Volkswagen: 95 Jetta Oil Leak, valve cover gasket, seal gasket

Question
John,

I have a 1995 Jetta GLS.  I have an oil leak that just won't go away. It's been leaking for about 5 years now.  Here is what I've done.

First off, it looked like it was the oil pan gasket.  Replaced that with no luck.  Still leaks.  Next I went for the valve cover gasket.  No luck, still leaks.  After talking to quite a few people and reading on different forums online, it seemed like my problem was the front crank seal gasket.  Got into there, and it was bone try.  Not leaking one bit. (I replaced the timing belt while I was in there.)

Finally, I gave up and paid $50 for the dealer to tell me what is wrong.  Guess what they tell me?  "It's your oil pan gasket, valve cover gasket and and crank seal gasket."  Ha, ha.  I couldn't believe it.  I talked with the technician letting him know that I had all these things replaced and he insisted that is was the oil pan gasket.  I asked if it was the oil sensor, since I have read that those leak sometimes, but he said that that was fine.

Any thoughts?  Everytime I turn the car on, the oil light comes on for 1/2 second then turns off.  I don't remember if that was normal or if that started when the leak started.

I appreciate your time and help.
Thanks,
Brad

Answer
it is perfectly normal for the oil light to flash for upto one minute, this is while the oil pressure gets high enough to cancel the pressure switch. as for the leak, the oil seals down the cam belt side are normal, the sump gasket is rare. rocker cover's are common, and crank seal in gearbox is rare. sadly without seeing the vehicle i cannot really tell you which one it is.