Troubleshooting leaky oil breather tower

[Moonwolf12]

Hey all,

I have a leaky oil breather tower that I was going to start off troubleshooting by changing the O ring (seems to be a common problem) and inspecting the tower itself of course, but my breather tower is surrounded by hoses and I'm trying to figure out the best approach. I don't want to just pull on the hoses and cause other problems. What are these yellow hoses and do I just disconnect them? Am I safe to manipulate them a bit to get the tower out? There is a little give to them.

Of note, I read a thread about oil breather towers missing a vent near the top of the tower, and I couldn't feel a vent hole when inspecting my tower. Could that be the problem? I'll check for the vent hole properly once I get the tower removed, but just from feel it doesn't seem to have a vent hole.

Here are a couple photos of the leaky areas.

[Ahwahnee]

Those are fuel lines. They should tolerate being pusher around a bit - if they don't then they probably need to be replaced anyway.

But perhaps you can use a socket on a long extension - a wobble extension may be best - to sneak in and undo those 4 nuts. Stuff some rags around the area so they don't disappear. That's how I did mine.

Yes, it's probably the o-ring. It's likely the diaphragm inside the tower has failed too but that usually isn't a big issue - unless there are other symptoms you can just live with it.

[jlrftype7]

I use a magnetic 10mm socket on a long 1/4” extension to remove and install the breather tower.
Have a new breather hose on hand, the one that connects the Tower to the intake boot if yours is spongy or getting rock hard.
_________________
'68 Westy- my first VW and vehicle/Bus- long gone.- sold it to a traveling Swiss couple....
'67 Type 3 Fastback, my 2nd car- gone
'69 Semi-Auto Stick Shift Beetle-gone
2017 MINI Coopers, our current DDs
‘84 Tin Top - Hilga....Auto

[DanHoug]

once you get the tower off, examine the base of the tower for melting. you won't get a good, oil leak free seal if the base is distorted. also, the o-ring is a specific square-section, not round, o-ring. this is a good location to apply Hylomar to the groove in the tower and on the face of the o-ring that contacts the block.
_________________
-dan
60% of what you find on the internet is wrong, including this post.

'87 Westy & '89 Westy both 2.1 4spd

Past projects can be found at--
www.thefixitworkshop.com

[xflyer]

As Dan mentioned, the plastic breather will distort over the long haul from heat. Put a piece of sandpaper, 220 grit, on a flat smooth surface and sand the mating surface of the tower a bit. Usually it will be found that the corners near the bolt holes are being sanded and the area in between is curved up away from the sealing surface. The plastic can be sanded till flat or better find another breather.
Also run the oil level about 4mm above the bottom mark on the check stick. This will make all sorts of things better: Lower oil consumption, lower oil temp, and fewer problems with some oil leaks.
_________________
1989 Campmobile, 1984 7 passenger beater Vanagon
Both with cool A/C

[Wildthings]

Silicone makes a good sealant here, if the o-ring is not cracked and is supple then you can just lightly coat the o-ring, but if the o-ring is rotten then remove it and be judicious with the silicone so there is a minimum being squished out.