oil droplets on engine top

[Whaanga]

Hello,

I have a 73 bus with a transplanted 914 engine. I had the engine out last summer and replaced the oil pressure switch, main seal, fan hub seal, and oil cooler seals (among many other things). Of late I notice little droplets of oil around the dizzy. In the photos posted below, little droplets of oil can be seen on the spark plug wires, manifold boots, dizzy cap, etc.

Any ideas why I might be loosing some oil up top?

Thanks,

Jeff

_________________
Late 1973 Bay w/a transplanted 914 Engine

[busdaddy]

Degrease it and look immediately after a short drive for the source, I'm guessing oil cap seal since the top of the cap looks dry.
_________________
Rust NEVER sleeps and stock never goes out of style.

Please don't PM technical questions, ask your problem in public so everyone can play along. If you think it's too stupid post it here
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

Слава Україні!

[Wildthings]

I see that you have an aftermarket center mount progressive carb, which means your crankcase ventilation is probably less than optimum and is likely causing oil to blow out of any available orifice. How about some pictures showing the hose layout of the engine better.

[KentABQ]

I recently found oil on the top of my engine, also mainly around the distributor. It turned out to be the oil pressure switch. It was blowing out the top around the electrical spade.

Even though you replaced yours recently, it might be worth replacing it again. They're cheap, and easy to replace.
_________________
-Kent-
1976 Riviera, 1.8l FI chrome yellow VAN - "Chloe"

"I must say, how can you be in a bad mood driving this vehicle full of vibrant color.
Cars of today are so bland in comparison. It's like driving a celebration!" ---WildIdea

Bus ownership via emoticons:
---williamM

[raygreenwood]

What Wildthings and Busdaddy said......and.....its hard to tell in your picture....but what gasket materiql is being used between the black square oil baffle where your oil filler is anx the case?

It looks like a paper gasket thinner than the stock cork gasket or no gasket. It can leak oil vapor here as well without a gasket of stock thickness. Ray

[Whaanga]

Thank You for your replies. I'll check the gasket on the oil filler/tower. I seem to remember that there is some movement there. I've attached a couple more photos per Wildthings request. There is also a photo of the oil pressure switch and I don't see any oil on the rubber gasket/housing around the switch.

_________________
Late 1973 Bay w/a transplanted 914 Engine

[SGKent]

It looks normal for a well used engine to me, you can't expect it to look like one that was just restored. The prior owner changed things around and did not maintain it with stock parts as they wore out. You should expect some oil leakage especially until you get a better breather system.
_________________
“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[Wildthings]

It doesn't look like you have the right gasket for the breather, the original one is maybe 1/8" thick. Your breather hose is run so that it has very little slope. this can cause the water that condenses in the hose to not drain back into the engine after shutdown and eventually block the hose off with engine snot. Much better to run the hose into the top of the air cleaner so that it has more slope.

[Whaanga]

Thanks again for your comments. I checked and there is NO gasket between the breather tower and its housing. Obviously, I need to take care of this. I also took a photo of the front of the engine showing the pitch of the hose from the breather tower and the carb. It should be easy enough to move the hose up top to create more pitch.

Steve, you're right - this is not a new engine but I didn't start seeing the oil up top until after I dropped the engine last spring and I was wondering if I did something in the process to cause this.

_________________
Late 1973 Bay w/a transplanted 914 Engine

[SGKent]

[Wildthings]

I dump mine in the top directly over the primary venturi so that any oil goes right down the throat. Just a hardware store grommet and fitting, and a hole drilled with a hole saw.