[Vwdiesel] Oil-tight diesel - does it exist?

[Shawn Wright]

On 16 May 2003 at 23:20, LBaird119 at aol.com wrote:

From:           	LBaird119 at aol.com
Subject:        	Re: [Vwdiesel] Oil-tight diesel - does it exist?
To:             	vwdiesel at vwfans.com
Date sent:      	Fri, 16 May 2003 23:20:27 EDT

>   Usually oil on the back side is from the valve cover.  It's possible it's
> from
> the head gasket but that usually comes out about #3 and at the front and
> then works it's way around.  If it's not the valve cover leaking, which it
> shouldn't be, then check your oil pressure sender, in the end of the head.
> They are fairly notorious.
>   Front seals do tend to start leaking after they're about 60K miles old.
> All 3 are the same and can be replaced in the car.  Good time to do a
> timing belt or do them when you do one.  You don't want to miss the
> thin green o-ring around the intermediate shaft seal holder.  It gets
> hard and cracks.  Pulling the holder makes replacing that seal much
> easier too.
>   Pan gaskets are usually trouble free.  Check bolt tension on it if you
> want.  It's not all that tight.  Drain plugs that are missing the copper
> gasket are much more common leakers.  All that's left is the o-ring
> on the vacuum pump and the rear main.  :)  The oil filler cap is prone
> to weeping but the gasket is cheap and available.  I've bought several
> for <$1.00 as I recall.  I can get them for Mercedes as well Shalyn.  ;-)
>   To clean the back side it's just a matter of cranking the wheels to
> each side and getting in behind the tire while the back of it is outward.
> You can also sneak in between the firewall and block from the driver's
> side.  Local DIY car wash usually works well for that.  To get it really
> good usually takes getting all the leaks fixed and going through a
> slushy winter.

Loren,

Thanks for all the info. I'll pull the tb cover and take a look at the front seals and belt.
I know the belt is ok for mileage, but significant time has elapsed, so it should be
checked anyway. I'm hopeful that the few drips I'm seeing since changing the VC
gasket are just residual oil making its way down the block, so I'll try to clean it some
more I guess. I didn't realize front seals failed that soon. I didn't change mine on my
TD until around 250k, and I think only the crank seal was leaking.

btw, can one check the condition of the notorious int shaft bearings by measuring
play in the shaft with the seal carrier & seal removed? I'm curious what condition they
are in...



--
Shawn Wright
http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright
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