Oil on the Engine Tin

Do you have oil on your rear engine tin? And possibly splattered all over the engine compartment as it's been thrown about by the drive belt? What a mess!

Here are some possible sources and fixes -

• Defective oil pressure switch. The only fix for oil leaks at this source is replacement of the switch. Fortunately they are very cheap.
• Dipstick. The new aftermarket chromed dipsticks do not have any packing material under the "bell" where the dipstick rests in the tube. Very easy fix -- just wrap some string around the dipstick and stuff it up into the bell.
• Loose oil filler. Does your oil filler spin around? If so, you probably have oil leaking from the seam between the filler and the alternator/generator stand. The filler is tightened using a special tool on the big slotted nut with a large hole through it inside the filler. The tool is fairly inexpensive and is available from a variety of courses, or ask you friendly mechanic at the VW shop to tighten it for you.
• Crankcase ventilation system. If you're not using the stock aircleaner, which pulls a vacuum on the crankcase through the oil filler, you may be getting oil blowback through the crankcase vents behind the crankcase pulley. For more information, see our article on crankcase ventilation.