

and bigherb responded:
Only if you have an injection engine as if it wasn't working it would cause rough idle. Or if it was blocked high crankcase pressure.

So being devils advocate - does that indicate that on an injected WBX if the valve in the tower was faulty - open - or missing and air could enter into the crankcase via say the dipstick or telescopic oil filler tube then this could manifest as a vacuum leak and run the (big fat) idle screw out of range?

[itchyfeet]

My 2.1 DJ has this breather tower / oil filler and it's open to the air ( see long pipe to RHS of alternator from breather tower vents to air down low) with the pipe to the inlet between AFM and Throttle body sealed off ( can just see an old temp sensor 2 o'clock by plastic funnel used to seal off with jubilee clip) and it made no difference so I conclude ....no

OK while we are on the subject:
I am on the last knocking of chasing down an idling problem coincidentally with the commissioning of a rebuilt engine. My final (probably frowned upon) test for a fully controlled idle is to to gently let up the clutch in 1st gear and observe the rev counter while the idle control system maintains idle - 850 - and pulls the van away up the gentle slope outside my house - technique I developed over the years for ice and snow. It achieves this perfectly.

My only niggle now is that the (big fat) idle screw on the throttle body needs to be all the way in to achieve an idle of 850 rpm. One of the obvious reasons for this is vacuum leakage in the plenum side of the throttle body which I believe I have eliminated. But then I stumbled on this:

In https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.p ... 9&start=45" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (page 3) itchyfeet wrote:
So the main reason they are 80 quid is because nobody buys them. (the tower that is)

and bigherb responded:
Only if you have an injection engine as if it wasn't working it would cause rough idle. Or if it was blocked high crankcase pressure.

So being devils advocate - does that indicate that on an injected WBX if the valve in the tower was faulty - open - or missing and air could enter into the crankcase via say the dipstick or telescopic oil filler tube then this could manifest as a vacuum leak and run the (big fat) idle screw out of range?

[Mr Bean]

Yes I can see how that all hangs together now thank you. In my quest for the answer to my borderline out of range idle speed adjustment screw and reading of deteriorated Breather Tower Valves, I had wondered if air from the crankcase was bleeding through the tower and running the idle speed adjustment screw out of range. In the event squeezing the pipe flat with a brake flex pipe clamp made no difference to the idle speed and sucking/blowing down the spigot demonstrated what appears to be a functioning cvs valve.

Having said that I do now have an acceptable 800 RPM idle which clearly passes my previously mentioned some might say brutal "letting the clutch up in first gear on idle and pulling away up a gentle slope" test

Got to say I do find the breather tower oil filler/oil sensor modification a temptingly elegant and aesthetically pleasing solution though.

E D I T:
So I have been using the van for local trips as a shake down exercise (Watch out for the high top in B£Q Mr Bean ) and on one such trip it started fizzling out as I drew to a halt at roundabouts etc. So getting it home by a somewhat noisy driving technique sure enough it wouldn't run at under about 1.000 RPM.
Remember my previously mentioned running out of idle screw range?
Well I wound the idle screw out about two and a half turns and all is back to normal now. Trouble is I don't really know what the original cause was/is and I don't know what fixed it In the meanwhile I will carry on in puzzled ignorance on the basis that if the idle RPM suddenly rises I can simply bottom out the idle screw again. Some day...

[ash1293]

Just wondering a bit further down the line have you had any issues with the tower filler mod?