oil leak - oil on crank sensor cable?

[fla 9]

Cars in the body shop atm, but one leak i need to solve is this one on the right side of the bay. There is never any dripping but the crank sensor cable ends up with a nice smear of oil on it which after a while forms a nice droplet. I just cant locate teh source of the leak, so i'm looking at the obvious - should there be a seal inside the sensor to prevent oil running out from there? Its also accumulating along the oil sump edge which makes it seem as though the gasket is leaking - it is new and I've also used some sealant so i'm pretty confident thats ok.

[RW1 0]

If you've fitted a rubber sump gasket, they are bad for this. Sealant helps but..... The metal spacers in the gasket don't let the bolts fully tighten down the gasket. No use overtightening as the bolts will easily strip the thread. Mine won't stop weeping oil, so......

 

Options:

- take off the gasket and clean up. Then re-apply sealant and hope it does seal (BTW, tighten the bolt pattern from the centre to the outer edges, front & back together; to take out the sump pan distortions. Don't start in a corner.)

 

or

 

- buy a set of shorter early VR6 sump bolts and use an early VR6 flat gasket. Shorter bolts cos the gasket is thinner and some bolt mountng points are not open ended, so the later bolts foul inside the threaded holes. Be warned :), the bolts ain't cheap at VW.

 

Bought the bolts in the end, supplied in packs of 10, 3 packs = £45.12 Part number N900 084 01.

Didn't bother with the early VR6 VW sump gasket, bought instead a Payen JH5013 VR6 sump gasket from a motorfactors.

(Job not done yet)

 

or

 

clean up all the oil, including in the gasket groove area and apply Hylomar Universal Blue. This I have done and managed to reduce the leakage by about 80%. One little bit more to seal and hopefully it will have stopped. If so, will fit the flat gasket/shorter bolts at the next oil change.

 

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[fla 9]

Some good suggestions there RW1. When i replaced the gasket last time (VW one) is used some blue instant gasket (assume this is the same as hylomar?) on the sump and stuck the gasket onto this. Then offered it up to the sump, but now you mention it i started in a corner :( Its literally just that one corner where the oil comes out from, but it tends to spread along the whole of the bottom of the sump and subframe. I'm convinced there is another leak point as i have always had to top up the oil every few thousand miles. The only other visible area is the oil cooler thermo plate, so maybe it is trickling down from there too?.

[RW1 0]

Same as Hylomar

.... similar.

 

Other source of a leak I had from new until recently was the split section joint between the upper and lower timing chain cover area just behind the three temp sensor/thermostat housing. Always has thought this was a oil cooler seal weep.

 

One of the two small allan key head bolts was slack. Gave it a 1/4 turn and that leak has gone. They sit on the small under face of the casing. You can get in there with your hand to feel for oil near the bolts but need the coil pack out of the way if it needs tightening.

 

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[easypops 8]

I too have a leak from there........replaced the gasket with the VW rubber/metal one, used blue instant gasket(not sure of the type) and all seemed well for a couple of days but the leak has reappeared.......i also have the thinner gasket so that might be next,but £45 for the bolts :censored: .......oh and i'm pretty sure i started in the offending corner too :bad-words: :lol:

[fla 9]

 

Other source of a leak I had from new until recently was the split section joint between the upper and lower timing chain cover area just behind the three temp sensor/thermostat housing. Always has thought this was a oil cooler seal weep.

 

One of the two small allan key head bolts was slack. Gave it a 1/4 turn and that leak has gone. They sit on the small under face of the casing. You can get in there with your hand to feel for oil near the bolts but need the coil pack out of the way if it needs tightening.

 

.

 

Aah, OK, maybe this is the culprit then!

[RW1 0]

There is a thin gasket in the joint. Tightened up. Clean up and applied a smear of Hylomar. Been good for a year now.

 

Bolts! Knew that would shock. :lol:

 

http://www.europeanperformanceproducts. ... /14/page/5

and here

http://www.arz-tuning.de/shop/index.php ... tml/page/4

 

The short ones are "shoulder bolts" M6 x 14 with socket head, where as the later are allan key bolts with a very small shoulder M6 x 17 self locking. Later bolts are 3mm longer as you can see.

 

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[RW1 0]

or

 

clean up all the oil, including in the gasket groove area and apply Hylomar Universal Blue. This I have done and managed to reduce the leakage by about 80%. One little bit more to seal and hopefully it will have stopped. If so, will fit the flat gasket/shorter bolts at the next oil change.

Fitted the flat sump gasket (Payen JH5013 VR6 sump gasket from a motorfactors) last week with shorter bolts instead of the VW rubber sump gasket. Oil leaks gone. :D

 

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[fla 9]

Hmm, so this *could* still be the issue. Its bizarre that the seal area requires SO much precision work. Next oil change i'll try again, especially with the bolt tightening sequence.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yes the crank sensor has an O ring seal.

 

My guess is you haven't torqued up the mocal cooler sandwich plate quite enough and a little oil is perhaps spraying out? Any drips on the bottom of the heat exchanger?

 

If not that, the oil is leaking from somewhere around there and condensing on the crank wire, forming that nice drip you get.

 

As for the sump, forget trying to get a steel pan to seal 100% tight. The only way I acheived a completely dry sump was by fitting an ally pan off the R32 :D

[fla 9]

how much is one of those?

 

I think i'll take the sandwich plate out and change the seals and redo the hoses with fresh ptfe tape if i get time this weekend. Oil leaks are a nightmare!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Erm, lots because you have to use the R32 pump aswell! It's the same as the 12V's, but with a shorter pick up head.

 

It's the two main O rings you need to check on the sandwich plate.

[fla 9]

lol, ok knock the sump idea on the head! Just the seals for me then :)

[RW1 0]

Bought the bolts in the end, supplied in packs of 10, 3 packs = £45.12 Part number N900 084 01.

Didn't bother with the early VR6 VW sump gasket, bought instead a Payen JH5013 VR6 sump gasket from a motorfactors. (Job not done yet).

 

Job now been done with above some 5 weeks and no further sump/gasket/engine block oil leaks. Not even a hint of oil weeping out. The rubber gaskets on the later VR6 are crap having had the original leak and the 2nd one also.

 

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