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clogged crankcase breather box on VW Golf 1.4 petrol

  • 17-04-2010 6:16pm
    #1
    drBill
    Closed Accounts Posts: 329 ✭✭


    I have an '01 Golf 1.4 petrol with about 160K and recently it has started blowing some oil out of the breather. Not a huge amount, just that the occasional drop of oil has started appearing on the driveway.
    I got it serviced at VW the other day and mentioned it to the garage beforehand. They tell me that the crankcase breather box is clogged and needs to be replaced.
    The mechanic pulled off the pipe from the crankcase to the breather box at the top of the engine, and showed me where the inside is all clogged up with yellow gunk i.e. watery oil. He says it's relatively harmless apart from being messy and with the risk of freezing in very cold weather which could cause me to lose a lot of oil quickly.
    So it needs a new breather box and pipe, about e125 for parts and two hours VW labour. All sounds reasonably ok to me although 2 hours labour sounds a bit on the high side so I'll probably do the job myself when time permits.

    So basically, out of curiosity more than anything else, I'm just wondering what the actual mechanical failure was :-
    • is there some sort of cleaning element in the breather box which has simply gotten clogged over time?
    • is this a separate cleaner to the engine air intake?
    • where did the water come from anyway? (the crankcase oil is ok, no water is getting in there, head gasket etc is ok)
    • my initial feeling is that I just need to replace a clogged breather box, just wondering is it recommended to replace the hose at the same time? I know I'm being a bit stingy here but the hose looks ok at the moment.
    Thanks!


Comments

  • #2
    woody33
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 491 ✭✭woody33


    You could try cleaning out the hose with a bit of wire or something. I have heard of holding you thumb over the hose, reving the engine a bit and taking your thumb off. (Careful you don't get an eyeful of gunk). Maybe replace the pipe if it's a bit flabby, though you say it looks ok. If the box itself is blocked, that's a different story. More info on older VWs here:
    http://bangernomics.tripod.com/oilypolo.htm


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