Oil leak from rocker cover gasket

I hoped i had sorted out my oil leaking from my rocker cover gasket but unfortunately there is still some oil seeping from under the rear corner next near the timing belt side. There has never been any washers under the nuts on the studs and the nuts do not seem to go down enough to tighten the rocker cover fully.
Also there is no oil defector cover fitted under the rocker cover, I am not sure if there should be one on an 83 GTI.
Any help would be appreciated.
Andy

Hey andyphill how you doing?

this has been discussed before.. not sure how relevant it is…

View topic: Oil deflector - Should I have one? - The Mk1 Golf Owners Club

or perhaps think about getting a new rubber rocker cover gasket with new studs…. think they are slightly thicker (view from the naked eye as the term goes ) & have a type of metal washer insert… my cork gasket & studs are being replaced by rubber tomorrow  as i've got a slight weeping at the back of the engine, get this done & give it a check over…

Your oil leak could be the rocker cover is slight bent/damaged in that corner and that is why it still leaks. Over tightening them can distort the rocker cover.
On my rebuilt engine I fitted the rocker cover which came with the engine and fitted a newer rubber gasket but I still had a leak in the rear corner by the cam belt no matter what I did so I fitted my old rocker cover to the new engine and that solved the leak.

I did fit an oil deflector to my 1978 Mk1 Scirocco as I was getting oil mist into the air filter (K & N panel filter so not really a problem) then blowing out the exhaust if the car was driven hard and it has seemed to help. 

watch those new studs you get with the rubber gasket they fit right down the oil feed pipe dropped one a couple of weeks ago and had to remove the sump to find the offending stud muppet
Any excuse to paint something 

I think it may be the rocker cover, i am going to see if i can straighten the end tomorrow. Unfortunately i no longer have the original one to try.
Andy

OK so the leak from the rocker cover is now sorted but there is still oil dripping down from lower down the rear of the engine (the timing belt side). When the car was just idling there was no leakage but went for a good 30 mile thrash this morning and the lower rear left side of the car as you look at it is now covered in oil. I take it it is something to do with the timing belt fully seals ?? not to sure though.
Andy

There is a seal on the cam shaft which it could be, remove the top cover and you will see it.
Straight forward job to replace but you will need to remove the timing belts and the bolt on the end of the cam shaft can be tight, I place a bit of wood along the head (with the rocker cover removed) and place a bar through the holes in the timing cog to stop it turning while undoing the bolt on the cam shaft.

Seal like this, same seal for the intermediate shaft.

http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Volkswagen_Golf+Cabriolet_1.8_1988/p/car-parts/engine-parts1/engine-parts/car-gasket-seals/?369440120&1&1969e594558c06b99a26c1d2be81bbc7a3fb16bd&000426

I have had to top timing belt cover off and it appears the oil is coming from lower down. I have the cam shaft seal on order so will change that as well, i think its looking like it could be the crank shaft seal but until i get the bottom cover off i won't know for sure. I will replace all 3 seals while car is in bits.
Andy

Good stuff andyphill keep us updated.  Hope by or on the weekend i'll be getting the Autoglym engine cleaner on it & checking the same as the Rocker Cover Gasket has been done - think i may have the same issue…  

I have the faithful cardboard in the back of the car so everywhere i stop I'm putting it under my engine and a can of oil in the boot just in case lol
The wife will kill me if any more gets left on our drive way. I got the new seals today but head back to work next week for 2 months so might just leave it till i get back home again to sort out.
Andy

It's not a VW if it don't leave a little puddle on the drive!
Just thinks it's an automatic rust prevention system as old engine is good for the floor pan.

A quick update on this one.

I brought 2 new seals and replaced the crank shaft and intermediate seals. After everything was put back together and i went for a good long drive i am no better off. I knew i should have got a third seal and replaced the cam shaft seal at the same time  With the engine nice and clean i can see weeping from the front corner at the timing belt side of the engine at the joint where the head gasket sits and when you look at the rear of the engine the oil is running down from around the same hight. It is all on the one side of the engine and does not appear to be coming from the rocker cover gasket unless it is weeping within the cam belt cover area.

Anyway i have had to leave things for the time being and return to work. I will have another go at the end of August when i am home next.

Its MOT time in September as well so i will be spending a few days with oily hands i am sure.

Andy

Cam shaft seal straight forward to replace, the hardest bit is undoing the bolt at the end of the camshaft. I place a bit of wood along the edge of the head and place a bar through one of the holes in the camshaft cog to lock it in place to undo it.

I've also read about leaks which can happen through the end camshaft cap as it's metal against metal at that end, I smeared a little blue hylmor on mine to be on the safe side when I replace my cam shaft seal.

When loosening the cam make sure you undo the nuts in the right order or the camshaft can bend, info in the Haynes manual.
The car won't fail an MOT because of a small oil leak, you may get an advisory.

Pictures of where I mean.




 

Mark, thats god to know.
I was a little miffed that the timing belt has to come off again but seeping from under the camshaft cap is not something i would have thought about. I will defiantly put some blue gum there as well as replace the seal. I take it that its just the two nuts you take off. I will also clean out the breather gauze in the cam cover in case that is blocked in any way. The cam cover was not the original one i got with the vehicle, i bought it as it had been powder coated. Anyway i can do nothing more until the end of August when i am home next.
Andy

To remove the end cam shaft cap you need to loosen all the nuts for the cam shaft in the right order or you may bend the cam shaft by just undoing the end one. I'll have a look in the Haynes and find the order to undo and do up the nuts. You only need to loosen the nuts and not remove the other caps.

Thanks Mark
I will look at my Hayes manual when i get home before i start to take anything apart. This is something i need to get sorted as although it is only a small leak it is starting to become a pain in the butt.
Andy