Oil leak from oil filter housing.

[MoonlightVR6 10]

I was checking the levels on the fluids yesterday and I noticed that the oil had gone down a little. I checked for any visible oil leaks and I noticed the oil filter housing was leaking a bit, the actual housing itself was 'wet' with oil.

 

As I pulled up and turned her off I noticed it dripped from the housing onto the road, very slowly mind-ue. I let it cool down and checked again, there was a spot on the road about the size of a £2.00 coin or slightly larger (I'm guessing about 3-4 drops). I topped it up and left it over night.

By the morning it had grown a little but there wasn't a lot there in all honesty, but it was deffo leaking.

I am assuming the pressure of running it is making it leak out and when its not running it doesn't. But I need to get it fixed regardless or it will bother me. I am worried if I just keep topping it up it may fall off or worse, pouring ALL my oil out which wouldn't be good at all!

 

My questions are.

Could the leak be coming from the sensors that go into the top (think there was 3, which is wehat I assume as there is oil all over the whole of the housing)

Or, Coming from a fracture in the housing itself, I know the bottom part of the housing is plastic which is ridiculous imo.

Or could it be coming from some sort of gasket where it joins onto the engine itself?

 

Is it safe to drive as long as I keep checking the oil before starting it up?

 

what ballpark figure would it be to buy a whole new oil filter housing and sensors?

[Jim Bowen 1]

Its usually the sensors on top that leak, i just removed them and fitted again with a little pfte tape.

[Jim 2]

Should be pretty obvious if its the sensors as the top of the housing / oil cooler will be wet with oil too. They are not mega expensive to replace though do require some serious contortion to access & replace them. I did one on my VR (the high pressure one) which thankfully was the one leaking. The low pressure one was just out of reach so remains untouched for now :)

[seanl82 23]

You can get the seals individually from Vw spares (avs) for less than two quid each too. I just bought a set.

[stuarttaylor37 13]

Oil filter housing gasket was about £7, two sensors are about £15 and one of them is £20- All genuine Vw and each comes with a new sealing washer which are also available at 50p each seperately

I took mine off yesterday and replaced all of them

I found that its best to loosen the sensors whilst the housing is fitted as its hard to apply any pressure when your trying to hold a large round oily thing when its off

[Jamie 1]

If you have to replace the senders on top of the housing it's loads quicker to do if you remove the offside headlight. Takes 2 minutes and will make your life so much easier

[MoonlightVR6 10]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]78220[/ATTACH]

 

I'd say its the front left one? Appears to be a black cable from the pic (could be dirty though)

[Jim 2]

Yeah - that's the one that went on mine. It's the high pressure one and is definitely a bit easier to reach than the one on the right :)

[Portent 0]

Also the one that went on mine. Very common.

[MoonlightVR6 10]

That's a relief actually, I thought it might be a pricey fix. I'm going to try some pfte tape if that fails I'll get a new one all together.

cheers people.

[MoonlightVR6 10]

Sorry one last thing, This is probably really stupid, but,

 

how does the wire connect to the new sensor?

Is it a case of push it in the hole and tighten or does it need to be soldered on?

 

Or does the new sensor come with a long wire I will need to 'run' to make the opposing connection?

[seanl82 23]

Pull the boot up and underneath is a simple spade connector. Simply push it onto the new sensor, and slide the boot back down the wire to keep it safe from the elements. Job done!

[2elliot 0]

Old thread bump!

 

Would I have to drop the oil before removing the sensors? It looks like I have this issue on my VR.

[fendervg 32]

No - with the engine not running, nearly all the oil will be sitting collected in the sump at the bottom of the block. I've replaced these and the oil cooler without draining. You might get some slight weeping, just clean it up as you go.

[2elliot 0]

Excellent. Thank you