Club 80-90 Forums

Hi, - new to vw and with little mechanical knowldge- just bought 1981 2.0l air cooled and it seems to be losing oil - not loads. After looking under the engine it seems there is a lot of gunk (I think this must be old oil residue and stuff that has attached itself to the oil).
It seems to be leaking from a few places - the sump plate, a large screw with a flat head screwdriver slot (i donot know the proper name for this), dripping very slowly off a sort of pum-like thing that is located towards the right-front (looking from the back) but most of the gunk is around where the engine connects to the drive shaft. After having a closer look at this area oil seems to be dripping down only one side of the drive shaft, I think from the cv joint. Are there any seals within this joint that might cause the leak or am should i be looking above the joint area?

Also, what are the common areas for oil leaks and how would I go about fixing them?

cheers
skins

Sounds like the usuall age/knackered seals thing..

Have a good read through these forums and in the WIKI ther is loads of info..

But, first off, get yersen a tin of "Gunk" degresant and clean up as much of the mess as poss, then you can actually see where the oil is leaking from.. could be general tired seals on the oil cooler, pushrod tubes, rocker seals, oil pump cover etc...

As for arounf the CV joints.. thats the gearbox and you should top up/change the oil in there asap, as no oil will result in a broken box.. the seals are possible to change in situ but you need to know what you are doing..

Syncro Pete is near you and may be able to help with mech bits, although he may not be that familier with the 2L Aircooled..

I will be passing that direction on Fri eve and prob Monday at somepoint so could meet up for a quick once over..

I'll get the degreasent!
I'm around for both friday and monday - it would be great if you could have a quick look...let me know what sort of time is convenient - the car is parked just off Barton road, towards the sw of the city.

cheers
s

Hi, worth checking the oil switch sender, sits at top of engine towards left handside, you can access it through the tin ware. I had oil leak took ages to trace and it was this switch, couple of quid to replace and no problem since.

This is not so good - I'm supposed to be off to czech next month with the VW and need to get these oil leaks fixed before then. Anyone in the Cambridge area who is experienced and willing to come and have a look and let me know what they think?


cheers
s