Author Topic: Leaking oil bad! (Read 4237 times)

AndrewSE · « **on:** August 19, 2008, 02:47:53 pm »

Well I don't know what to say... this car is starting to be a little much.

So i did my first oil change the other day on my 91 Jetta TD and went full syn (retella sae0w40). more then likley my first error.

Now i am leaking oil pretty bad and it looks to be the rear main seal.

oil is leaking between the block and trany.

not sure what to do.. I've had this thing for a month now and have gotten most of the small things fixed and now this!

what does this job intail ? is it even worth it? or should I cut my loses and move on? including the cost of the car I am about $1800 in.

kinda pissed .. so i'm sorry if i sound like a little kid with a broken toy, just lost and feel this job maybe out of my league...could be wrong.

Thankz

Andrew

jtanguay · « **Reply #1 on:** August 19, 2008, 03:36:54 pm »

well you can tear in and look for the bad seal, or you can just run a good 15w40 oil with a stop leak product... i've used wynn's before and it works great, until the temps reach lower than 0C... then it starts to get tough to start. problem with the thicker oil is that you will get worse mileage though (1-4mpg less?)...

AndrewSE · « **Reply #2 on:** August 19, 2008, 04:56:26 pm »

yeah considering the 15w40 to be honest... might do that next pay.

till then I put some lucas in and hope it slows it down a little.

i blame the syn oil as this is what happend on my cutlass ceria. The min I put syn in she started to leak. Now my jetta is doing the same.

maybe i'll get some friends to help me rid it apart on a nice weekend or something... just really a crummy i guess.. thats the gamble with a old car with high K.

Smokey Eddy · « **Reply #3 on:** August 19, 2008, 06:31:27 pm »

flippin synthetic
yeah that's weird. mine leaked super bad from the cam cover and head gasket. I changed them both and got good ones and it doesn't leak even at high boost/temp. (rubber CG and 1.9 metal GH)

jtanguay · « **Reply #4 on:** August 19, 2008, 06:43:06 pm »

the problem with synth is that it usually only comes in the thinner grades... 0w40 is REAL nice in the winter, and ok in the summer, but it can really make an otherwise small leak seem much worse. it's a good sign that synthetic oil gets to where its needed quicker than your conventional oils :lol:

Smokey Eddy · « **Reply #5 on:** August 19, 2008, 06:46:40 pm »

fine then! Say stuff that makes sense! just SEEEEEE what i care!

Dirtrag2 · « **Reply #6 on:** August 19, 2008, 06:53:26 pm »

you can get quaker state in 15w40 for 4X4's at auto parts stores... personally in the summer I like to run Amsoil 15w40 for diesel applicatiion with 1 liter of 60 weight Amsoil racing oil.
in the winter 5w40 Amsoil works well

also really like the cetane boost from Amsoil, smother running and more power :twisted: ( yes I actually notice a difference )

Smokey Eddy · « **Reply #7 on:** August 19, 2008, 07:08:40 pm »

I use cetane boost too, i agree

AndrewSE · « **Reply #8 on:** August 20, 2008, 07:06:45 am »

thankz guys...

So i guess I should not jump the gun yet and just switch to some 15w40 oil with some lucas and see how it works out for me?

I took a look at crappy tire and was trying to find auto-rx, since I have heard alot of good things about it but had no luck.

The lucas stuff I put in yesterday seems to have already slowed down the leak a little, but mind you it was a cool morning and my car just got to the half way mark temp wise when I pulled into work.

is it really a pain to drop the trans to fix this if needed ?

jtanguay · « **Reply #9 on:** August 20, 2008, 07:36:54 am »

well dropping the trans is a little bit of a pain... you need to disconnect the driveshafts which requires an 8mm 12 point headed tool. the tool to get the head bolts off is a 12mm of the same type.

just put something under the motor to keep it firmly in place, and something under the tranny, as you do not want to put weight on the splined shaft. getting it out might be easier than putting it back in though as it might not be lined up. some elbow grease works well :lol:.

i think the oil pan has to be removed as well... but i could be wrong. i just know theres a few oil pan bolts that run into the cover for that side. maybe you can just remove those and be on your way.

but you might as well be sure about the leak... so you should clean the power portion of the motor very well and then do visual inspections & even take pics so we can help you find out where the oil leak is coming from. who knows, maybe its from the lower portion of the dipstick tube, or even the oil pan gasket? either way they are much easier, and you could upgrade to the 1.9 windage tray which comes with a rubber gasket that will virtually last forever :wink:

AndrewSE · « **Reply #10 on:** August 20, 2008, 07:57:46 am »

cool.. good info jtanguay .. Thankz !

I don't think it is the dipstick tube since the leak is almost below the clutch cable area or between the reserve cooling tank and engine block.

towards the back area... it is leaking off/on the drivers side control arm.

jimfoo · « **Reply #11 on:** August 20, 2008, 08:36:50 am »

Rotella also comes in a 15w40 synth. Usually available at wally world.

arb · « **Reply #12 on:** August 20, 2008, 08:53:15 am »

Don't blame a leak on synthetic oil - it was there before you changed it. As the guys have said, it is thinner than mineral oil of the same SAE rating. If you look at the Mobil-1 band, they offer a very wide range of viscosities. I have used the 20w50 full synthetic in a 165K mile engine I just got. It did not start leaking as a result.

Full synthetic will give you higher mpg as well as making it start easier when cold. This is why all the OEM's in the auto world load their diesel engines with full synthetic at the engine plant - they get better MPG ratings and that = better sales.

You could start putting in 20w50 Mobil-1 to replace your leaking oil and it will slow down.

Of course there is another possibility: A coincidence that your seal blew out about the same time as you switched oil...

jtanguay · « **Reply #13 on:** August 20, 2008, 09:16:14 am »

Quote from: "AndrewSE"

cool.. good info jtanguay .. Thankz !

I don't think it is the dipstick tube since the leak is almost below the clutch cable area or between the reserve cooling tank and engine block.

towards the back area... it is leaking off/on the drivers side control arm.

better confirm that it is in fact oil that is leaking then. it should be nice and black. although i find it takes about 2-3 days for me to see it turn fully black. unless i drive long distances or really hard :twisted:

i've tried 20w50 and noticed a slight power decrease, but oil consumption went down to about nil. now with 10w40 amsoil, it does burn slightly.... but my boost is turned up. the more boost, the higher oil consumption.

zukgod1 · « **Reply #14 on:** August 20, 2008, 09:55:22 am »

I actually had this happen as well, I had just switched to syn and noticed a leak but it turned out to be the dime sized seal on the trans out put shaft instead of the rear main.

It actually caused the clutch to start slipping after a while so I had to deal with it.

Author Topic: Leaking oil bad! (Read 4237 times)

AndrewSE

AndrewSE

AndrewSE

AndrewSE

arb