W reg VW Golf 1.4 "E" (MK4) Hey all, For the past few weeks, I have noticed the oil level has been dropping down slowly, which I had to keep it topped up now and then. No smoke/smell of oil from exhaust. MOT last week (which this car passed) and the guy who did the MOT test had advised me there is oil on the engine block, but can't see where it's coming from. So before I tackle this issue, what is the MOST common place for the oil to leak from? Which area should I be focusing on? Thanks all.
Dizzy oil seal is a good one on those engines, check the plugs and connections beneath the distributor you'll probably find the caked in crud. Bit of PITA as you'll have to go to a 3rd party bearing/seal supplier for something that'll fit. VW will just want to sell you a whole new dizzy. Best bet is to give the whole engine a thorough cleaning, use an engine degreaser, take the plastic covers off and get right in there with a toothbrush (an old one!). Then run it for a bit and see where the fresh oil is coming from - it might be from somewhere cheaper to fix.
Dizzy as in distributor/rotor? Do I still want to look at it when I have an electrical distributor and no rotor? Unless there's another one that I am not aware of... Cheers for the reply.
could be an oil pressure switch, not sure where on a mk4 1.4 but the mk1/2/3 small block engines have them on the back of the head, our 1.4 ibiza is on the side of the head somewhere
Yep the distributor. It's probably still worth checking that end of the head, even with electronic ignition as there'll be a blanking plate over that end of the camshaft.
Nah. Give it all a good clean first. top up the oil. Run it for a bit and then look for fresh oil. Only then do you want to start pulling stuff apart as you could well damage a perfectly healthy seal that would otherwise give years more service.
Thanks. Looks like a weekend job for me then as the weather gets dark by the time I get home from work!
Did not see anything around that area. it's mostly on the bottom, so I wonder if it's the sump pan seal that has gone?
Probably just the gasket. Though due to the effect of gravity, most oil leaks will end up getting the bottom of the engine mucky in time Have you cleaned the engine?
Thought I'd update this... it turns out that this was linked to the car stalling when moving slow to a stop or braking. After some investigation myself, I didn't find any so gave up & took my car to the garage. And this is where it got interesting... The "oil leak" had came from the oil dipstick tube where the oil has been flowing back up. All because the breather pipe has been blocked! Which caused for the single point injection unit to be full of oil, which is the main cause for the cut to cut out/stalling. They has given it a good clean and fitted a new pipe - seems to be much better now! So a new expierence for me... oil coming up the dipstick tube! Has anyone seen/heard of this before?
