Oil Leak in 1970 Beetle

[JaredBen]

My ‘70 Bug sprang an oil leak earlier last week. Puddles would be maybe 2 in let her sit for awhile with pan under, drove it to a water polo game and I come back to it in the parking lot and it was then a huge puddle.

It seemed to be coming from the Sump Plate only and leaks regardless of the car being on or off. I originally thought to just replace all filter and gaskets. When I went to take Sump Plate off I noticed it had 7 regular bolts with brass washers and nuts and one screw that acted as the drain plug. Also that two of those nuts were knocked off.

Will simply replacing all filters, gaskets, washers and nuts fix this leak.

Any help is appreciated.

[Tim Donahoe]

Yes, a new gasket kit, as well as the six OEM ACORN nuts (to replace the regular nuts you apparently now have on the studs) should do the trick.

You might want to watch a YouTube video on how to change the oil on a vintage VW engine. The main thing is to not overtighten the six small acorn nuts. Those are only tightened to 5 ft. lbs. if you overtighten them, you run the risk of pulling the studs they screw onto, the next time you change your oil.

The big center plug is tightened to 22 ft. lbs.

Also, be sure to clean the mesh strainer that will be removed when you do this job. I usually just spray it with some brake cleaner, then let it dry before reinstalling it. Also, take care to place all the copper washers where they belong—as you’ll see after watching the YouTube video I mentioned.

Tim
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Let's do the Time Warp again!

Richard O'Brien

[sb001]

I would really like to try a set of these silicone gaskets from WW, lots of folks on here seem very satisfied with the result.

http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=113198031SI
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I'm the humblest guy on this board.

1969 autostick sedan, family owned since new
1600 SP engine
Solex 30 PICT 3 carburetor
Bosch 113905205AE autostick distributor

[Cusser]

Make sure that the oil is not coming from the crankshaft oil seal and just working its way rearwards by wind action.
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1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

[FeelthySanchez]

¡Bienvenido a la Samba!
Short answer is: maybe.
There should be qty 6 each of the 6mm nuts & 6mm studs. Can you check to verify if all 6 of them are in place, & are the same length?
The diagnosis could be a slam-dunk if actually "2 of those nuts were knocked off". That worst-case scenario: 2 of the 6mm studs were sheared-off by contact w/ some kinda road debris & damaged the case.
Or, they were over-torqued by a ham-fisted hack & stripped-out (better).
Best case: they rattled loose.
Either way, parts are cheap & common. At minimum, suggest picking up an oil change gasket kit & maybe a couple 6mm studs (or bolts).
Ya may also find that thread repair inserts or oversized fasteners are in order, so be prepared for that situation as well.
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[73SlowBug]