Date:         Tue, 01 Aug 1995 15:16:00 -0700 (PDT)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "Maher, Steve (SD-MS)" <SMAHER@PO2.GI.COM>
Subject:      Re: Oil Splatters in Engine Compartment


Subject: Re: Oil Splatters in Engine Compartment

>I have the same problem in the single cab but only due to a slight case
>crack near the oil cooler seals. The oil just oozes out...
>
>Mine happened to buck the trend and placed itself on the pulley side of
>these mounting studs.


Been there, done that... and ate the engine.

My "little crack" developed on the transmission side of the cooler mount.
The bus leaked oil. Within a week of 200 mi/day driving, the crack
propagated down toward the main seal under the flywheel, and the engine
eventually got so that it would blow out all 2-1/2 quarts of oil in
less than 30 seconds. As a side benny, it also shot No. 3 spark plug
halfway across the engine compartment. Probably an unrelated failure,
but spectacular and _very_ noisy.

Engine was history after that, obviously, and couldn't even be rebuilt.
It was a single-port engine with a B-block case, which I understand was
a relatively brittle series of crankcase castings, mounted in a '69 bus.

The moral of the story is, if you want to drive an engine with a
"little" crack... I wouldn't if I were you. Even tho your crack seems to
be starting on the opposite side of the oil cooler from mine. It has
caused the metal to flex ever so slightly, and throw the stress onto
other areas of the case. Any guesses about which areas?

YMMV.
Murphy's law applies!

Good luck,

Steve Maher     smaher@gi.com     '71 VW Transporter w/one-piece engine
                                                     (so far)