B5 Intercooler Leaking Oil

[Mike'A]

Has the title suggests my 130 PD TDI is leaking oil from the intercooler, I am under the impression that the oil is coming from the turbo, cannot quite get my head around this as I thought the oil leaking would be sucked in not leaking out. Could someone explain to me what is actually happening, and if their is any repair that can be done, its now at the point of dripping on the drive but only occasionally, oil loss is'nt that much.

Thanks Mike

[passat 130 tdi]

get under neath and take the black pipes off leading to the intercooler , 1 biggish clip simply lifts up and the pipe pulls out , you really need to take the pipes off under the engine cover also from the turbo pipe , flush them all out with some water and detergent , the intercooler will be swimming in oil as its pop rivited to the chassis i used toilet paper to mop out this as far as i could access , the first part of the black plastic on the intercooler is like a sump about 2 inches deep , alot of oil gathers in there .

this should see you ok untill the next time :biglaugh:

[Mike'A]

Thanks Passat 130 TDI, I expected some cleaning up etc, the disturbing part was until next time, isn't there a cure?

[caldirun]

Thanks Passat 130 TDI, I expected some cleaning up etc, the disturbing part was until next time, isn't there a cure?
An old meat tin works well

[Mike'A]

What is actually causing the problem, and can it be cured, is that too much to ask?

[passat 130 tdi]

sorry mate , i only had mine 6 months , its done 82k now 2001 model , the oil i had was there but not dripping out as you say . if its dripping out then there must be alot of oil in there. i suppose you could rig up some kind of catch can in -line of all those thick black pipes , like you find under a kitchen sink ( cheap option ) bottle trap . if your not losing oil on the dipstick , id recommend just cleaning out those pipes every few months.

i was gonna flush out my intercooler with petrol as i did with my celica gt4's in tercooler , had it not been rivited on.

most of the oil i think comes from the turbo bearings oil rail , it must have some kind of oil seal that weeps ???????????????????????????????

[Mike'A]

I'm assuming there is a cure for the initial leak, bearing seals or what ever. I've spoken to a collegue at work who owns two Passats and is mechanicaly minded and dables, he never has never had expirence of this problem, is it common?

[passat 130 tdi]

fromwhat i have read here yes its common , some pd engines bleed oil from the egr valve also .

[Mike'A]

Where is the EGR valve, is it inline with the intercooler trunking?

[neilyoung1711@t]

the EGR is atatched to the manifold and the intercooler pipe fits onto it , ive got a golf gt tdi 115 & that leaks oil now and then i did clean out the oil and it seems :aargh4:ok for the mo

[Mike'A]

So can I assume that there is no cure and a periodic mop up is the cure?

[caldirun]

What is actually causing the problem, and can it be cured, is that too much to ask?
I think it is a problem with the crankcase breathing system the pipe comes off the lower side of the cam cover and enters the turbo intake. The air/oil vapour is compressed by the turbo compressor and heats up then is cooled as it travels around the pipework into the intercooler thus condensing the oil vapour leaving your annoying oil.
I have cleaned my system out very throughly and siliconed all the joints, it was great for a few thousand miles now it leaks. I am considering replacing the quadra seals on the intercooler pipes with o-rings as the flexing of the joint eventually breaks the silicone seal. If this works I will post the o-ring size.
I have not priced a new cam cover but I think it will be expensive, I wonder if the filter can be washed out with solvent, they are usually just a mesh of wire and tend to clog.

[passat 130 tdi]

would a few holes drilled into the breather pipe help ????

[caldirun]

would a few holes drilled into the breather pipe help ????
You would then lack crankcase ventillation, the vapour would find its way out, I once had a Triumph with blocked breather pipes, it blew oil up the dip stick hole, what a mess that made!

[passat 130 tdi]

guess the only other option then is some kind of catch can situated somewhere inline with the crankcase ventilation pipes.

[Frank.A]

In the USA many owner fit various forms of catch cans or oil seperators such as the Provent.Tests carried out in the US showed that the majority of the oil vapour which finds its way out of the breater is from the vacuum pump lubricating oil which exhausts into the rocker cover.Try a search for CCV or crankcase ventilation on forums such as TDI club.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/

Here's alink to the Provent website.

http://www.reitschle.com/MANN/Provent_Brochure.pdf

Best,
Frank

[Mike'A]

Thankyou one an all, I am begining to understand the problem now. A catch can would seem to be the answer. I was agitated by the mess, now that I am more aware and the fact that my Passat is coming close to five years old and this is just showing I suppose that I'll start mopping up, only 37000 miles though!

Thanks Mike

[Mike McKinstry]

Am I right in thinking the front has to be put into "lock mode" with bumper off etc to remove the i/cooler or has anyone got i/cooler out just with bumper off or just undertray?

Mike

[Mike McKinstry]

Also,if I am going to take intercooler out can anyone advise me what I should require or replace on reassembly so i can get parts ready.Would presume new o rings ,what about grommets etc?

Mike

[passat 130 tdi]

right hand intercooler pop rivited on ( 2 i think top and bottom ) then it simply pulls off its rubber mounts , no o rings just the black hose that slots in , chances are your intercooler is simply swimming with old oil when you take off the hose to it. you may be lucky and get it out with the passenger side of the bumper undone , taking off the whole bumper is pretty easy like , takes about 20 minutes to remove fully.

if time is not an issue how about simply filling the intercooler with petrol or derv and let it run out to clean inside , or would this too long ???

[caldirun]

Also,if I am going to take intercooler out can anyone advise me what I should require or replace on reassembly so i can get parts ready.Would presume new o rings ,what about grommets etc?

Mike
Just take the under tray off and remove the bottom hose any oil will drain out. There are qudra seals on my hoses but they are not tight, as I posted before I am going to try o-rings to get more compression in the seal.

[mwes66]

thanks for your info will get the rags out and go to work :beerchug: