Oil leak and Soft Brakes

[acexxx]

Hi I reciently changed the oil and filter on my mk1. Since doing so I have noticed a slight oil leak after I turn the car off. It's not a constent leak I think its coming from the filter as the one I removed had a line of oil on it. In the box for the new filter was a plastic washer but I binned this? Was this important?

Secondly I replaced the rear calipers yeasterday and bled them but the brakes feel kinda soft? Is this waht the mk1's brakes feel like?

[WeirdNeville]

The brakes should feel very firm. The Mk1 has one of the least servo'd and most direct pedal feels I can recall in a car. Re-bleed the whole system and re-try them and if you're not confident you've doen it right get a garage to do it. It's only a half hour job for them and will give you peace of mind.

Re the oil leak, sounds like you needed that washer! See if you can get a gasket from a motor factor and then unscrew and re-fit the filter. Mines been dropping a touch of oil since I last serviced it because I only used a crappy paper sump plug washer. I'm making sure I get a copper one for next weeks service. Also check that your car isn't bleeding around the sump pan as my old Mk1 did this.

[kaiowas]

There's a couple of common sources of oil leaks on the exhuast side that are worth looking into, most common is the distributor 'o' ring, if this is shot then it'll be dripping oil all down the back of your engine. The other one is the oil cooler pipes which are lower down so unlikly to be responsible for the oil on the filter.

The washer you threw away was most likely a new sump plug washer, it's usually a good idea to use a new one of these every time you drain the oil.

[acexxx]

Thanks guys I will re bleed the whole system. What is the best fluid to use?

[WeirdNeville]

Thanks guys I will re bleed the whole system. What is the best fluid to use?

Any DOT 4 or DOT 5.1 fluid will do. Avoid DOT 5 fluid like the plague (although it's hard to find) as it will pollute your whole braking system, destroy your seals and generally bring a world of pain.

[System-G]

Start bleeding at the calliper furtherest away from the master cylinder and work to the closest

[widster]

There's a couple of common sources of oil leaks on the exhuast side that are worth looking into, most common is the distributor 'o' ring, if this is shot then it'll be dripping oil all down the back of your engine.

I am also interested in this comment. Can someone tell me how easy it is to change this 'o' ring? Thanks.

[jimi]

CLICKY
HTH
Jimi

[un1eash]

Real easy, remove the dizzy cap, make a note of where the rotor arm is pointing and mark the dizzy and head with tipex for timing when re-installing. Remove the 2 bolts holding the dizzy in place, remove dizzy. Replace 'o' ring and re-install dizzy lining it up with the mark you made.

Edit, the above guide also shows how to do the internal 'o' ring but 9/10 times its just the external one that needs changing, unless you have oil in your dizzy cap.

[widster]

Thanks for the replies. Another job to add to my list!