1972 Other Volkswagen Models 1972 VW T2

SKA_KID

MEMBER
1972 VOLKSWAGEN
4 CYL
2WD
MANUAL
138,000 MILES

I bought a 1972 VW bus yesterday. After driving for about 2 hours, just around town, I stopped at a friends house. As we admired my newly aquired toy we noticed it had a pretty signifigant oil leak which hadnt been there before. So I brought it home. I was sitting in my driveway with it running and the engine started making a whining noise and it bogged down. I shut off the engine because I noticed some smok coming up through the engine compartment, but the bus continued to run and make the same noise. I got out and looked under the bus. It was on fire. I believe the starter shorted and lit the oil on fire. The bus has been sitting in a shed for the last 6 months. The previous owner said it didnt have an oil leak before. What would have caused the oil leak, and what would have casused the short? Thank you.

1 Reply

MECHTRIX

MECHANIC
48 POSTS

Ive repaired many of these and in doing so ive noticed that most of them have the fuel line running directly over" around"under tied to"tangled up with" the starter a fire just waiting to happen now with that out of the way ". The oil leaks. This engine has 4 seals that tend to leak the most " 2 valve covers one on each side of the eng sitting above the heater boxes i.E./Exhaust pipes wich get very hot "and could cause a fire the good side is they are easy to fix and cheap about "$2 bucks each. And next". The 2 crank shaft end seals one in the front ie. The one at the flywheel end up near te tranny and the one at the back of the eng ie, at the cooling fan end the starter is not the likely cause of the fire but I wouldnt rule it out as when oil leaks it flows down away from the starter wich is perched in a higher up position then the leaky gasgets. Its more apt to get onto the heater boxes wich are directly below. The heater boxes have a shell around them that tend to rust out. The core inside of this shell is super hot if oil get onto it " then bingo " fire . Never run this or any other engine with the oil level any less then. Full !. If it runs again you might have to pull it out to fix all the leaks.". Good luck". I hope this helps "