1996 Volkswagen Jetta Logo
Posted on Feb 12, 2011
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The seal on the oil filter housing is leaking

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Jonah Oneal

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  • Volkswagen Master 14,092 Answers
  • Posted on Feb 12, 2011
Jonah Oneal
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Joined: Mar 17, 2009
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YOU NEED TO REPLACE OIL FILTER SEAL IF YOU OIL FILTER ON TOP OF ENGINE.IF OIL FILTER ON BOTTOM ENGINE LEAKING YOU HAVE TO REPLACE OIL FILTER WITH NEW OIL SEAL.

5 Related Answers

Anonymous

  • 141 Answers
  • Posted on Jan 23, 2009

SOURCE: oil leak at filter

there is a oring between the block and the filter housing. be carful because changing that oring is a pain kdc744

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Glenn Smart

  • 845 Answers
  • Posted on Sep 18, 2008

SOURCE: oil leak?

Whoa whoa ... You've said that the car takes 7 quarts of oil. That's 14 pints. Depending on which engine variant is fitted, engine oil capacity is either:

  • 5.75 litres + 0.4 litre if the oil cooler is drained
  • Turbo - 3.85 litres + 0.6 litre if the oil cooler is drained
  • These figures are for a UK 3 litre version of the 960
If you've filled the car with 7 quarts of engine oil that's almost twice as much oil as should be in the engine. Did you mean pints when you wrote quarts?

If you've filled it with 7 quarts it's overfull. Way too full. Check your oil dipstick - remove it, wipe it clean and then dip the oil level. At the bottom of the dipstick there is a flattened wider part. The oil level should not be below the bottom of this marker, and nor should it be above it. If the oil level is way above the flattened marker bar - you're overfull and will have to drain some oil out of the engine. An overfilled engine will try and blow oil out from wherever it can as the oil system will over-pressurised.

Ok .. so there's no problem with the engine compression. The crankcase isn't overfilled with oil (the crankcase is known as the oil sump in the UK). There's no oil fouling of the plugs and the car isn't burning oil, just leaking it. There's no misfires or running

If the engine isn't overfilled with oil there may be a problem with a broken/sticking piston ring or piston/cylinder. That high oil loss you mention seems severe. A problem with a piston/ring/cylinder can allow the compression to leak past the rings/piston into the engine oil sump and pressurise it. Under pressure, the oil will try and leak to atmosphere from anywhere it can.

A blue smoky exhaust is also an indication of piston/ring problems. A quick check is to start the car. If there's a cloud of blue smoke at start up which clears quickly, it's like to be worn valve guides. If, when driving the car with a warm engine there's blue smoke on acceleration - it points to a problem with rings/piston.

A quick check is to remove the spark plugs. Is there engine oil on one or more of them? An oiled up plug indicates that the engine oil is finding its way up past the rings/piston - and if oil can find its way up to a spark plug, then exhaust gasses/compressed fuel/air can find its way into the engine oil sump and pressurise it.

Another quick check is to start the engine and remove the oil dipstick. If fumes are 'chugging' out of the tube or oil is spitting out, that's another sure-fire sign that the oil sump is becoming pressurised due to a piston ring/piston/cylinder problem.

If you possess or can borrow an engine compression tester there is a further test you can do yourself to confirm whether or not there are piston/ring problems. Basically, a compression tester is just a gauge that screws into the cylinder head in place of the spark plug.

Warm the engine for 5 minutes so that the pistons expand fully in the bores.
Remove the spark plugs
Fit the compression tester into No1 cylinder and crank the engine for 10 seconds. Make a note of the compression reading on the gauge.
Do the same for each cylinder.

Here's an example of what you might find (the figures are for example only)
Cylinder Reading
1 115
2 120
3 118
4 95
5 96
6 117

Figures vary, but there should not be more than a 10% difference between the readings.
In the example above you can see that cylinders 4 and 5 have readings that are well below those of the other cylinders. This is indicating problems within those two cylinders. The lower compression could be due to a head/gasket fault or piston ring/piston problem. A split or worn exhaust valve in the head may cause low compression, a misfire and uneven running but it won't cause the engine oil sump/crankcase to pressurise. Now, some fine tuning to locate the exact problem:

Put a liberal squirt of oil into each cylinder - something like Redex, WD40 or engine oil.Put a cloth over each spark plug hole and spin the engine to get rid of the excess oil. The idea is that the oil you have squirted into the piston bores will form a 'seal' around the outside of the piston/rings.

Do the compression tests again and note the readings. If the readings go up significantly it indicates that the rings/pistons/bore has a problem. Readings that go up significantly are due to the oil forming a seal around the piston which raises the compression whilst testing. Here's an example:Cylinder Reading on 1st test 2nd test
1 115 118
2 120 121
3 118 120
4 95 110 Significant rise - more than 10%
5 96 98
6 117 119

Ok .. all this means is that cylinder 4 has compression problems due to the rings/piston/bore. The 2nd compression reading (with the oil squirted in) is higher simply because the oil formed a seal. Cylinder number 5 still has a low reading which didn't increase significantly on the 2nd 'wet' (when oil is added) test. This suggests that the problem is an exhaust valve/head gasket/head problem.

If there had been no significant increase in the reading on number 4 cylinder, this would suggest valve/gasket head problem. Low readings on adjoining cylinders (and which don't increase with the 2nd compression 'wet' oil test) would indicate a faulty head gasket between those two cylinders.

I'll continue this article ... ran out of word space

Anonymous

  • 3 Answers
  • Posted on Dec 18, 2008

SOURCE: Oil leaks from the oil filter adapter

If it is not the suggested gasket that is leaking then it is the oil pressure switch located exactly above the oil filter adapter. The black plastic housing could have developed a crack and oil will ooze downward and drip off the bottom of the adapter. I had this problem and changing the oil pressure switch took care of it.

Anonymous

  • 7 Answers
  • Posted on Jan 31, 2009

SOURCE: 97 Jetta oil leak from oil filter

it s the oil cooler,you should take it apart clean and put new o ring

Craig Lovick

  • 247 Answers
  • Posted on Jan 23, 2010

SOURCE: Need to remove oil filter housing - oil leaking

This is not an easy repair in your driveway, but can be done. 1st thing, have you checked to see if the oil filter is the issue or is it the drain plug? If its the oil filter housing gasket, you will need to remove the filter. The housing is held in place by the threaded bolt assy that the filter screws onto. You will need to remove that bolt, remove the coolant hoses. Clean the engine block surfaces, for the new gasket to mate to, clean the cooling housing surfaces, install the bolt through the housing, and install the gasket onto it. Then install the bolt/housing into the block and tighten the bolt. Install the coolant hoses, oil filter. Fill the cooling system with the coolant that you removed. Fill the engine with oil, start and check for leaks.

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1answer

I have a 1994 Lincoln Town Car that has problems more than once with having oil leaks from the oil filter housing seal.

Question edited for typo.
Question moved to sub category.

My first thought was "are you oiling the gasket on the oil filter when you install it"? The rubber gasket needs to turn and seat.

However, it is a documented issue.

https://www.google.com/search?q=1994+Lincoln+Town+Car+oil+leaks+from+the+oil+filter+housing+seal

..
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2003 town car has leaking oil filter housing, what is necessary to fix and what the entire job will cost

it could be a simple replacement of the oil filter, remove the extra oil filter gasket left on when the filter was changed
excessive tightening of the filter
or replacement of the gasket for the housing mount
until you know exactly what is causing the leak , the cost cannot be calculated
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Oil leak at the oil filter housing

The housing is a hard part, you most likely just need the mounting seal.
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Oil leak from oil filter housing

The only time oil will leak on filter assy. is you put in the wrong filter so that the rubber seal on the filter is not engaging to the wall of the housing so its not sealing the oil inside the filter. Another reason is maybe the filter is still loose that you should try tightening it more by turning it clockwise. Good luck, hope this help.
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What causes the oil filter housing to leak - it is above the filter - we replaced the filter but this is on seam about 1/2 inch above the top of the filter

If there is a spacer between the oil filter and the engine block then you would could have a bad seal on it. If its similar to a Honda there will be to hoses going to the spacer. This spacer is called the oil cooler adapter. If this is it. Take oil filter off and the remove the oil cooler nut if there is enough room you won't need to disconnect cooling lines. Pry the Adapter away from the block with screw driver. remove old seal clean surface with clean rag install new seal. Wipe a little oil around the seal just like you would the oil filter. 'Tighten snug, but don't over tighten. Not sure the correct torque for this. Hope this helps you. This similar problem occurred on my 1995 Honda Odyssey.
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How do i repair oil filter housing leak?

The oil is most likely leaking from the oil cooler seal. The oil cooler is the square aluminum piece that the oil filter screws onto. To replace the seal, remove the filter, remove both coolant hoses that attach to the cooler, remove the nut that secures the cooler to the block and slide the cooler off the tube. Replace the rubber o-ring seal which is available at the VW dealer. It's inexpensive. Replace everything in reverse order. Good luck!
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WHY DOES RHE THE BMW V8 OIL FILTER HOUSING LEAK

Either the filter isn't screwed all way in or there is dirt on the sealing surface that prevents a complete seal - take the filter out and clean everything in sight.
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Oil leaked out engine were from oil filter is mounted

have you taken the filter off yet to determine whether or not it had 2 gaskets. was this done by a shop? if so, call them and have it towed back in!
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When the filter is changed, are you wiping the filter's seal with oil first? You must do this to help it seal against the filter housing. Just dip a finger into the new oil and smear it onto the seal. Also, before installing the seal, spray brake cleaner or degreaser onto a paper towel or rag and scrub the area where the filter seal mates to the engine - you may have grime on there that is preventing you from getting a good seal.
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