Date:         Tue, 04 Mar 1997 09:50:57
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         list@busdepot.com (The Bus Depot)
Subject:      Re: Smelly Heat

>I DO have an oil leak, so that has to be it.  Although I have no idea how 
>to fix it.  I'm sure I can locate the leak once I get in there.  Many 
>people mentioned a "valve cover gaskets" leaking.  What would I have to 
>do to fix this?  Order new gaskets?  I am familar with the valves, I just 
>don't know the best way to go about fixing the problem.  
>
>Any suggestions would help me out a lot!
>
>thanks,
>
>kyle


Kyle,

Is your leak on the left or right side of the motor?  If it's on the right 
(pass. side) it could be valve cover gaskets or pushrod tube seals, neither 
of which is difficult or expensive to repair.  If it's on the left, it 
could be either of the above, or the oil pressure switch, or the oil cooler 
and/or oil cooler seals.  You can look up at the oil cooler from underneath 
with a flashlight and see if it looks oil-soaked.  If so, check the oil 
pressure switch up top to try to determine whether the oil is dripping down 
from there or coming right from the cooler.  If it's the oil cooler/seals, 
your job is more difficult.  In a bus (and probably a Vanagon) you can 
replace the oil cooler with the motor in place, but you must remove the fan 
shroud to get to it.  The other possible source of a leak is the front 
seal, which would require removing the engine.  If this were the case, 
you'd probably see oil on both sides of the motor.  Since valve cover 
gaskets and pushrod tube seals are cheap and easy to replace, it may not be 
a bad idea to start there if you don't see an obvious cause, and see if 
this stops or at least minimizes the leak.

-Ron Salmon
 The Bus Depot
 http://www.busdepot.com