I have a 1972 VW Super Beetle. About a year ago it started leaking oil. But it's a different kind of oil leak. It wouldn't leak while it was parked but rather when it was running. I would put a quart of oil in drive it and shortly after the red oil light would come on. when i would open the engine hood oil would be dripping from the the hood itself as if it was spurting out from the engine. I just had the engine rebuilt and expected that this problem would be solved. Unfortunately it's still doing the exact same thing. I have no Idea what to do and neither does anyone I ask. I've heard that these cars are easy to work on but this problem has me stumped.
2007-02-21 04:40:52 · 8 answers · asked by KN 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Car Makes ➔ Volkswagen
Hello. I've got a '67 Beetle with a 72 era engine(eng serial # shows that it was originally in a 72 SB), that's just been rebuilt by a local aircooled garage and I faced the same problem (even the oil light on idle). It turned out the problem was, the crankshaft oil seal, behind the pulley kept popping out when I was driving the car on the highway. Evidently, the oil was spurting out behind the pulley and was being slung all over the hood and engine compartment. When I would look at my hood, I could see and extra thick line of oil right where the hood would sit next to the pulley when shut.
Every month, once or twice, I drive the car from Norman, Okla, to Tulsa, Okla(about 125 mi) and the seal popped out three times. And each time I took it back to the guy, he replaced it and it popped out again. The last time, he epoxy-ed the crazy thing in and replaced my pulley as well. I've put 1000mi on it since then and so far so good! He told me, that the seal really just kinda slides in place.
He also explained to me, that air-cooled VW engines run on relativly low oil pressure, when compared to other engines, so even a slight drop in oil presure will cause the light to come on.
2007-02-22 14:38:12 · answer #1 · answered by Mike 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
seems to me the easiest way to find the leak is put the oil in and leave the engine running and go back there and open the hood and run the engine at high speed. Until something shows. My guess would be either a hose off the filler or a rear seal behind the pulley, 3rd spot is from the oil cooler.
But I can't sit there and watch. There should be no need to drive it as air does not get into the engine compartment except thru the slots in the hood or under the window. The rebuild guys missed something. It is their responsibility.
2007-02-21 14:49:00 · answer #2 · answered by ButwhatdoIno? 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with iblumenbe. The gasket kit that comes with an engine rebuild kit has seals and 'O'rings for several different oil cooler set ups. If the wrong seals are put in, the oil will leak from the base of the oil cooler. The cooling fan easily picks up that leaking oil and slings it all over the engine compartment. Also there could be a crack in the oil cooler itself. Any other oil leaks can be easily detected by steam cleaning the whole motor then driving it,then look for leaks. The oil cooler is hard to detect. If the rear engine seal was leaking that bad, as mentioned, your clutch would be saturated with oil and start slipping. Hope this helps.
2007-02-24 02:47:33 · answer #3 · answered by dewhatulike 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's been soooo long since I have actually worked on my beetle I'm not even sure if this applies to the car itself. Off the top of my head I can't seem to remember if there's even an oil pressure guage at all.. of course with the red light coming on it would mean you have a pressure sensor somewhere. Check the connections on the pressure sensor and the sensor itself. It's an easy fix if that's the problem. See when the vehicle is off there is no oil pressure being sent through the sensor unit so there would be no oil leak, once the vehicle is running it sends all that pressure through the unit and your leak could very well be coming from there. Check it out and I hope that solves your problem. It's and easy and cheap fix, so hope it's nothing bigger!
2007-02-23 15:13:26 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have a 69 Deluxe beetle, with the 1600 engine. Is there an after-market oil filter sitting on the engine? Like with a little copper tube running to it? That could be leaking while the engine is running and the oil is under pressure. Just start the engine and with it idling go open the hood and look to see where it's coming from, is what I'd do. Grab the carb linkage and rev it up if you have to to make it leak. Should be visible!
2007-02-21 04:47:51 · answer #5 · answered by barefoot_always 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
it could be the factory oil cooler leaking too , there are about a dozen different rubber seals that are included in the gasket set , if the wrong ones are installed it will leak as you say , also look at your oil pump , it's at the very back of the engine and if the plate is a little warped or loose it will spray , check for them like the girl with the '69 said , but wear old clothes and safety goggles. good luck
2007-02-21 07:00:43 · answer #6 · answered by sterling m 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ive seen this type of problem before. Try paying attention to the oil sending unit on the case and see if it will spirt under a good rev. Those senders can be defective sometimes and cause that kind of misterious leak. Besides on a engine case with some serious milage on it there should be some telfon tape used on the threads of that sender. Good luck i hope this helps.
2007-02-22 18:19:05 · answer #7 · answered by vankstwer 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
engine rebuilt ? check the oil cooler I seen this before it could be rubber seals between the oil cooler and the crankcase it is under the fan housing
2007-02-23 11:37:53 · answer #8 · answered by lblumenberg 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋