TheSamba.com :: View topic

Wed Apr 29, 2015 8:32 pm

84 with a 1.9L wbx. Ever since I built my engine I have had 3 consistent oil leaks... one from the oil pump cover, a second from the oil fill tube, and a third that appears to be coming from the oil pressure sensor. I worked the last 3 nights addressing the pump cover and the oil fill tube leaks. It looks like I have those resolved after removing the engine supports, the crankshaft pulley and redoing my work on these two areas... but now the leak from the sensor seems to be worse. Is this expected as the oil pressure is greater since it's not escaping from the other two places?

My thinking is that of all the oil leaks this will be easier to address than the other two as its pretty accesible, but I just wanted to check and see if my thinking is right.

Thanks!

Wed Apr 29, 2015 8:37 pm

BTDT: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=478217

The oil senders notoriously develop leaks with age & just keep getting worse.
Swap it & be drip-free! 8)

- Dave

Wed Apr 29, 2015 8:42 pm

This just happened to somebody else in the last month or so.
Yep. your right. If you were leaking oil in three places and fixed two the third one will be under increased pressure that was lost by the other two

Wed Apr 29, 2015 9:12 pm

I hope I'm right that the leak is from the sender and not a pushrod tube. My other thought is that it likely is the sending unit as these are exposed to the pressure whereas the pushrod tube are gravity fed and not directly exposed to increased oil pressure.

Wed Apr 29, 2015 9:20 pm

i had the same thing on my 2.1
never seen a pressure switch wear a hole in it before

Thu Apr 30, 2015 5:27 am

It isn't wearing a hole.
The center of the sensor is plastic with the exterior metal crimped around the plastic.
Heat cycling breaks the part down over time and a leak starts as a weep than when the crimp totally fails, oil comes gushing.

Another great reason to purchase a sensor relocation kit that puts both pressure sensors uptop the engine and easier to access/monitor.

Thu Apr 30, 2015 7:10 am

yep...here's a pic of my 1.9. Mine was just pumping it out...like watching a heart beat.

it was a quick/easy fix. I bought a new sensor from O'Riellys for get it back going. The relocation kit at the top of my list of things to purchase.

Thu Apr 30, 2015 8:40 am

Oil pressure switches are in my opinion about a 10-year item. I find it amazing anyone would spend the money on parts for a rebuild and not replace a $5 switch, but maybe you don't understand that it is not a long-life item, nor what happens when it fails.

You will understand better when you know that an OP switch seeping is a brief precursor to total failure, because the crimp that holds it all together and effects a seal is letting go. Soon it will fail completely, that is when the guts of the switch blow out. The pressurised oil will gush out and empty the sump in under a minute, and you won't get a warning light because there is no switch anymore, the guts will be dangling on the end of a wire and the switch body is an open port to the main oil galley. The only thing slowing the flow is the small aperture of the switch inlet port.

Obviously, you want to replace this switch and do not run the engine again until you have. And, as obviously, you should replace them periodically and install a new one when the engine is rebuilt.

Thu Apr 30, 2015 8:43 am

Did you glue the cover on your oil pump? Assuming you have at least .003" of end play in the gears then running without a gasket and just using a sealant is the way to go.

Yes the oil pressure switches are notorious for leaking. They can also blow apart if let go too long.

Thu Apr 30, 2015 8:50 am

Mine was replaced just yesterday. It would put out a saucer sized puddle in less than 5 minutes after driving it around for a while.

Thu Apr 30, 2015 9:17 am

tencentlife wrote: Oil pressure switches are in my opinion about a 10-year item. I find it amazing anyone would spend the money on parts for a rebuild and not replace a $5 switch, but maybe you don't understand that it is not a long-life item, nor what happens when it fails.

You will understand better when you know that an OP switch seeping is a brief precursor to total failure, because the crimp that holds it all together and effects a seal is letting go. Soon it will fail completely, that is when the guts of the switch blow out. The pressurised oil will gush out and empty the sump in under a minute, and you won't get a warning light because there is no switch anymore, the guts will be dangling on the end of a wire and the switch body is an open port to the main oil galley. The only thing slowing the flow is the small aperture of the switch inlet port.

Obviously, you want to replace this switch and do not run the engine again until you have. And, as obviously, you should replace them periodically and install a new one when the engine is rebuilt.

Mind blowing that these switches are not replaced regularly and I can't believe that I get asked for used ones???

IIRC, I have picked up 3 Syncros in past years after the seller explains that the motor is toast and a mechanic told them it was a cracked block.
All three received new switches, fresh oil/filter and a oil pressure test.
Each passed that test.
I only ran the engines for a short time after as 10cent pointed out they may have been run without oil in the sump.
They drove up into my shop for a conversion and the motors were sold off as cores...no word from any of the rebuilders that they were junk.

Upgrade your fuel lines.
Replace your fuel pressure regulator.
And replace the oil pressure switches.
All preventative maintenance for the WBX.

Thu Apr 30, 2015 1:11 pm

for the oil pump cover - yeah, i used Reinzoseal to seal it - a thin bead to ensure the small passage in the oump remains open. the original reason it was leaking was my bad... when i built the engine, one of the studs was stripped - i thought with some jb weld on the nut to the stud and a clamp i'd be ok - but apparently all 4 nut/studs are really needed LOL. i just kept an eye on, my oil level but finally got sick of cleaning up the oil mess - and the wife was out of town for a week, and the weather's pretty nice right now, so that's what lead me down the oil leakage fixin path this week.

the fill tube - i suspect maybe i didn't clean it well enough and/or understand how much sealant to use. i was pretty timid and sparse with the amount i was using when building the engine and really wasn't sure i was doing anything right at the time LOL.

Got a new pressure sensor at lunch - it'll be going in tonight. Man that will be awesome to have no oil leaks! Glad i caught the oil leak in the driveway as i was bleeding out my cooling system... that's probably a good item to have in the box-o-spare-parts....

Thu Apr 30, 2015 5:14 pm

$5 and I'm oil leak FREE! Hell yeah! It seems to helped with my overheating too! So excited not to leave a pool of oil everywhere I go!

Fri May 01, 2015 5:53 am

How's your Vanagon running? haven't heard after all your initial work after buying it.

Fri May 01, 2015 2:40 pm

its running good now. engine rebuilt, not leaking any oil now... transmission cooler installed (after a failure)... i think at this point there's more new than old in it - just trying to put miles on it, work out issues before the summer so i can take it camping! I've put between 1000-1500 miles on it since the rebuild - still love working on it, knowing that most of the repair that may come up i'll be able to do & don't ever regret the decission to purchase it.

Fri May 01, 2015 5:47 pm

I went through 2 new oil pressure switches in a year maybe 4k miles. New parts are not necessarily good these days.

Fri May 01, 2015 6:05 pm

I had the same issue on my 1.8 8V engine.

I didn't realize it was the oil pressure sender until AFTER I had resealed the valve cover thinking it was the source of my leak... :lol:

Fri May 01, 2015 8:32 pm

brutisbus wrote: I went through 2 new oil pressure switches in a year maybe 4k miles. New parts are not necessarily good these days.
I have 16k miles in 4 years on NAPA's Altrom brand - as recommended by Sambanista AtlasShrugged...so far, so good!

Mon May 04, 2015 12:12 pm

I have a similar problem, after installing a Van Cafe oil pressure gauge kit last fall, I fired up the VW last week only to discover a puddle of oil quickly developing in that area (among other problems).

I initially assumed that the leak was coming from the hose location (former pressure sender location. And this weekend I finally got a chance to remove the tin etc and have a closer look, but the tin is more or less clean and dry?!?

I read this thread afterwards, but the oil filter area looked ok, I also think I couldn’t get that volume of oil that quickly from the push rod tubes (especially with the clean tin).

Obviously, I’m going to have a better look, but I was suspecting something more forward...