Gland nut and other “while the engine is out” questions

[brando90gl]

Well.....
A failed attempt at cleaning out my heat risers while intake was still on the car has resulted in an engine removal. My first time! Easy. However, looks like the heat risers were just the beginning and I have lots more work to do now. Trans mounts, front flywheel seal leak, and might as well add a new clutch to it.

I have removed the pressure plate, clutch disk, and flywheel. My gland nut has a wave washer and what looks like a shim? I have done a bunch of reading through the archives over the past two days and I don’t think the gland nut should have two washers? Maybe this is correct, I don’t know?

The oil leak wasn’t really a surprise, it was wet under the front of the case, but not really a dripper. However, the inside of the bell housing has a good amount of oil inside, but no puddles. Clutch disk has very slight amount of film on it, present on flywheel side. Although, no issues with clutch slipping at all. I could hear the T/O bearing at times, at least that’s what I thing I heard.....noisy when clutch pedal pressed in. T/O bearing when spun while it was still mounted sounded rough, but once I took it out and spun it in my hand it didn’t feel that bad at all.

I’m assuming I should just get a whole clutch kit and replace it all while I have the engine out? Luk ok?

Back to the gland nut....
It is a VW nut. There was no felt, unless I don’t know where to look for the felt? Just the pilot bearing. Is it normal for the gland nut and the end of the crank to be filthy with gritty crud?

Should I go ahead and replace with a chromoly nut that already has a new pilot?


I think my flywheel is in good enough shape that I can cross hatch clean up the surface with a die grinder? I had zero clutch slipping issues.

End play felt pretty good before I removed the flywheel, just checking by feel. I do not have a dial indicator yet, but I will. Definitely felt less than .006 I set my valves to, if that makes any sense.

Of course all new engine rubber is in order. If y’all have recommendations on where I can source good German rubber, I’m all ears.

I did find and order German trans mounts from CB Performance, but that’s as far as I’ve gotten in purchasing parts.

I’m sure I’ve forgotten something I wanted to ask. I’m definitely a rookie going through these steps in replacing or repairing these items, so the Samba’s collective wisdom is much appreciated.

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67 Type 1
68 Campmobile
70 Single Cab

[brando90gl]

Oh...this being my first engine drop, I thought it might be a good idea to use my motorcycle jack. Not so much. Really hard to tilt the engine on this kind of jack. Making it almost impossible to clear the trans input shaft. I’ll use a regular floor jack next time.
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67 Type 1
68 Campmobile
70 Single Cab

[KTPhil]

Other "engine out" tasks might include:
- general degreasing
- cleaning the underside of the body above the tranny (so next time you crawl under crap doesn't get in your eyes)
- wiring
- tranny input shaft seal (might be source of your oily housing/case)

I've not seen a 2-washer gland nut, and dry crap shouldn't be there. I'd clean it out, get a new nut, some new flywheel shims (the Muir book gives a way without a dial gauge), add grease, and moly powder on the shaft splines. Maybe safety wire your clutch TO bearing.

[mukluk]

Add engine bay seals to your to do list.

This is also an excellent time to replace the swing axle boots and starter bushing if need be.
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1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"

[brando90gl]

Copy all of that, thanks.

Yeah, I already have axle boots and clamps on hand. Will be wayyyy easier now. Engine rubber seals is a must for sure. Cip1 is out of stock on OEM seals, can anyone point me towards a source for good ones? Supplier that is shipping during the pandemic? Any good east coast parts houses?

I know it might not look like it, but tranny input seal seems good, no smell of trans oil at all in bell housing. I’ll probably put that on the list anyway while I’m here, thanks.

I’ve already started degreasing the tranny, it will all be cleaned up before I’m done. Maybe even a little paint. I have a engine stand head from VWalley on order so I can easily degrease the motor as well, top and bottom.

Any idea why so much gritty trash in and under gland nut? Any idea why a previous mechanic or owner may have added the “shim like” washer?
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67 Type 1
68 Campmobile
70 Single Cab

[sjbartnik]

Gland Nut:

There is definitely a lot of crud there but it is probably old over-applied grease mixed with clutch disc dust. Just give it all a good cleaning. The original VW gland nuts and pilot bearings are very good quality and as long as the bearing is good and not rough/gritty, I would probably re-use it. If you do want to replace it, you can get a German-made Kolb replacement at BugHaus.

There should definitely not be two washers under the gland nut - just the big wavy washer which helps to keep the gland nut from loosening up.

Don't go nuts with grease when lubing the pilot bearing. VW says max 0.2cc of grease for that bearing.

Hmm now that I look at those pics again, maybe that crumbly stuff was some kind of thread locker or thread sealant.

Throwout Bearing:

If it was making noise with the engine in, definitely replace it even if it feels fine out of the car. Just spinning it by hand doesn't come anywhere near to the load it gets when in use. But when spinning it by hand, if you can hear it spinning, that's a good sign that it's on its way out.

I would suggest getting a new German Sachs throwout bearing rather than one of the Brazilian parts that are also available. You may also consider replacing the throwout bearing clips with the heavy-duty style.

Your rear transmission mounts look great.

Doing the starter bushing is a great idea and very easy to do with the engine out - plus it's an easy/cheap thing to tack on to your parts order.

If you are going to do the front main seal, I would suggest also picking up a seal installer tool at the same time to help you get it installed squarely without damaging it. The Elring orange silicone seal is the one to get, BugHaus has those too.

Does your flywheel have an o-ring or does it use a metal gasket? If o-ring, you may want to replace that as well. If metal gasket, those are a one-use-only item so pick up a few in your parts order.

Congrats on your first engine drop. Take your time and do things right or else you'll be doing another one in short order.

EDIT: I also strongly recommend adding a flywheel lock tool and a torque-meister tool to your order. The torque meister tool makes torquing the gland nut (and also rear axle nuts) to spec a snap.

Looks like you have a pretty nice garage setup there, so I just wanted to say, if you were planning to re-torque the gland nut with an impact wrench, do not do that.
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1965 Volkswagen 1500 Variant S
2000 Kawasaki W650

[brando90gl]

[mukluk]

Speaking of BugHaus, they also show having German rear compartment seals in stock (LINK).

Don't be afraid to use Brazilian compartment seals if you can't find German. I am very pleased with the quality of the ones I have installed in my '60.

Regarding the crud on the gland nut, I wonder if maybe it's the remnants of some sealant used on the threads during the last install.
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1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"

[KTPhil]

Check the front tranny mount, too.

[mukluk]

One more option for the TOB if you wish to keep the original: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=665572
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1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"

[fl59bug]

"failed attempt at cleaning a heat riser..." Did you by chance watch that goofy guy on youtube that recommends cleaning the heat riser with a stiff wire instead of a clutch cable?

I did that and broke the wire off in the heat riser before I got smarter. Fortunately in my situation I was able to retrieve the wire pieces with some needle nose pliers.

Just trying to save others from making the same mistake I did!

[Zundfolge1432]

That crap and grit you see on threads is dried Loctite, do not use Loctite. You don’t need it. It serves no purpose and creates other problems. I’ve seen it bugger up threads. You need to clean everything and check for wear before just ordering more new parts. The old German T/O bearings are rebuildable and the gland nut is rebuildable too if you can source the bearing. Never seen two washers under the nut that’s a clown move. You are also missing all the seals around the doghouse sheet metal. Is the Hoover bit installed.

[sjbartnik]

[brando90gl]

[brando90gl]

[brando90gl]

[brando90gl]

[brando90gl]

Should I be afraid of this clutch kit? I know Luk was an OEM VW supplier at one point, if not currently.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CIAWK8/?coliid=I1BVC..._lig_dp_it

Price of this kit is around the same amount as just a disk on most sites? Hard to not try it.
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67 Type 1
68 Campmobile
70 Single Cab

[TinCanFab]

[sjbartnik]