Oil Leak and Rocker Cover Gasket Identity

[Dave185]

Hi all!

I'm new to this forum and Scirocco ownership. So I thought I would ask you guys and gals in the know, for a little guidance.

I have recently purchased a Mk2 Scirocco GT 1988/1989 1.6. It is a fairly high miler at approx 150,000 but the engine and gearbox still run lovely so I know its been well looked after in the past. Been driving it a month or so now and haven't had to do anything mechanical really. Just sort out the temperamental fan blower unit and replace the boot lock seal.

I have noticed that its dropping oil everywhere I leave it at the moment and was just wondering where the common places are for the leaks?

I have taken a few snaps of the leak which I will put up (when I work out how to). I believe its coming all the way down from the top (possibly rocker cover gasket). I know originally they were cork, but I have a feeling this has been converted to a rubber gasket judging by the blue folded tab on the side of the block where the gasket sits. The oil is down the back of the block on the timing belt end of the block (not so much on the other side), so I am going to try changing the camshaft oil seal first I guess.

There appears to be a lot of oil built up on the block where it joins the oil filter bracket/housing. Any ideas if there is a gasket between them?

Every time I check the oil levels, they haven't dropped, but I'm getting a bit sick of seeing my engine really oily!

The car has been very recently serviced because the oil is really clean and there is not a drop of oil on the outside of the oil filter itself. I'm thinking of changing the oil and filter again as I am unsure of the grade being used currently, and using some 15W/50 or even 20W/50 just to see if that reduces the leakage.

I'm tackling my noisy tappets/hydraulic lifters very soon (changing timing belt, tensioner, water pump, and camshaft oil seal while I'm there) so this would be the ideal time to check out my oil issues.

My engine code is EW if that helps in any way.

So I guess my questions are:
1) Any idea if this is a cork or rubber rocker cover gasket, and part number possibly?
2) Any suggestions for my oil leak locations?
3) Part number for the gasket between the block and oil filter bracket/housing?
4) Do I need a special tool to slacken the timing belt tensioner?
5) Is it worth me putting together a 'how to' on replacing timing related parts and hydraulic lifters/tappets? Or, has it been done to death already?

Any help or comments gratefully received.
Thanks!

[bengould]

1) you can't really tell without taking the rocker cover off, but I think the rubber one has that half circle bit built in and will be black, the cork one has the little blue half circle as an extra bit.

2) rocker cover is common, especially if its cork. Camshaft seal, crank seal, intermediate shaft seal all possible.

3) will have a look later when I turn my PC on. ( unless someone beats me to it)

4) ideally yes, more to tension it than remove it, but it can be done without. Requires the creative use of an Allen key and a flat screwdriver while you tighten the bolt.

5) there is already a lot on info on here and other sites. But a proper "how to" that could maybe be stickied at the top of the relevant section or put into the FAQ could be useful.

Ben.

[james butler]

1)
4) ideally yes, more to tension it than remove it, but it can be done without. Requires the creative use of an Allen key and a flat screwdriver while you tighten the bolt.

ive used circlip pliers in the past to do the same thing.

before you take the belt off though make sure you have the correct timing marks lined up and just as an added precaution tipex some lines on the sprockets so you have your own reference aswell

[Dave185]

Cheers for the comments guys!

It looks like I have a cork gasket currently, so I will replace for a rubber one and change the studs for the new seal. I'm guessing they are the same torque settings as cork gaskets??

Any ideas as to a tensioner tool number or anything? I have used circlip pliers in the past too haha. Not exactly textbook though!

[Dave185]

http://public.fotki.com/Dave185/oil-leak-and-rocker/
I'm hoping this is a successful link to a few pictures on fotki that I just put up.

[james butler]

i wouldnt bother with the studs as i had nothing but trouble with them and changed for socket head screws instead about 35mm long
https://www.google.com/search?q=35mm+m6 ... zwf_fpM%3A

[james butler]

its up to you like and there are plenty of people who have succesfully used studs but i wanted to make sure its down good and tight.

[Dave185]

That's a good idea actually. The kit I have ordered comes with the studs already in, so I will see what I make of them.

I found the gasket I wanted for the oil filter bracket, so I have ordered that too.

I will post the results next week when I have completed all the work and run it for a while.

Fingers crossed...

[mark1gls]

Don't worry about the water pump as it's not driven by the cam belt and is it the front of the engine and easy to change with out touching the cambelt.
Make sure you mark every thing up before removing the cambelt a little tipex or white paint helps see the marks as it not easy so see them, I also use circlip pliers to tension the belt and they work fine just make sure you tension the belt the right way as you won't be able to fit the lower plastic cover on.
There is some pictures of the marks from the rebuilt engine I just put back in my car.
http://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php ... s&kfs76=90

The oil you are using may be a little thick and that's why you have noisy tappets, 10w40 semi synthetic is what you really want to be using but if the tappets quieten down after a minute then I wound not worry just yet they can be taken apart and cleaned out which helped with mine.

You do need to change the studs if you fit a rubber gasket as the studs are different, the studs for the rubber gasket have no sholder on them as its on the gaskets and cork gasket studs have a sholder to stop you squashing the gasket if over tieghten. Lock 2 nuts together on the stud you wish remove and fit the spanner to the lower nut and undo but be careful not to over do it as they can shear off.

[Dave185]

Such a good shout on the stud removal technique! I hate using the stud removing tools, I barely get any 'feeling' as to how much pressure I am applying.

Thanks for the handy few photos there.

Another question, may seem stupid, but I have no idea! When the camshaft has been removed, I want to change the oil seal that sit at the end (just in case that's part of the oil leak problem). How do I do this? I can literally find nothing about it in the haynes manual, only that it exists in the diagrams. Does it need pressing out of the camshaft sprocket once the centre bolt has been removed or something? I'm sure I would know what to do when I am doing the job, but it's always nice to know in advance, haha.

Cheers!

[james butler]

to get the bolt undone i used an impact gun but i imagine you could put the pulley in a vice wrapped in rag to hold it while you undo it with a spanner.
the pulley should just come loose maybe a tap with a hammer to help it along.
make sure you put the oil seal in tight and true otherwise it wont seal correctly.
its a fairly easy job, the hardest part i found was setting the correct tension on the t belt after putting it back together.

[mark1gls]

Cam shaft seal is not usually the problem with an oil leak, you can remove the top cam belt cover and look at the seal to see if it's leaking, to remove the top cover there is the 2 bolts on the rocker cover and a allen key head bolt near the alternator belt with a bit of wiggling you can get it off with out disturbing to much but you may need to slacken off the alternator belt.

If the seal is leaking undoing the bolt is the hardest bit as it's done up tight. To remove it I take off the rocker cover and place a bit of wood along the top of the head then get the long bar to lift my trolly jack and put that through one of the holes in the cog and place the end onto the wood so you can stop the cog moving, get a socket on the bolt and you may need a long torque wrench or long bar hold the trolly jack bar and undo the bolt only losen it and leave it on for now then re set the timing and remove then timing belt.
To remove or loosen the cam shaft you need to undo the bolts in a certain order it's in the Haynes manual or you may distort the cam shaft, there is a little wood duff key in the end of the cam shaft so when you remove the cog be careful it does not fall on the floor.

Some pictures, you can see the half moon key.


You may notice the blue hylomar instant gasket I used as I read somewhere you can get oil passing between the 2 metal faces but not 100% sure it's possible but I had the stuff so used it.


When you remove the rocker cover and plastic cover you will think a bearing cap missing but it's normal for a head with hydraulic tappets.



You don't have to completly remove the cam shaft to change the seal as you can losen it enough to lift if up enough to get the old seal off, put a little oil on the new seal before sliding it on the cam shaft.

[mark1gls]

Found the order of undoing the bearing caps according to the haynes manual.
"Remove caps nos. 5, 1 and 3 in that order. Now undo the nuts holding 2 and 4 in a diagonal pattern."
You may have one missing but you should get the idea on how to loosen them.

[Dave185]

After a mental last few weeks and starting a new job, I finally had time to change all of the parts I wanted to.
Some of the bolts were extremely stubborn, but with a little WD-40 and some gentle persuasion...all is well.
It appears to have stopped the oil leak too!
For now...
Cheers for the help guys! Much appreciated!