My Kombi's new engine is running brilliantly except for one small problem.

It has an annoying oil leak, one bad enough to leave a substantial puddle if parked for any length of time. It seems to be coming from the oil filter, but I've already checked that. I also checked the oil pressure switch on the top of the motor, and it is nice and dry.

The only other possibility is the oil cooler, which is directly above the filter. I used new seals when I installed it, but I'm afraid I didn't use any sealing compound as well. It's probably leaking from there.

Now to get to the cooler - can the Type 4 fan shroud be taken off with the engine in situ, or will I have to drop the engine to get at it?

Fill

Ask B use the phone... for the easy answer

Yes you can take the fan housing off with the engine in the car, Its a bitch of a job!!, you have to bend the heaterboxes a bit where they bolt up to the fan housing so you can pull the housing back.

Its unusual that new cooler seals would leak, and you shouldn't need to use sealant on them either. May be the cooler has a small split?.

Actually I might just drop the Kombi into VVDS and let them do it for me - I really don't have the time to stuff around with it. So much easier for a workshop with a hoist and the proper tools...will ring B tomorrow as you suggest.

Update - problem is fixed. And no, it wasn't the cooler.

Just above the Type 4 engine's cooler is the oil pressure switch. I had made a 10cm long brass hex fitting, into which was screwed the stock oil switch and the larger oil pressure sender for the VDO oil pressure gauge. The brass fitting screwed in vertically, then the two senders screwed into the hex bar horizontally.

The brass fitting was tight against the crankcase and wasn't leaking there, but oil was coming out of the side of the mounting hole for the stock switch. I had drilled and tapped (M10x1) a normal screw thread, but the stock switch is a tapered thread.

Simple fix - a bit of teflon tape on the switch's threads, and screw it back in. Nice and dry and no more oil on the driveway. It had been leaking badly enough to need a 1 litre top-up a week. And the oil pressure reading is higher now as well.