QuestionWe bought a 1973 westfalia the other day. There is a strong
burning smell and maybe a little smoke. Especially when I open
the back where the motor is. When we park it 3 small dime
sized laks occur on the ground, one in the center, and one on
either side about a foot away? Is this normal, or are we in the
process of buying a lemon? Can you fix oil leaks on buses? and
what if it's burning oil?
AnswerHi Cori,
No worries!
There are actually T-Shirts that say "VW's always leave thier mark". 99% of the Westies have the trademark 'drip'.
Here is what is normal:
1) Where the engine meets the transmission. Drip, drip, drip. Typical, no problemo. It's the rear seal. They are good for about 5,000 miles. You can have that drip there without a problem for 100,000 miles. If you want to fix the leak, place a cat litter box under there.
Not Normal:
but....
Here is how you fix for under $20.00:
1) In the center there is a round disk with a little screw in the middle of it. This starts to drippedy drip after a while.
Go online and buy:
A Westy oil change kit. The kit comes with the following: 2 large round paper gaskets, an oil-strainer, one small copper ring, one larger copper ring.
A Westy oil filter
Westy Valve Cover gaskets
To install:
Oil first:
> Take a rag (or rags) and wipe clean the entire engine bottom. Get all signs of oil out of your face. Try to get in every nook and cranny. It will save you a lot of aggravation (and smells) in the future.
> Unscrew the oil drain plug to the left under the motor. Drain the oil. Discard the old copper washer (heck, sometimes they forget to even put it on) and place the larger copper washer on the plug and tighten it back up when drained.
> Unscrew the oil filter and discard. Put some oil on your finger and rub it around the rubber seal on the bottom of the new oil filter. Screw it on as tight as you can with your hand. That's all you need.
> Unscrew the little bolt in the dead center of that round thing under the motor. After that, pull off the round plate, and pull out the metal strainer as well. CLEAN any gunk off of the round plate as well as the area it seals to under the motor.
Put it back together as follows: (Make sure old gaskets and copper ring are chucked)
* First the large round paper gasket
* Second the new silver oil strainer
* Third the other round paper gasket
* Forth the round metal disk
* Fifth the small copper washer goes on the bolt
* Sixth screw the bolt back on snug. Be very careful not to over tighten this one. Comfortably tight is just fine.
Fill the motor up with the prescibed amount of fresh oil. Now you have that area sealed up nice and clean.
Finally, the burning smell.
This most often occurs when oil drips from the valve cover gaskets onto the heat exchangers. Not a big deal. Here's how you fix this:
1) Remove the valve cover by taking a very small wrench, sticking it in that bail/heavy wire that holds the cover on and pull it down. Once you have that thing snapped down, you can take the valve cover off the engine.
2) SAVE YOUR WESTY AND ADJUST YOUR VALVES. If you are unsure how to do this, get a VW manual and make sure that the valve clearances are correct. This is CRITICAL. I want your Westy to live for a long time. So, I stress checking the valves. You can only do this if the engine is dead cold. (sitting without being run for at least 12 hours)
3) Once your valves are adjusted, remove the old gaskets and make sure all the crud is cleaned off both the valve cover and where it mates to the motor. Don't use anything sharp on the engine itself. Be patient and use adhesive remover or the like. On the valve cover, you can gently use a razor blade to make sure every bit of old adhesive or gook is removed from the area where the valve gasket sits. Putting a new gasket over un-removed crud is usually why they leak.
4) Take a little silcone and use it just to hold the gasket to the cover. (I mean like 4 dots in each corner) That's all you need.
5) Attach gasket to cover.
6) Now put your finger in some oil and rub it on the side of the gasket that will be mating to the engine. Make sure you coat the whole gasket lightly.
7) Place the valve cover carefully onto the motor.
8) Take a small screw-driver or wrench and pull that bail/wire up until it snaps into place. (which is the notch in the middle of the valve cover.)
9) Once it's in place, look around the valve cover and make sure that it is mated to the engine nicely and not cock-eyed.
10) Repeat the process on the other side.
FWWW.
Now you are ready for a test drive.
- Start the bus and let it run for about 3 minutes. Look underneath motor and observe the areas you worked on. Leave the motor running while you are doing this. Check for any leaks.
- If all is clear, take it for a ride for about 5 minutes, getting up to 55 MPH at some point. Bring it back to home base.
- Leaving the motor running, check underneath again. There should be no drip-drip.
- Park on a flat surface and check your oil level. Add if necessary.
Now..you are ready to drive like the wind. Be proud of your little drip. It's ok.
If there is still a smoky-oil smell, give it a little while. It is probably just burning off old oil from the leak you just fixed.
Well, my work here is done.
Please let me know how you make out.
Enjoy and hope I've helped.
Ron
