Myrtle has been losing a lot of oil for ages and I could not work out what was causing it. The oil was all round the engine on the off-side, alternator getting covered and the oil dripping onto the heat exchanger. Anyway, I ran out of time and decided to call in the cavalry (a.k.a. Simon at Absolute VW in Donington) who stuck Myrtle on the lift. Steam cleaned everything and then started from a nice clean base to find out what was happening. Turns out the little bellows on the dipstick was in a poor state (it was pretty new but poor quality) and when the engine revved oil would bubble up and out. It then managed to work its way out and down into the heat exchanger (air pipes arent connected so there is a hole) The fan then blew the oil through the heat exchanger and towards the front of the bus, hence big mess. It cost me a bit to get Simon to sort it but was worth every penny as it had me well foxed. He also checked, cleaned the pressure relief valve and loads of other stuff to make sure so there you go. Dodgy £7 part causes big mess. Oh and I have ordered one of those breather boxes from Coolair and yes I did see that thread on whether they are worth it but I feel the need for a shiny toy to fit in celebration (and it might help you never know)
Fortunately mine was straightforward, and became apparent after blasting parafin via the compressor over the engine, inside and out. Once dry the drip was obviously coming from between the engine casing and the belhousing, ie the oil seal behind the flywheel.
I think my crap one was from heritage (or was it JK?). Simon from Absolute VW sourced the replacement, not sure where from. I still can't believe so much mess could be caused by such a small part not fitting perfectly.
Yup tell me about it - my original one was from JK and lasted less than a year or around 2,000 miles (probably less) will get next one from heritage and see how that goes. I note the JK one is an exclusive which seems anything that is exclusive to JK means crap.
