1978 bus oil cooler

[microbusbrian]

Can anyone tell me how to remove the oil cooler on my '78 bus???? Do you have to pull the engine?? Thanks, Brian.

[EZ Gruv]

Do you have a Bentley manual?

No, you don't have to remove the engine. I just did this 2 weeks ago with the engine in place. It's helpful if you remove the exhaust though.

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[vw76westy]

the shroud will need to come off, not the engine
& to put it back on youll need a new rubber seal
for the dip stick tube & of course new gaskets for the oil cooler

its even more helpful to remove the 2 bottom studs
that hold the shroud & leave the exhaust
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quote from bay window bus buyers guide........
The Type 4 engine is considered by many to be VW's finest air-cooled motor,

[SGKent]

why do you want to remove your oil cooler? Someone not that long ago had an oil leak they thought was their cooler but it turned out to be the distributor o-ring.
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[Randy in Maine]

Also make sure your oil pressure sender is not leaking first.

[Busdriver79]

you might as well address all possible oil leak areas at the same time....the oil cooler seals and the distributor o ring and the oil pressure switch are all in the same general area and you can do all of them plus the crankshaft oil seal in one day.....the crank seal is the easiest one to change...i did mine in ten minutes after taking the pulley off...read the bentley here...they show a special tool to remove the pulley hub from the crankshaft...i used three heavy flat washers instead and the hub just popped off...that is the most difficult part of the entire job. i now have a 2.0L that doesn't drip oil any longer for a total cost of $20 !!!

[Busdriver79]

[vw76westy]

i have a massive oil leak coming from this area
and this weekend i went in there & changed all the seals

i removed the 3 pieces of tin from the back
removed the bolt that supports the oil cooler to the shroud
removed the bolt that supports the heater boxes to the alt bracket

like i said earlier...

[Zero9999]

[quote="vw76westy"]i have a massive oil leak coming from this area
and this weekend i went in there & changed all the seals

Hello,

I know this is a really old post, but I did the same thing and still having a massive oil leak, changed the oil cooler seals, fan hub seal, oil dip stick boot, filler gasket, o'ring on the dip stick itself, clamped the filler neck on with a rubber innertube and screw clamp (Airtight!), still having a leak and I'm so bummed.

Before I did this, the oil cooler, oil switch, push rod tubes seemed very dry. As well the area left of the distributor so I ruled out the o'ring for that.

Can you let me know what was still leaking on yours? Hopefully you got it figured out?

Thanks for any info you might have, peace

[SGKent]

Are you sure that the oil is coming down from that side and not say a cylinder head valve cover?

There is also the oil filler flange - I have seen those leak. There are also gallery plugs that can come loose.

Can you get an inexpensive video inspection camera in there to see where it is coming out?

https://www.harborfreight.com/digital-inspection-camera-61839.html
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[timvw7476]

check the oil filter itself too.
Would not be the first time two oil filter seal gaskets were threaded
together & led to a gusher.
I did that to a Golf once. It got messy.

[Wildthings]

Maybe a leak at the oil pump?

You can run the engine for a short period of time with the fan and fan shroud off to check for leaks.

[aeromech]

sadly i still have a massive oil leak coming from somewhere in this area
and im starting to think it might be a "plug"
all the seals look dry.......

Does it only leak after shut down?
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[SGKent]

[Zero9999]

Haha, very good.

Well i have some news, i looked at the oil pressure switch when i started it this morning, and theres oil gushing out of the switch itself, not the threads! Thats what i get for getting the pos part from autozone, it only has about 500 miles on it, not sure how i didn't notice. It has always had a little oil on it, but i thought it was blown on it from the fan. Plus i knew it was new, unreal.

I put the Hella brand switch in this morning and put aviation on the threads, letting it fully dry till tomorrow, no more chances.

I cleaned up everything and i will let you guys know tomorrow if thats it, it must be cause when i brought the rpm's up more and more was gushing out of it, i feel like such an ediot. At least every other seal is replaced except the dizzy o'ring.

I'll keep you posted and thank you all for your help, i really appreciate it!

[SGKent]

[busdaddy]

[Wildthings]

Early in my Type 4 experience I had an oil pressure switch leak for years before I figured it out. I thought it was the cooler seals, but since it didn't leak a significant amount I just lived with the leak, verses tear in to things to get to the cooler. When I did figure out it was just the oil pressure switch I removed the switch and the switch actually fell apart in my hands. I couldn't believe it hadn't failed going down the road, I could easily have lost an engine over something this simple.

I can't recommend a source for a good switch. I actually think my present switch was bought from NAPA quite a few years ago now. I know that at one point German Supply was supposedly selling a good switch, but they seem to have disappeared from the scene over the last few years and have been getting bad reviews from those than have tried to buy from them.

I did just buy a switch (the same as the air cooled switch I think) from NAPA for my 1.9L WBXer but haven't even taken it out of the box yet.

Be wary of using anything on the threads as a hunk of sealant might break loose somewhere down the road and end up clogging one of the smaller passages in the lubrication system.

[nodrenim]

Wildthings, have you ever used teflon tape on sending unit switches? Just curious, as I am struggling to repair an oil seal on my 72 bus, as we speak.

[nodrenim]

Wildthings, have you ever used teflon tape on sending unit switches? Just curious, as I am struggling to repair an oil seal on my 72 bus, as we speak.