Absolutely correct, everything IS covered in an oily film. Pretty sure the little pancake air filter on the breather outlet does nothing except deposit oil vapour right in front of the fan outlet that used to blow into the heat exchanger. Also, there's more oil on that side of the engine bay. Thinking of chucking the lot and getting back to a stock air filter
If you can’t find a stock filter there is another way using an oil catch can between the engine breather & the air filter. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300ml-Oi...2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0
I think if you end the thing with a filter you still get oil mist though and it also coats all the cooling fins which probably doesn't help the cooling. It really should be plumbed into an air filter or if you're naughty like me back through the tin at the road... though mine doesn't chuff anyway for some reason. I don't really understand why you would want to catch the oil in a catch can or breather box, I really, really do not get that!
To be honest, I've never really understood the idea of sticking the oil breather into the air filter. Fuel tank breather, yes. But why would you want to suck oil vapour into the carb? Surely it must have an effect on the mixture?
You need to burn the crankcase fumes, rather than just venting them. Proper VW air filter setups should have a little oil separator in to get rid of most of the oilyness.
Totally agree get it out into the open it's going to get there anyway at some stage. Gave up with oil breathers long ago.
I believe that venting the crank case through the carb also creates slightly negative pressure in the case, which coupled with the helix on the crankshaft pulley helps reduce oil leaks.
In the original oil bath air cleaner breather setup, there is a little weighted flap on the air inlet and the crank case breather goes down stream of it. Then that air drops down into the oil bath. So with the engine stopped the breather system is closed off. When its running there is slight negative pressure.. The oil that reaches the carburettor is then mostly cleanish spray out of the oil bath.
Could you just explain that a bit please? I undid all of the screws I could see around the edge of my firewall today. It seemed to be free - but no way I could remove it. It seems to be wedged in in some way. Maybe I missed some screws. Along the top edge of the firewall there seem to be three 'clips' ? Where are these two pointy-upwards screws? Is there a picture anywhere?
There’s one each side from underneath about 5cm in from the side and through a hole in the chassis member if I remember correctly