Oil Leak Problem

[The Whittys]

Hi All

We have a major problem with our Passat TDi Sport.

About 3 weeks ago we hit an exhaust system lying on the road which took off our engine cover. The garage fixed that and said all was ok. The next day we started getting oil in the water header tank. Back to the garage to be told they had cleaned all the system pressure tested the head etc and all was ok. 2 weeks on and we now get approx 1/4 litre of oil per day in the header tank but no water elsewhere. Back in our local garage they stripped everything yesterday and found no problems.

Any help would be apreciated as volkswagen want £135 just to look at it.

Thanks

Steve:(

[Crasher]

A coincidental failure but common, you need a new oil cooler. The oil is cooled by a water to oil heat exchanger and as the oil pressure is 2 bar up to 5 bar and the water pressure is less than 0.25 bar, the oil goes into the water system.

[bimble]

hi there
i think (hope) the oil cooler problem is becoming quite a common fault as i seem to be goin through the same problem as we speak
i got the stop warning and the coolant level warning checked level to discover the header tank was over full and a lot of oil in it.
checked for signs of a faulty headgasket ie white smoke from exhaust,water in the oil,smelt the coolant for signs of exhaust gasses,no lack of power and engine seems to be running perfectly ok
i can only assume that its the oil cooler (hopefully)
anyway i have ordered a new oil cooler and as soon as i get it fitted and tested i will post what results i get
all the sighns i have had from the car does not indicate the headgasket but then again im a self taught diy moron not an expert so any more opinions from those in the know would be greatly apreciated:D

[Crasher]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Water cooled oil cooler failure has been as issue since around 1987, 88. Towards the end of the 80's we had a Scirocco come into us from a VW dealer in Derbyshire (now closed) as they were going insane trying to stop oil getting into the expansion tank. They had done a head gasket, and then head and then block, all to no avail and all the problems were down to the cooler. If I build an engine, I always replace them but I always use genuine VAG exchange units as the cheaper new unit’s available outside VAG often fail.

[bimble]

thanks a lot for the info m8 only found this site by lookin around for oil cooler info
great site i will no doubt become a regular visistor here:beerchug:

[Passat2003]

A coincidental failure but common, you need a new oil cooler. The oil is cooled by a water to oil heat exchanger and as the oil pressure is 2 bar up to 5 bar and the water pressure is less than 0.25 bar, the oil goes into the water system.


Spot on Crasher, ( as I know to my cost)

Get the oil cooler changed before you Drive it again or like me you'll end up with a blocked radiator, duff thermostat and all sorts of problems.

I got an oil cooler from Eurocarparts for £78 ( dealer wanted around £140. Really easy job 1 nut and 2 clips more than an oil change.

Great to be able to give a tip back after the help Ive had on here.

To clean your header tank of all the oil, get rid as much as possible by flushing, half filling with some kind of degreaser ( Flash was recommended) shake like mad, repeat, then drain , 1/4 fill with dry sugar and shake like *&^%. do it again and soon you'll end up with a pristine clean tank as the sugar seems to absorb the oil and gently abraze the oil away from inside, it can then be dissolved and flushed away with hot water.

[Crasher]

It was me who recommended a 50/50 mix of Flash, but not the pine fragrance, I prefer the lemon :D

[Passat2003]

It was me who recommended a 50/50 mix of Flash, but not the pine fragrance, I prefer the lemon :D

So it was !!!

Have to disagree about the Pine Its nice to have a change , I drive a Lemon every day !

[The Whittys]

Hi All

Thanks for all the replies. Put it in the garage again monday. Took it out tuesday cos guy said not sure of problem as he had stripped it all down and could not find oil anywhere else. Drove it half a mile to hear a pop lots of black smoke and car wont go over 20mph. Turned roun took it back told him about prob and that original prob was oil cooler to get a reply, thought it was that but as it was an expensive item he did not want to spend money for me without checking with VW (fair chap) so car is still in garage :(

[bimble]

finally managed to get time to fit a new oil cooler today have flushed the coolant system out and run the car for about 30 mins as i aint had time to do more because of work.gonna flush the coolant system out again to make sure its all nice n clean in there but so far all seems ok now.
will keep you informed better when ive had chance to run the car properly

[The Whittys]

Hi All

Thanks for all your help. Finally had to take car to VW garage and picked it up today. They were very helpful. Changed Oil cooler, flushed system out twice, put intercooler pipes back on that previous garage had missed, oil and filter change all for just over £300. Also included was a complete coolant change in 1000 miles to ensure system is fully clean. Great guys