Ive got a 1995 Mk1 which I have had for nearly three years, it has 103,000 miles on the clock. It has developed an annoying oil leak that is prooving difficult to sort out. I have had the following work done in the last six weeks:-
Cam Cover Gasket replaced ( I had oil in the spark plug wells ).
CAS seal replaced.
Crankshaft seal replaced.
Two Cam seals replaced.
I still have an oil leak with oil finding its way onto the sump pan - my mechanic is pretty sure its coming from the sump pan seal. To replace this is an engine out job ( ouch ). I have two questions now - should I replace the oil pump at the same time, and does anybody know of anything I could do to fix this leak without removing the engine ( sealant spray ? )
There is something that is available for treating this sort of oil leak but I can’t remember where I read about it. Try searching the INTERNET that’s where I probably saw it. will check my catalogers later.
I worked in the engineering business for many years and we never found a real solution to this problem. We tried all sorts of fixes, but in the end it came down to a strip out. Youi can do the sump job by dropping the front suspension sub frame. Never done the job myself, but I would imagine may be easier than pulling the engine.
Before you go this route, you really need to establish with certainty that this is indeed the location of the leak. A good wash down of the block with Gunk or similar, and then some time watching when the engine is really hot.Pics might help us too
Check the dipstick tube. This can leak at its base, and it’s just an O-ring. Also bear in mind that leaked oil tends to move backwards in the airstream and the leak isn’t necessarily where most of the oil is.
It might also be worth doing a compression check (or better yet a cylinder leakage test) to see if you are getting piston blow-by causing crankcase pressure which is blowing the oil out of the weakest point.