Re: Coolant leaking into oil, water pump issue or worse?

Posted by gene On 2020/12/11 10:31:36

Hi Ross.
Yes it probably sounds confusing, I will try to explain. Firstly my w/p has been leaking from the seal since the rebuild in 2016 so needed the rebuild anyway. As I'm a novice I thought this was the issue where the leak into engine was occurring.
I noticed rough running, once home, a check of the oil and noticed that horrible tell tale nasty creamy oil sight and a high reading. I had previously filled the coolant rather higher than I normally do.
I emptied slowly to see how much coolant there in the oil as its heavier and separates. This is the litre or so I'm talking about, and I'm not sure how long ago this had started, likely a couple of months.
With new oil added and without even a start up, I added roughly a litre, maybe less of coolant as it was sitting lower than the core top. But the amount was no where near where it flows over into the top of the block. I checked the level the next morning. It had dropped below the core however I could not see how much. Today I emptied the fresh oil to double check the level of coolant only to find very little, a lot less than expected. But remember it has rot run since changing.
I've only worked on air cooled V.W.s and I thought before w/p removal that the leak into engine was through the leaky shaft. Obviously this is not how they function.
My plan is first a compression test, to see if this not on spec. Then check how torqued the head bolts are, using the correct procedure. My mechanic also suggested checking the tappets, and adjust accordingly. I'm hoping this is not too hard.
Stay tuned all, fingers crossed as an extremely expensive engine rebuild is on the line.
Thanks for understanding my lack of knowledge.