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jospanner
Samba Member
Joined: September 22, 2021
Posts: 2
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 Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2021 2:00 am Post subject: Aircooled bus, consistent valve cover oil leak |
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Hi! I've got a 2.0 litre CU (aircooled) engine on my bus. I've been having a lot of problems with really bad oil leaks from the valve covers. I'm using all new Elring gaskets, gone through about 6 of them trying to fix this!
So far I've tried using the gaskets dry (like you're supposed to), normal grease to try and make it stickier, and finally a "loctite black" oil resistant silicone (both as a gasket dressing and on its own). I've only had partial success with the loctite used on its own - every other thing I'm trying just isn't working. The van is dripping enough oil to produce a lot of smoke from the exhaust headers, and just now it left a trail of oil on the road. The leaks are definitely from the valve covers, I can see it coming out.
All surfaces cleaned with brake cleaner, and there's no warping that I can detect. I've tried giving it new covers, and new wire to hold them on. It just ain't doing it.
After shots of using grease:
and after using loctite on the valve cover side:
In both cases, the gasket swelled up and permanently expanded out of place.
I'm using normal part-synthetic 15W40 oil (as per the manual for my temperature range).
I've been battling this now for literally months, can anyone shed any light? Much appreciated..  |
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djkeev
Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32598
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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jospanner
Samba Member
Joined: September 22, 2021
Posts: 2
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| Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2021 3:31 am Post subject: Re: Aircooled bus, consistent valve cover oil leak |
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| djkeev wrote: |
Swelled up or getting sucked in?
I would verify that your crankcase vent system is not blocked off or modified by a PO.
You have very high crankcase pressure... |
Hi, thanks for the reply!
How do I check or fix extra crank case pressure?
I think the breather unit is integrated into the case and I can't find anything about it in my shop manual. The hose coming off the block and into the air box isn't blocked. |
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CessnaJon
Samba Member
Joined: August 15, 2008
Posts: 677
Location: Senoia,GA
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| Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2021 3:38 am Post subject: Re: Aircooled bus, consistent valve cover oil leak |
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On my 73 bay with AMC heads, I’ve noticed that the outer lip of the top of the head is wider than original. This causes the valve cover to not sit down on the lip properly, so the gasket does not get properly squished. The Right Stuff sealant will take care of it.
_________________
1973 Westy (shared birthday)
1990 Westy Multivan
2015 Passat TDI 6sp
2015 Sportwagon TDI 6sp
LR-JET, Gulfstream 159 |
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djkeev
Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32598
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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DuncanS
Samba Member
Joined: October 17, 2013
Posts: 4583
Location: New Hampshire
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| Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2021 4:51 am Post subject: Re: Aircooled bus, consistent valve cover oil leak |
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| 3M 4200. I need a gasket on a water inlet strainer for my boat. None were available. I put 4200 on the glass bowl and smeared Vaseline all over The bronze mating surfaces. This item was 2' below the water level and never leaked. The 4200 was welded to the glass and so never moved, but the glass was easily taken off for cleaning out the seaweed. |
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DuncanS
Samba Member
Joined: October 17, 2013
Posts: 4583
Location: New Hampshire
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| Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2021 4:52 am Post subject: Re: Aircooled bus, consistent valve cover oil leak |
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| But I agree with the ventilation conjecture |
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DuncanS
Samba Member
Joined: October 17, 2013
Posts: 4583
Location: New Hampshire
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| Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2021 4:54 am Post subject: Re: Aircooled bus, consistent valve cover oil leak |
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| Hey, I just noticed the posting time is an hour earlier. Are they CDST? Or do they not do DST? |
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Wildthings
Samba Member
Joined: March 13, 2005
Posts: 50338
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| Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2021 5:14 am Post subject: Re: Aircooled bus, consistent valve cover oil leak |
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Use a tacky sealant on the valve cover side of the gasket and then set the valve cover onto an old head and weight it down while the sealant sets. Make sure you bales are tight enough, they can be rebent if necessary and if they have lost mass due to rust they should be replaced. A desperation measure is to drill a bunch of tiny holes about 1/2" apart where the gasket sits and use a needle and thread to sew the gasket into place.
If one brand gasket doesn't work then buy something else. I started a thread on the Bay forum years ago trying to find out what brand gasket worked best, but I don't remember that I learned much of anything from it though, except that thick cork gaskets work well which I already knew but just didn't know where to get them. Somewhere back around the time I started that thread I found a bunch of unbranded cork gaskets and have had good luck with them. I glued one side to the cover and have been reusing the same gaskets time after time. I give them a very thin smear of silicone on the head side with each reused. A kitchen scrubber pad does a good enough job of removing the old silicone before applying the new. The present ones probably have 50K miles on them and are still supple enough to do their job.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6376588 |
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