Help Misterey rear main seal

[ctp13]

so yesterday I drove my 87 Syncro
14 miles to Lows when I came out Oil was running out from the rear main ( engine /trans mating) area

about a 10+ inch puddle I drove to the gas station ( 500 yards)

Checked dipstick no oil visible Put in two quarts slightly over mark - should have been more exact but Panic has set in.

came home 14 miles checked parking spot - no oil so somewhere in that 14 miles I leaked out over a quart + HMM.. came directly to the list read all I could find - Bummer rear main or Galley plugs trans has to come out. seems easer than engine.

Today I recently check engine oil - ?still slightly over full?

so in the interest of experimentation I drove it Back to lows -

NO OIL LOSS???? how can that be? it was running out yesterday .

any ideas? I would have bet that with that big of a seal failure it would have been leaking today.

Thanks

Chuck

[hdenter]

Are you sure you did not park on top of someone else's oil spot and mistake it for your own leak? Maybe it was coincidence and you just happened to have let your oil get too low.
_________________
'79 triple white convertible bug
'84 sunroof vanagon
'85 weekender

[ctp13]

[Dr.Dub13]

Your crankcase could have pressurized forcing oil out and then the PCV system could have started working again. I don't have enough experience with Vanagons yet to know if that happens.
_________________
Terry
In Bus We Trust
I don't sing I bring, much delight
Like a star shinin bright in the darkest night

[binger59]

Speakng of other peoples auto puddles, I've made it a habit of checking under my van before I go into the store or where ever. It's a good way to find leaks. I've found no leaks other then this rear main over this last summer. Not a hard job but then again not a synchro either. Good luck with the leak. Oh yeah big fan of the drive thru for finding random
noises also.
_________________
Binger

1984 Westy
1986 7 Pass R.I.P. Donor van
2019 Jetta
2014 Passat R.I.P
2025 Atlas
2006 Passat R.I.P.
1998 Jetta R.I.P.
1984 Vanagon R.I.P.

[ctp13]

RE-cap Found the leak in Dec have been too busy to work on it

I believe that it's the engine main and will drop the trans next week

So are there any preferred Seals to buy - Hate to put in an inferior product that is only a few $$$ Just to do this again.

Thanks
Chuck

[funagon]

Here's an article from gowesty on this topic:

http://www.gowesty.com/library_article.php?id=535

They recommend the VW seal, made by SABO. I have used the Victor Reinz seal on two WBX engines with no problem.
_________________
1990 GL 7-passenger
2.2 liter WBX

[tencentlife]

Both of those are good, but the SABO is the most heavy-duty.

They key thing with this job is to make sure there is no groove on the flywheel hub where the seal lip rides. If there is a slight groove, it can be polished out by setting up the FW to be able to spin it and applying abrasive papers, starting at coarse like 40, 60, or 80, and progressing up bit by bit until you've polished it bright with at least a 1000grit emery.

Extra points: buffing after that with a cotton buff and compound suitable for steel (green) can bring it to almost a mirror finish.

If the groove is deep enough to catch a fingernail in then you won't be able to take it out; look for a new FW then.
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Experience is death to doctrine.

[lordsniff]

this happened to my syncro some while back . i fitted 4 main seals over a period of months only to find eventually that each one was being blown out by pressure from the crank case . replaced engine .
whilst in there replace the bearing too .
_________________
I was born at a very early age and it was such a shock I didn't speak for another 2 years .


______________________________________
87 Syncro
85 Gl
96 Dodge Ram V10
2001 Honda

[deprivation]

Some people have reported excessive crankcase pressure when the hose from the oil breather gets too weak and collapses under high engine vacuum.
_________________
1986 Westy 2WD auto a.k.a. "The Old Girl"
www.kittenfart.com

[danfromsyr]

I slipped a 'shunt' inside it of a rigid polyethelyne tube.

kept the breathing clear with a squishy hose.

[deprivation]