[Vwdiesel] Bad car week... Miser's here so it's not so bleak...

[Mark Shepherd]

Matt
I love your site...Must do the same one day

Part of your oil problem could be linked to your valve
cover:
 Although those 10mm nutted studs are strippable; if your
getting more than a few per engine then your using too much
'garth'.
 I only ever tighten them using either a small 4 or 5" ring
spanner or better still a ratchet where I tighten by putting
my hand over the ratchet part rather than use the excessive
leverage of the handle.

"But I need to give it a bit to stop the leaks" I hear you
say ;o)

NO YOU DON'T...
Take the cover off and inspect the gasket. Is it still
serviceable (soft and complete)? If so then reuse it... if
not then search out the 'Corrado' [I think] rubber gasket
and replacement studs (no ridge) [Talk about tight... I
ground mine off! :o]
 Inspect the  INSIDE of valve cover and using a straight
edge such as 12" rule check that the areas around the stud
holes are not raised (rest assured they will be :o)
Take a small hammer and flatten the areas around the holes
[going beyond flat and creating slight mountains as viewed
from outside is no bad thing]
THE ABOVE IS ONE OF THE MAIN CAUSES OF OIL LEAKS.

Having done the above the next thing to check; is the gauze
that is hidden behind the spot welded steel plate. (Its a
wodge of sheets of expanded steel mesh) Its function is to
condense the oil vapour and allow it to drip back....BUT IT
CLOGS UP AND CEASES TO WORK In fact it can have the magical
effect of making you think that a piston ring has broken and
creating an ejection of oil on a major scale :o)
Its relatively inaccessable; so the cleaning solution is to
either cut away some of the spot welds (I've done this
:o)and pull it out clean and replace.
 OR to invert the cover block the outlet and put a solvent
in [I've used parafin oil]
(I have attached a foot pump to the outlet and bubbled up
through.)
Don't be surprised if you get a tablespoon of grunt out or
even 2 or 3.
THE ABOVE IS SIGNIFICANT IN A LARGE %  OF OIL BLOWBY

Granted if you had no sump pressure then it wouldnt be a
problem (although the air does still shunt back and forth.

Does this help?

Mark-The-Miser-UK