Hi Folks,

I have had the odd drip coming out from the front (oil filter, oil pump) engine area. You can see in the two attached photos the area I have located (I´m pretty sure) the leak. It´s got a bit worse of late and dripping a bit more. I'm not sure what the gasket there is, could anyone give me a run through of whats happening in this area of the engine, and if it will be easy to replace that gasket?. I will be doing an oil change soon so it would be a good time to replace it.

Thanks!
leGe

quick update:

it seems like maybe there is oil coming from the timing belt area, a bit hard to say from where as I have not yet take the cover off. Does anyone have experience with leaks from this side?

cheers!

In the pics is the vacuum pump the gasket is probably a fiver if its still orderable otherwise gasket paper or rtv would porbably be fine. More lightly as you say the timing belt side is the front crank seal. Especially if the vehicle has been standing for long periods if you're changing it make sure to inspect the surface of the crank for corrosion/ pitting.

moodrater said:

In the pics is the vacuum pump the gasket is probably a fiver if its still orderable otherwise gasket paper or rtv would porbably be fine. More lightly as you say the timing belt side is the front crank seal. Especially if the vehicle has been standing for long periods if you're changing it make sure to inspect the surface of the crank for corrosion/ pitting.

Click to expand...

cheers. the vacuum pump is for what exactly? I´m not too familiar with this area of the engine. regards the crank seal, is this the radial oil soil on the crank side? or the large seal that covers the crank case?

thanks

Vacuum pump is for brake servo: [ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum_servo[/ame] You're probably used to petrol engines where the vacuum comes from the manifold.

Take the timing cover off to check where the leak is from.

You can see the seal here: http://eper.fiatforum.com/eper/navi...=3&WINDOW_ID=1&SGRP_COD=2&SGS_COD=0&DRW_NUM=3

Elring part seems to be 763.144

thanks for that, if its the radial oil seal, or the crank case gasket, it seems like I will have to take off the timing belt to do this, correct? I can't find the gasket for the vacuum pump, so I probably need to use sealant. As for corrosion on the crank, I will check for this with the cover off- what else should I look for while snooping around down there?

cheers!

leGe said:

thanks for that, if its the radial oil seal, or the crank case gasket, it seems like I will have to take off the timing belt to do this, correct? I can't find the gasket for the vacuum pump, so I probably need to use sealant. As for corrosion on the crank, I will check for this with the cover off- what else should I look for while snooping around down there?

cheers!

Click to expand...

Well its probably worth putting a timing kit and water pump in while its apart. I got my last timing belt kit from these guy in italy for a steal - they have 145000 items on ebay postage was less than ireland.
http://www.ebay.ie/sch/idir-auto-teile/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686

moodrater said:

Well its probably worth putting a timing kit and water pump in while its apart. I got my last timing belt kit from these guy in italy for a steal - they have 145000 items on ebay postage was less than ireland.
http://www.ebay.ie/sch/idir-auto-teile/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686

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the timing (powergrip) was done about 50k kilometers ago (about 3/4 yrs), do you think it's worth it now? not sure about the water pump but they're €150 online. do you know the lifespan of one of these guys?

cheers

actually, does anyone know exactly the schedule for changing the timing belt in the 1993 TDI? I´ve searched the forum, from what I see its generally 4/5 years, but I'm not sure of the mileage. It's done 50k kilometers already, about 3/4 years old. Not sure of the water pump either.

tried several times for the manual for this van but it still eludes me, bought the standard one from ebay- a big disappointment.

I hoped someone else would give a definitive answer but I *believe* the recommendation for a belt change is 72,000 miles.

For average motorhome usage, the 5 years change interval usually arrives first!

leGe said:

actually, does anyone know exactly the schedule for changing the timing belt in the 1993 TDI? I´ve searched the forum, from what I see its generally 4/5 years, but I'm not sure of the mileage. It's done 50k kilometers already, about 3/4 years old. Not sure of the water pump either.

tried several times for the manual for this van but it still eludes me, bought the standard one from ebay- a big disappointment.

Click to expand...

Well I know my belt and braces family would but I'm a tight lazy b** if its been replaced three years ago I'd probably inspect it make sure all the bearings are running freely. Water pump isn't that big a deal anyway as it not on the timing belt.

ok thanks for the info, I managed to get a manual (in italian...) but have not found the service schedule as of yet. I´ll take the cover off and have a look, maybe post a few picks. Regarding the oil leak I cannot find the crankcase gasket online if that's the culprit so I will have to go for a sealant option. I have found a lot of discussion regarding which one to use, any thoughts?

cheers

update:

I took off the timing belt cover, cleaned up the oil and grease, and went for a spin. It looks like the leak is coming from high on the TB side, possibly the radial oil seal for the timing end? you can see in the pick the line of oil, the highest pulley for the timings is just above it. I'm not sure exactly where it's coming from, are there any other likely culprits in this area? and if it is the radial oil seal is this easy to replace? they don't seem expensive but not sure about ease of fitting, special tools etc. I will be doing the TB soon so I'd like to order everything together.

cheers!

leGe

hi folks- here´s an update on my progress:

I fitted the new timing belt, was not too bad except for the timing pin positions and flywheel locking point were a bit tricky to locate. just used tipex to mark postions, started fine.

on my travels underneath I noticed the pulley for the water pump is really loose- I noticed after I put the TB on. But it looks like I can get it off withou taking the belt off again. I was getting a squealing sound now I think I know from where- the pump is on the way out I guess- ordered a new one today- does anyone have experience fitting a new one? I think if I can clamp back the tensioner somehow I can get it off without reemoving the TB- the tensioner is attached to the pump

I checked the seals on the TB side for the oi leak, looks like its actually coming from the rocker cover gasket! ordered a new gasket, again no experience fitting this gasket any ideas on torques etc? things to watch out for?

your leak is coming from one of the oil "O" rings, from the auxillary housing, it could be the one on the vacuum pump, which will be the easiest to change,or it could be one where the auxillary housing bolts to the engine, but highly unlikely, i had a similer leak, i removed the auxillary housing and replaced all the "O" rings, this cured all the leaks, although it looked a big job, it really was not, i did it on a saturday morning.

I took the engine cover off, it really seems like its coming from the valve cover seal. That's why I thought it was from the shaft seals on the timing side, but its from higher up- only happens when engine is running too- I'll let you know how it goes.

Any ideas for water pump replacement without TB removal?

cheers