When I bought the Bouncy Bus it had a slight oil leak. 13000 miles later this became more severe. Something may have been disturbed when changing the carburettor and after another 2000 miles it gave way. When the engine was hot oil came out from under the fan housing and sprayed around. It started to smoke on the exhaust. So I took the engine out for the first time and changed the oil cooler seals. There was so much black around the place from years of leaks that even with copious Gunk and washing it still had black patches. I couldnt see any cracks. I couldnt see much at all. After two evenings , it was back in. But it still leaked fairly badly when hot (over 100C oil temp) . So I took the engine out and tried a new cooler , seals and EMPI adapter block - wondering if the old adapter had a crack . It still leaks only slower with the new adapter block. Is this still likely to be the cooler seals or is there some other possible source? I suspect it is the adapter block as the mating faces on the EMPI adapter block were pretty rough (I smoothed them off) and there was still swarf in the oilways. But I think I will go back to topping up the oil and wait for another reason to pull the engine.
If it's a type 1 engine and new seals haven't stopped it leaking and the oil comes out from under the fan housing on the cooler side it's possible the block is cracked. It's not uncommon, but fatal (for the block). I have one just the same under my bench.
Thanks for the comments - Thinking about it - the VW original bracket was a bit rough finished but at least the milling machine hadnt chattered on the metal like on the EMPI part. The main original culprit was probably the fact that the oil seals were bedded on silver paint liberally coating the AD series reconditioned block, and the seals went hard and the paint came off and stuck to the seal, leaving an oil seal made out of a loose piece of paint against metal .... Anyway, I have learned Number One Lesson before: Whenever you take something a bit worn out off a VW bus keep it because in about a month it will be less crap than the new Chinese or Brazilian made rubbish you replaced it with. Only if its a sieve made of rust without shape bin it. I will simply take the old parts back out of the spares box and put them back with the new seals. I dont think its the crank case oil seal as the oil is coming from above - the flywheel/clutch area looked pretty dry. Also the leak seems to be back to its original rate - enough to be annoying but not a rapid loss of oil, even after motorway driving and higher engine temperatures. A cracked block is a possibility to consider though .. I think I will wait for another reason to pull the engine - it was harder to get back in the second time around as I managed to miss the balance point with the jack.
Good luck with it. As you say, it's just the seal shaped parts that seal, the flat surfaces are to ensure the seals are clamped evenly and stop it wobbling about. MY final test was to seal the entire flat surface with silicon but it still leaked.
Agree with Zed's comment. Had not read the whole thread. IMO I would never buy a recon. I would recon myself, as I have done several times. These recons covered in paint might look good on the web, but hide all the lack of proper finish that a good engineer would require. Hope you get it sorted Mike.
As we are at the end of along line of POs , I dont know when most of the major mods were done . Who knows when the engine went in... The silver paint also messes up the rocker cover sealing as its rough.... All I know is the previous use of the bus according to MOT records over the last few years was typically less mileage in a year than we do in a day on some of our trips. Argh now I have popped the exhaust header off one of the heaters. causing more crackle than usual
Biggest problem with late bays or any other old vehicle (and some newish ones) is POs who don't know what they are doing.
