82 Brat oil spraying up to the hood

[RockOcean]

Hello I'm looking to buy an 82' Brat. The first thing I noticed when checking it out was a bunch of old oil residue starting from near the bottom of the engine spraying up past the alternator and on the bottom of the hood. 

When I went to test drive it seemed like the idle was really low (400 rpms) but smooth. It had the wrong shift knob on it so it took me a second to find reverse.. Heading out of the half mile driveway I instantly fell in love with the feel of the car. Previous cars I have owned are 84 VW Rabbit GTi, and currently a 82' turbo diesel Vanagon. I'm living in Montana now so I what something with AWD.. So when I got to the end of the driveway I thought I stalled it out.. Well it wouldn't start back up.. I called the owner after trying to get it started for 5 mins.. He drove out and it started right up for him. But after running for 30 seconds it just shut down again. The owner was super embraassed but I wasn't bothered at all. He said he would change the fuel filter, air filter, and spark plugs to see if that fixes it. With all these problems I am still interested. But was wondering if anyone has some info on what might be going on with this car.  Thanks so much, looking forward to learning more about these Brats.

O yeah just driving it that half mile it didn't show any signs of fresh oil being sprayed..

[Jmpjose]

Hello

I have an 84 Dl that would spray oil on hood too. It ended needing a new front main seal. I think with belt and rotating pulleys it would spray everywhere.

Hope this helps. 

[GeneralDisorder]

Front main seal. It's like a 5 minute job. 

But beware. These are not easy vehicles to get parts for. 

GD

[Dee2]

Quote

The first thing I noticed when checking it out was a bunch of old oil residue starting from near the bottom of the engine spraying up past the alternator and on the bottom of the hood. 

This can also happen if the oil filter isn't installed correctly.