Bung your Bellows

re dipstick bellows and leaking. Got new bellows coming soon. Before I fit it, I’d be keen to do a test just to see how much these are causing my oil leak issue.

Not sure that the new ones are going to be 100% brilliant, you just get that feeling.

I’ve had some good suggestions and will probably use these if necessary such as jubilee clips and tie wraps. I’m a little concerned as these don’t give perfect circles, but are likely to help.

Anyway to the matter in question - would it be wise to cork, or rubber bung my oil filler tube (dipstick removed) and go for a drive, just to totally eliminate oil lost here, temporarily. Is this safe interms of bung being sucked in or ejected etc,

(Pic below is just from google)

I have strange ideas sometimes

 

Provided your crank case breather system is not blocked then there will be no problem. If it is blocked ; then it will leak worse from other places around the engine , and show you other problems you may also have.

 

Mine is throwing oil out around there too. It's already zip strapped and it's not split.

 

Just thinking, no one has mentioned O-rings. If you choose the right size, these should give a perfect seal around the top and bottom of the bellows !?

 

The viton rubber bellows are the best ...they don't deteriorate like the cheep tak jk and heritage ones .
One bellows lasted 1 month , the rubber just went soft ...oil everywhere .
Had viton ones on for 7 years trouble free now .

Paul Weeding if he is still contactable used to buy big batches in from the USA ...he may even have some .
They don't need o rings or ties or any thing like that .

 

Do you have a contact for him? Sounds like a good upgrade.

 

I rang him last week but he didn’t have any.

 

Shame. Anyone else know a source for these?

 

LVH engines and resto's ..his garage is at Throckley near Tyneside

 

Thank you

 

To be fare to JK and Heritage they may well have better quality ones now ...may even have viton ones .
Top Banana racing when he was on here got a load in from the states i think .
He might have got me them ...prehaps a good idea to get a group buy,if you can find out the supplier .

 

I doubt if they have.

Paul (LVH), and probably TBR, used to get Viton bellows from Air Head Parts https://airheadparts.com/vw-part/viton-dipstick-boot-021-119-245/

 

There you go Mark 77 westys post .

 

Viton bellows are available from Air Head Parts https://airheadparts.com/vw-part/viton-dipstick-boot-021-119-245/

As far as I know there isn’t a UK/European supplier - but I’m happy to be proved wrong.

 

My brother lives in LA which is next to Ventura so I might get him to pop up the road one day. Might have to wait until they stop looting his street and burning his neighbours cars. Apparently it was a war zone night before last.

 

When I fitted up my new Viton bellows I loosely fitted some zip ties on tube first then fitted the new bellows and pulled ties onto bellows and tightened. Very awkward on the type 4 but found moving the cooling tin first helped.

 

Gah!!!
Photo doesn't do justice to my oil leakage, pretty much everything in view is glistening with fresh oil.

 

I can trump you!

 

May be the answer is to redesign with a bung with a hole in it to fit the dipstick at the top , and a length of oil hose between the bung and the dipstick neck.

Because oil hose seems to last a long time .. in contact with oil.

.

 

I wouldn't be so sure, it looks just like yours in the flesh.

I'll get a better photo tomorrow.