Club 80-90 Forums

Eavening all we changed the oil and filter about a month ago using the proper oil for our 1984 westfalia 1.9 dg petrol. We have just started driving it everyday and have covers just up to 900 miles. I checked the dipstick and it is now at half. We do have a very slight leek on one of our pushrod tubes but when parked we vever have any on the floor in the morning. The bottom I found the engine is wet with oil but I'm not sure if this is normal it's not dripping out it just looks damp if you know what I mean. Coolent seems fine no black smoke upon starting or driving so not really sure what's going on. Would I be right to say it's the push rod

Check the level regularly and replace the defective seals on pushrod tube by fitting a spring-assisted pushrod tube. Its a fairly straightforward swap really. Its most likely losing most of its oil on the road.

sarahandthebear wrote:Eavening all we changed the oil and filter about a month ago using the proper oil for our 1984 westfalia 1.9 dg petrol. We have just started driving it everyday and have covers just up to 900 miles. I checked the dipstick and it is now at half. We do have a very slight leek on one of our pushrod tubes but when parked we vever have any on the floor in the morning. The bottom I found the engine is wet with oil but I'm not sure if this is normal it's not dripping out it just looks damp if you know what I mean. Coolent seems fine no black smoke upon starting or driving so not really sure what's going on. Would I be right to say it's the push rod

That doesn't seem too bad to me. It's not a huge amount of oil, as you will see when you top it up, being careful not to overfill of course.
What mileage has your engine done? Anything over 100,000 will have some wear, and will use a bit of oil.

Thanks guys puts our mind at rest yeah it's a high mileage engine 150,000 so must have some wear. I'll replace the tube Covkid and see how we get on thanks again guys

Half way between the 2 marks on the dipstick (assuming that is what you meant) does not mean it has used half the total oil in the engine!

I'd say that is slightly excessive but not massively so - all the advice above is pertinent. You may also find as the oil thins with age and / or the level drops the engine sounds a bit more 'rattly' although if you're constantly topping up with fresh you're actually more likely to not have that issue as more of the oil is newer!

Frankly the biggest pain is topping up away from home with the fiddly pull out tube - I now carry a funnel with a bit cut out and a hosepipe fixed to it to make it easier!

Great fun when you find an owner who didn't know the filler tube pulls out though!!! It's up there with having to ask, after 6 months of ownership, where the windscreen filler is

Where is the rear screen wash filler bottle?

I have only filled mine up once in 8 years of ownership!,the washer bottle that is

LeeME3 wrote:Great fun when you find an owner who didn't know the filler tube pulls out though!!! It's up there with having to ask, after 6 months of ownership, where the windscreen filler is

What?... there's an extendible oil filler tube????

Or a mechanic and owner who didnt know where the dipstick and filler tube were

...and Volkswagen state up to 1.5 litres per 1000km (621 Miles) is normal.

...so Sarahandthebear, your half a litre for 900 miles looks pretty good to me.

Most experienced petrol T25 owners will tell you ... after you put your 4.5 litres of 15w/40 mineral oil in (including replacement filter) the oil level drops to approximately 1/2 way between the max and min marks on the dipstick and stays there ... it's just what they do. They find their own level.

You need to reseal the pushrod seal anyway at the earliest opportunity but the oil level (which as the enthusiastic owner of a classic vehicle you should check every morning along with the coolant level before you clean your mirrors) will probably sit between the marks. Do you have oil spots on the tailgate ? Cos that's where it will end up if you really do have an oil leak.

Ian

That's re-assuring.
2.4l/1000miles seems high but if vw accept that then ok, I will too.
Mine seems to live at 1/2 way between the marks on the dipstick too, I suspected it burns off to that level but have never been certain.

Mine is always kept around (but not above) the high level mark & burns about 1/2 a litre every 5,000 miles. I Guess I have a pretty tight engine.. lets hope it stays that way!!!

sarahandthebear wrote:Thanks guys puts our mind at rest yeah it's a high mileage engine 150,000 so must have some wear. I'll replace the tube Covkid and see how we get on thanks again guys

The biggest part of the job can be getting the tin ware (aka push rod tube shields) off from under the engine ... they hang from the exhaust studs and that noise you can hear is the opening of a can of worms

Of course the figure of 1.5l for 1000km is ABSOLUTE maximum and in NO WAY represents average user consumption. If mine were using half that I would be concerned.
I guess mines somewhere in the region of 300 - 400ml every 2000 miles or so.

Martin