Crank main oil seal leak

[slowcoach65]

My Cali is 15 months old and at its first service last month at 25K, an oil leak was found. It went in for a further look today and the leak was found to be the "crank main oil seal". It's being replaced on warranty plus the cam belt if contaminated. It runs fine and I've been reassured it's not causing any harm in the short term. It's going in before Christmas so I'm not overly concerned. Is this a common problem?

Andy

 

[steviej]

Had to get my crankshaft main oil seal done in June this year just before the three years warranty ran out. I took the large plastic cover off under the engine to have a look and spotted a minor leak onto the soundproofing.

Not good on a "newish" vehicle - good job I am a bit anal!

 

[smgcowfoldparts]

We did steviej's seal earlier this year and that is the only one we have done so far on the T5.1.

cheers

 

[slowcoach65]

Thanks for the replies. Hopefully it will get sorted without too much hassle

 

[smgcowfoldparts]

Should be absolutely fine, not a difficult job and should easily be done well within one day.

cheers

 

[slowcoach65]

Turns out to be the crank case housing. Part on order. What irritates me is that I left the Cali with them a week ago whilst I came skiing and they only started the job and identified the problem today! Now they cannot promise it will be ready for me to collect on Monday!

Why didn't they start the job a week ago knowing if it turned out to be complex problem they would have time to sort it before I got back. That way you have a happy customer who might even recommend the van centre.

I know it's Christmas but even accounting for holiday days, they still had plenty of time to get it right.

End of rant.

Merry Christmas

Andy.

 

[fordyski100]

Why didn't they start the job a week ago knowing if it turned out to be complex problem they would have time to sort it before I got back. That way you have a happy customer who might even recommend the van centre.

Andy , i know how you feel .I am still waiting to hear from my dealership with regard to replacing steering column after they had my Cali for 8 days back in early November!!! I was promised a call(plus vouchers for the inconvenience) the next day! Thats apart from waiting to hear about the blistering roof paint! See my previous thread .One day they will call me ….. probably soon as the service will be due and then i will probably take it to Cowfold who hopefully can take over the warranty issues for me and at that point ill name and shame the dealer who has no customer service.
http://www.vwcaliforniaclub.com/forum/v ... f=5&t=5518
Some (not all ) dealerships just dont understand customer service.
Good luck with yours….its frustrating

 

[Christine Kirk]

Dropped off cali for its third service and had an inspection video shortly after. Shows an oil leak from the sump and oil from the bell housing. ( the van centre Sheffield, has already had the rear crank seal / flywheel studs to cure, it leaked from new) Has anyone else had a similar issue and was it continuing.
It did occur to me that when they did the rear oil seal previously it woul require the gearbox to be separated from the engine to access the rear main flange and thus the engine would have to be supported and perhaps the sump was bent/ distorted then.
Comments welcome

 

[Perfectos]

Dropped off cali for its third service and had an inspection video shortly after. Shows an oil leak from the sump and oil from the bell housing. ( the van centre Sheffield, has already had the rear crank seal / flywheel studs to cure, it leaked from new) Has anyone else had a similar issue and was it continuing.
It did occur to me that when they did the rear oil seal previously it woul require the gearbox to be separated from the engine to access the rear main flange and thus the engine would have to be supported and perhaps the sump was bent/ distorted then.
Comments welcome

Hi Christine,

your profile doesn’t show model / age of the vehicle, so from your profile pic assume it’s a T6, some further detail would assist in giving you a targeted answer:

How long ago did the dealer replace the rear (gearbox seal) ?

is the leak residue (small amount) or larger ?
Where is the oil apparent bottom of sump or elsewhere?

Is your Van within original / Extended warranty ?

where specifically is the oil coming from, you say you can see it in the Video, if you can see it dealer must be able to ?

Both Crank case oil seals are known to fail, VW have redesigned both seals. (Front and rear), presumably the dealer fitted the new Design seal to the rear ?
and check the front seal for leaks ?

What has the dealer said about the leak ? (have they acknowledged it)

 

[Perfectos]

Crank shaft Engine oil seal (Gearbox end) Check required before end of warranty/ during periodic service

Hi Guys , posting this to highlight a potential issue that may go undetected during normal use and service And help other Avoid potential costly bill. Van mileage approx 21k miles, three and a half years old, Extended warranty 5years /80k miles (thank Goodness) my Van went in for an...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[Christine Kirk]

Hi Christine,

your profile doesn’t show model / age of the vehicle, so from your profile pic assume it’s a T6, some further detail would assist in giving you a targeted answer:

How long ago did the dealer replace the rear (gearbox seal) ?

is the leak residue (small amount) or larger ?
Where is the oil apparent bottom of sump or elsewhere?

Is your Van within original / Extended warranty ?

where specifically is the oil coming from, you say you can see it in the Video, if you can see it dealer must be able to ?

Both Crank case oil seals are known to fail, VW have redesigned both seals. (Front and rear), presumably the dealer fitted the new Design seal to the rear ?
and check the front seal for leaks ?

What has the dealer said about the leak ? (have they acknowledged it)

T6 199 4 Motion and DSG box. Now on 37K miles driven mainly on open roads as we live in a rural area, hence the mileage. on manufacturers extended warranty.
Original crankcase leak done at 14 months old March 2020
Leak appears to be out of the bell housing at the rear.and the oil is from the front sump to block area but the oil could be finding its way round to the flange from the front crank seal.

 

[Christine Kirk]

Just had notice that Sheffield JCT 600 advise us that they cannot look at the oil leaks until the 21st June at the earliest, and they advise that the California shouldn't be driven ! We are leaving it with them in the hope that they will fit it in sooner. Don't want to drive it as it is against the advice given.
VW service it's best! Will now be without the California when we are most likely to use it; and having a reasonably new vehicle off the road for a month seems poor but the impression is that they don't give a dam. The issue of leaking crankshaft seals is a known fault given the number of threads on the forum; why hasn't VW re-engineered the seals?

 

[Perfectos]

Just had notice that Sheffield JCT 600 advise us that they cannot look at the oil leaks until the 21st June at the earliest, and they advise that the California shouldn't be driven ! We are leaving it with them in the hope that they will fit it in sooner. Don't want to drive it as it is against the advice given.
VW service it's best! Will now be without the California when we are most likely to use it; and having a reasonably new vehicle off the road for a month seems poor but the impression is that they don't give a dam. The issue of leaking crankshaft seals is a known fault given the number of threads on the forum; why hasn't VW re-engineered the seals?

vw has re-engineered the seal, that’s why I ask if you had a new design fitted ?

Are you are a member of VW assist?
call them, get them to diagnose the oil leak and have it delivered to the dealer of your choice Same day.
Insist that the vehicle is not driven for fear of damage that may be caused.

VW Dealers have to prioritise VW assist recovered vehicles,
VW assist will provide you with a hired courtesy vehicle, which is why the dealer has to prioritise a repair (to limit VWs ongoing costs of hire vehicle)

edit: this only works whilst in warranty (standard or extended) as vw are paying.

 

[Perfectos]

who actually noted the leak you or the Dealer ?

if it was the dealer why did they let you drive away ?
why did they not fix the problem ?

 

[drdaveboycali]

had my beach in for cambelt and waterpump replacement and they noticed weeping crank seal 4 years old and 7600 miles

 

[Christine Kirk]

vw has re-engineered the seal, that’s why I ask if you had a new design fitted ?

Are you are a member of VW assist?
call them, get them to diagnose the oil leak and have it delivered to the dealer of your choice Same day.
Insist that the vehicle is not driven for fear of damage that may be caused.

VW Dealers have to prioritise VW assist recovered vehicles,
VW assist will provide you with a hired courtesy vehicle, which is why the dealer has to prioritise a repair (to limit VWs ongoing costs of hire vehicle)

edit: this only works whilst in warranty (standard or extended) as vw are paying.

We have the extended warranty but not sure if it includes the VW assist; however the diagnosis was done by the VW agent not us, it would have to be a difficult to spot since the undertray doesn’t allow any close visual inspection! The story the desk gave about a loan vehicle was that they had just loaned out the last one, left me thinking “ how convenient “ since the loan would be for weeks if the 21st June date for looking into the issues of the oil leak.

We.are considering our options, not hopeful about VW listening and doing anything to expedite the process of getting us back on the road, I shall definitely be telling everyone I can to avoid JCT 600 as they are not helpful or caring for the customers,

 

[Christine Kirk]

who actually noted the leak you or the Dealer ?

if it was the dealer why did they let you drive away ?
why did they not fix the problem ?

Dealer found the leaks at the service,
The advice was not to drive it,
They are going to look at it in 4 weeks time!!!

 

[Christine Kirk]

vw has re-engineered the seal, that’s why I ask if you had a new design fitted ?

Are you are a member of VW assist?
call them, get them to diagnose the oil leak and have it delivered to the dealer of your choice Same day.
Insist that the vehicle is not driven for fear of damage that may be caused.

VW Dealers have to prioritise VW assist recovered vehicles,
VW assist will provide you with a hired courtesy vehicle, which is why the dealer has to prioritise a repair (to limit VWs ongoing costs of hire vehicle)

edit: this only works whilst in warranty (standard or extended) as vw are paying.

When the oil leak was “ attended too” in March 2020 we really don’t know what was done and if a new redesigned seal was even installed!
Just have to take it on face value that the work has been completed in a satisfactory fashion: which it clearly is now open to question!

 

[Perfectos]

Dealer found the leaks at the service,
The advice was not to drive it,
They are going to look at it in 4 weeks time!!!

Tell the dealer you have holidays booked (sooner than 4 weeks) they have a duty of care to prevent loss to the customer.

 

[Perfectos]

When the oil leak was “ attended too” in March 2020 we really don’t know what was done and if a new redesigned seal was even installed!
Just have to take it on face value that the work has been completed in a satisfactory fashion: which it clearly is now open to question!

How did you get on with this latest issue @Christine Kirk ?

 

[Christine Kirk]

We eventually got our California back about 4 weeks after we took it to JCT 600 .
It was hassle throughout as the telephone is often directed to a call centre and messages either don't appear to get through, or the staff, who can respond are unable to find the time to ring back,
Complaining to VW isn't easy we found it difficult to find a phone number and eventually contacted the VW finance office. On presenting them with the situation they must have had some influence as the California was delivered back to us which was helpful.
Since its return we haven't used the van as we have lost confidence in it's reliability, we continue to use our T4 instead as it is much more reliable. ( this week it will be driven down to Bristol and back nearly 500 miles) The T6 has spent nearly 2 months unusable due to the oil leaks and it is only just over 3 years old! Two long waits to have oil leaks fixed.
The issue is, according to the technician, not that unusual in the T6 engines and is a huge job to do, taking two full days. I went across to collect some gear out of the California when they were doing the work and it is a major strip down , the driveshafts have to come off, the gearbox split from the engine which requires the 4 wheel drive to be split off the gear box, and then the subframe has to come off. The exhaust has to be disconnected and the engine is held in place by a beam that spans the engine bay; the job would be Thousands of pounds if it were not done under warranty1
on reassembly the front wheel alinement has to be checked as everything in the front suspension has been apart , this required the Cali to be taken to the car workshops as they haven't got the laser alinement kit at the van centre.
As pointed out to the VW organisation we have been deprived of the use of the camper at the very time of the year when we use it ,nor did we have a loan vehicle which was a major inconvenience, We actually managed a few days away in a pub B&B in our old MG!
What we would like to know is this a freak occurrence or have other fellow owners had similar issues?

As a footnote, after the initial poor response from the workshop, (it would have to wait 4 weeks before they could start on the job!) the service staff got the fact that the customer experience /service was not acceptable they tried hard to make things happen, but the VW experience has now been tainted for us.

 

[Perfectos]

Crank oil seal Leaks

Just an update on Oil Leaks from the crank oil seals ; we have had our T6 199 4 Motion in the Sheffield van centre twice now to sort out leaks from the crank oil seals, it is an involved job taking days to complete. An expensive job to do if the owner has to pay for it. Fortunately our van was...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[Perfectos]

Crank shaft Engine oil seal (Gearbox end) Check required before end of warranty/ during periodic service

Hi Guys , posting this to highlight a potential issue that may go undetected during normal use and service And help other Avoid potential costly bill. Van mileage approx 21k miles, three and a half years old, Extended warranty 5years /80k miles (thank Goodness) my Van went in for an...

vwcaliforniaclub.com