When I run my air-cooled Westy really hard I get a light film on the back
bumper and up onto the painted area. The engine doesn't seem to be
loosing oil so I assume that the amount is very small and just
accumulates after several days of hard driving.
I made a very hard 2000 mile trip last week and couldn't even measure any
oil loss at the dipstick but the rear had a residue of oil. Could be from
drips that had been clinging on for weeks past that just got hot enough
or blown enough to migrate to the back area.
I just use good dish washing detergent to wash it off and hand wax the
area about once every three months.
Even the smallest leak gets distributed very well on the back of a
Vanagon or Westy ........ airflow pattern I suppose.
Its worth your time to put a piece of clean cardboard under your van when
you park at home, it makes any drips easy to find.

Stan Wilder
83 Air Cooled Westfalia

On Sun, 21 Apr 2002 19:05:11 -0400 Jon Sykes <jon.sykes@PS.GE.COM>
writes:
> I did a 200 mile run in my '82 diesel vanagon the other day.  Severe
> headwind one way, awesome tailwind coming back.  The rear of the
> vehicle is
> covered in this blotchy, oily, diesel residue that will smudge but
> won't
> really wipe off.  I was wondering what might be the cause of this
> (van
> running rich, mechanical problem?) and whether I should worry about
> it.
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
> ---
>
> Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
> Version: 6.0.325 / Virus Database: 182 - Release Date: 2/19/2002
>

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