The Slight oil leak and a Radiator question

seabright_sc · Samba Member Joined: October 29, 2004 Posts: 279

85 Westy 2.1 rebuild

Our westy is really clean, well maintained and driven for trips only-about 4K miles per year.

1st problem- very slight oil leak- right where the engine meets the tranny. Sometimes the drip just stays there, sometimes it'll drip one or two drops maybe once per week or until driven again.

This seems super minor, but someone said if it gets on the clutch, it'll start to slip.

I'm hoping I can wait on this one until it progresses, which it hasn't really (knockin' on wood).

Second concern.... on long drives with the van loaded on a warm day the temp gauge will climb2/3 or 3/4 sometimes. Yep, turning on the heater will drop the needle to the LED. We've lived with this for a long time and it hasn't caused any problems. But I'm wondering if this will go catastrophic on us one day(clogged radiator progresses to sudden overheat), or if we can milk this one due to our low miles/usage.

I'm a bit of a mechanic (oil changes, replacing alt. simple stuff) but these two require a mechanic (=s $$$). With two kids + mortgage, i'd prefer to hold off unless consensus tells otherwise. I believe in maintaining vehicles and driving them kindly, but it's a 25 year vehicle! So I'm ok with a couple of little issues.... as long as they're not going to jeopardize reliability and safety.

Thanks!

dobryan · Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 5:59 pm Post subject:

The oil leak could be a rear main seal starting to go. It can get much worse without getting on the clutch. Not sure how long it could go on before it gets bad enough to have to fix. The cooling problem may be a partially clogged radiator. It is not at all hard to replace the radiator and is not expensive to DIY. Others may have better opinions.
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Cold Steel · Samba Member Joined: March 11, 2010 Posts: 587

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=342440&highlight=oil+slinger
check this out...
i dont know abou the raditor
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pioneer1 · Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 6:03 pm Post subject: oil

HI: As far as the temperature issue try and burp some air out of the system.If you need help with hat there are pages of info in the stickies search
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Ahwahnee · Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 6:27 pm Post subject:

Not a fix if you find you need some service to the radiator or such, but might give you a bit of comfort... I installed a 2-position switch to let me manauly turn on the radiator fan (low or high). I used a VW rocker switch (driving lights I think) so it could fit in an unused spot by the instrument cluster.

I can usually anticipate a hot situation (stalled traffic ahead, large mountain in front of me) and get the fans going a bit sooner than the thermoswitch would.

Wildthings · Samba Member Joined: March 13, 2005 Posts: 52281

A radiator will cost about $200 at your door and take you only a couple of hours to replace if you haven't done it before. Takes nothing beyond a very basic tool set. 10 to 1 the radiator is your problem.

James 93SLC · Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 6:53 pm Post subject:

Check the temp sensor for the radiator fan. Known to go bad and will keep the fan from turning on. Maybe even the fan resistor if it has one.
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seabright_sc · Samba Member Joined: October 29, 2004 Posts: 279

Temp sender is ok and we actually have a bypass switch for the fan so I turn it on when I anticipate the temp rising. The problem with changing the radiator myself is..... the fear of coolant leaking all over the place! It happened once when I was bleeding the system.... I'm not quite that pro. Thank you everyone for the input.

cheeseisgood · Samba Member Joined: October 18, 2004 Posts: 566

Use the shop vac method. Worked great for me. Only spilled a few drops......till I knocked over the gallon jug!
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1987 Westy


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