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Mon Jun 30, 2014 6:55 am

Hello again

I was riding yesterday and two very unpleasant things happened.

1. Oil started to drip very intensely from engine and transmission. We tightened some screws from below and it's less now, but I can't figure out why it drips from "somewhere in between the engine and transmission". What could it be?

2. There's a grinding noise when kicking into 1st gear. Altough I suspect it is caused by plastic "bushing" detail (which is utterly destroyed), I am worried about the fact that grinding occurs after some time of riding.

The car is 1967, but both, engine and transmission are 1971-1973 Transporter's.

Any help?

Mon Jun 30, 2014 7:32 am

There is a rear seal on the transmission where the drive shaft emerges. If it leaks, transmission fluid can come out of it, and it will drip down out of the bell housing. On the front (forward, FRONT of car) of the engine there is a flywheel seal that can leak, and it too will drip down out of the bell housing. Determine if your leak is transmission fluid or engine oil. They smell and look different. You'll need to pull the engine, and when you do, replace both of them. They are not expensive. Top off the fluids when you're done.

Mon Jun 30, 2014 7:42 am

panicman wrote: You'll need to pull the engine, and when you do, replace both of them. They are not expensive. Top off the fluids when you're done.
Pulling the engine is going to be problematic. Can I still roll before doing so (of course filling oil from time to time)?

Mon Jun 30, 2014 7:53 am

The car is trying to tell you something. The more you ignore it the worse it will get. You need to listen to it.

How long would YOU put off going to seek medical help if you were bleeding? That’s what’s happening to your car. It's blood is leaking.

You bleed enough you get dizzy and lose consciousness and then you die. The engine looses oil (which COOLS the engine) and the temperatures go up. You try running a couple miles in 100 degree weather while bleeding and see how far you get!

So you have a diminishing supply of cooling and lubricating oil and you want to keep driving.

Think about what the car is trying to tell you and get it FIXED before it leaves you stranded someplace or time that you don’t want to be.

When things like this go wrong, the expense of fixing it goes up for every minute of operation that you ignore it. Right now you may be able to get away with something as simple as a new seal. But put it off and you may loose a crankshaft, engine case, head, rods, etc.

And depending on when and where it lets go, you may also find yourself in a heap of hurting! When it looses a bearing, throws a rod and starts an oil fire, you won’t be having a good day.

But if fixing it is inconvenient, then just allow it to keep bleeding. It will stop.

Mon Jun 30, 2014 7:57 am

Okay, I get the idea, you convinced me. What about shifting issue?

Mon Jun 30, 2014 7:57 am

That's a bad idea because the leaks won't get better and the oil (whether transmission or engine) will soon be all over your clutch disc, pressure plate, throwout bearing, etc. This will lead to far costlier problems. If technical knowledge, or lack of, is stopping you from taking the engine out there is a lot of help of this site and in the Bentley books to get you through it.

Mon Jun 30, 2014 8:20 am

Harbinger wrote: Okay, I get the idea, you convinced me. What about shifting issue?

Altough I suspect it is caused by plastic "bushing" detail (which is utterly destroyed),

I think you answered your own question here. But again, this is why you take care of the problems as soon as they show up. Something as simple as a worn out shift coupler can end up taking all the teeth off first gear or a synchro. That puts abrasive HARD metal particles into your gear oil which is being used to lubricate the moving parts.

Having abrasives in your gear oil means you are wearing out the moving parts and putting even more abrasives into your gear oil which makes the problem worse and accelerates the wear.

So a $10 shift coupler ends up costing you $1,500 for a transmission rebuild.

But you also need to determine if your leak is engine oil or transmission fluid so you know where to start and what needs fixing. They taste different.

Tue Jul 01, 2014 10:59 pm

I won't be able to remove the engine until September. I suppose it's better to store the car in a garage rather than drive it. However I can and will change the bushing sooner.

Just one more question - the engine serial number (starting with "AD") identifies it as "1971-1973 Bus engine, non-USA". Does anyone here have an idea what might its bore and stroke be, or I need to tear it open and measure?

Anyone?

Tue Jul 01, 2014 11:10 pm

You should be able to look that info up by the case number. Probably a stock 1585cc. 69mm stroke by 85.5mm bore. Go under Technical/Vin/Chassis Numbers/ both Type 1 (bugs) and Type 2 (bus's used those cases) It show it being a 1600 which is a 1585cc!
If your main seal is out that is one thing but does not explain the grinding. Not sure what is causing grinding. Perhaps your crankshaft has broken or the flywheel has come loose. Whatever you do don't even start the engine again. Have it towed to where your going to get it fixed. May not be too big a deal to fix if just the flywheel is coming loose!

Tue Jul 01, 2014 11:15 pm

Danwvw wrote: You should be able to look that info up by the case number. Probably a stock 1585cc. 69mm stroke by 85.5mm bore. If your main seal is out that is one thing but does not explain the grinding. Not sure what is causing grinding. Perhaps your crankshaft has broken or the flywheel has come loose. What ever you do don't even start the engine again. Have it towed to where your going to get it fixed. May not be too big a deal to fix if just the flywheel is coming loose!

Where can I find that "case number" on the engine?

As for grinding, I think it is transmission issue rather than engine, because it happens only when selecting the 1st gear.

Tue Jul 01, 2014 11:24 pm

Yes, Ok it could be still just the seal or the flywheel coming loose or something simple is causing it. It could be just the gland nut that hold's the flywheel on has gone bad and the seal is old and leaking. That would cause it to grind into first.

It's a little hard to make out in this photo but it's the number on the Case just below the Generator stand. This is an AH case here! No Generator stand on this case but the number is in the photo top right:

Tue Jul 01, 2014 11:43 pm

Danwvw wrote: Yes, Ok it could be still just the seal or the flywheel coming loose or something simple is causing it. It could be just the gland nut that hold's the flywheel on has gone bad and the seal is old and leaking. That would cause it to grind into first.

It's a little hard to make out in this photo but it's the number on the Case just below the Generator stand. This is an AH case here! No Generator stand on this case but the number is in the photo top right:

Ah, I know that one, here's mine:

http://imgur.com/fXoGWsu

But there's another one on spot indicated with red, I thought you were talking about that:

http://imgur.com/Tcm63Qi

as I already mentioned, there won't be fixing til September (I have nowhere to put the parts), so I'll just look up the rings, seals and gaskets now, just to know how much it's going to cost me.

Wed Jul 02, 2014 11:17 am

Yeah, That looks like a VW Part Number for the Engine Case: But it's the AD number under the gen/alt stand that will tell you the year and the car it was on.
The AS-41 us the Magnesium Alloy it's 4 parts Aluminum and 1 Part Silicone. They come in AS-41 and AS-21 and there are some All aluminum ones which are aftermarket and not made by VW. The Brazilian Beetles had A Aluminum Case manufactured by Hubner and is the Auto-Linea Case. (A Very Strong Case but 20 lbs heaver)

Here is mine: 311 101 101 M This case is a type 3 case 1972 with 10mm studs.

Wed Jul 02, 2014 10:01 pm

Danwvw wrote: Yeah, That looks like a VW Part Number for the Engine Case: But it's the AD number under the gen/alt stand that will tell you the year and the car it was on.
The AS-41 us the Magnesium Alloy it's 4 parts Aluminum and 1 Part Silicone. They come in AS-41 and AS-21 and there are some All aluminum ones which are aftermarket and not made by VW. The Brazilian Beetles had A Aluminum Case manufactured by Hubner and is the Auto-Linea Case. (A Very Strong Case but 20 lbs heaver)

Here is mine: 311 101 101 M This case is a type 3 case 1972 with 10mm studs.

Oh, I get it now! I also found explanation of that number on external site and based on the info provided there, my engine was sitting in "Type 2" (which I apready knew) and the car was "Kombi" version. Good to know, cause I like Kombi the most.