Putting the rear axle/seals/bearings back together

[VWLady]

I put this how-to together for rear bearing and seal replacement in the oval forum, but it's accurate up through 1964

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=692667

[bluebus86]

[61SNRF]

Not sure if it's in the manual, but by putting a thin layer of grease on the splines it will help keep moisture out of the fitting and lessen the chance the two will rust together.
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-Bruce

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

[rcroane]

Back again with another quick question....do I need to apply grease to the rear brake drum splines or the axle when re-installing the drum? I haven't seen any reference to this in the Bug Me video or other things I've read.

Thanks.
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'65 Sunroof Bug

[mukluk]

Perfectly normal for the forward plug to protrude like that when tight.
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1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"

[rcroane]

Another quick question....I put the drain plugs back in and torqued to 14 ft/lbs. The front plug has 2-3 threads still showing. Does that seem right? I guess I expected it to be closer to flush.

BTW, I recovered about 1/2 gallon of oil when I drained it. That seems to work out to about 75% of the 2.5 liter fill amount (if my math is correct).

Thanks.
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'65 Sunroof Bug

[61SNRF]

Yep, the unit assembly is called a a transaxle for a reason 😉

Transmission drain plug is forward, and the rear axle aka differential drain plug is rear most. Internal webbing in the housing prevents full drainage from only one plug.

The Manual and best practice would have you warm the engine and transaxle up to normal temp then driving the car over a pit or flat ramp before pulling both drain plugs to change the oil. Compromise and adapt as you must.

In a perfect world you would expect to recover ~3/4 of what full refill spec is. Less than that it might have been a little low.
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-Bruce

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

[rcroane]

Got it....like I thought, it was covered by the camber compensator and bracket.

Removed the second plug and about another 1/2 -3/4 cup of fluid drained out. Will leave it overnight.

I noticed that the compensator is EMPI....based on notes in my owners manual, the original owner had the dealer install it at the time of purchase.

Thanks again for all the advice so far.
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'65 Sunroof Bug

[mukluk]

In this pic from the gallery, you can see the fill plug on the side, the forward drain plug at the forward end of the tunnel, and the rear drain plug pretty well centered under the differential.

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1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"

[rcroane]

Ok....having trouble locating the second drain plug. My car has a camber compensator. It is attached in the center to a bracket/plate and it looks like there is a drain plug under there....does that sound correct? So, I will need to remove compensator and plate to access drain plug?

Thanks.
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'65 Sunroof Bug

[rcroane]

Crap...didn't realize there are two drain plugs! Looks like I'm back under there tonight
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'65 Sunroof Bug

[61SNRF]

Did you pull both drain plugs? That way ensures you have drained as much as practical with the trans in place.

Any lip seal with a garter spring needs to be pre-lubricated with something compatable with the main oil spec. With all the different wheel bearing grease compounds available nowadays, I'd suggest simply using a light film of your chosen gear oil on the seal and race.

Yes on installing the spacer/seal race into the installed seal from the wheel side before you install the assembly onto the axle/bearing/backing plate. This way you can look and verify that the garter spring remains safely intact and in place.
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-Bruce

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

[67rustavenger]

I used wheel bearing grease on the seal.

I really wouldn't sweat how much oil was left in the trans. Unless your anal retentive. Then go for it.

Just make sure that when you fill the trans that you give it time for the gear lube to settle into the case. In other words. Fill it slowly.

Good Luck.
_________________
I have learned over the years.
Cheap parts are gonna disappoint you.
Buy Once, Cry Once!

There's never enough time to do it right the first time. But there's always enough time to do it thrice.
GFY's Xevin and VW_Jimbo!
2003 Astrovan? GFYS again, Xevin!
Don't let your bad ideas remain, ideas!

[rcroane]

Thanks for the replies. Finished step 1 this evening....draining the gear oil (will let drain overnight). Good news is that it looked very clean. Bad news is it seemed pretty low (rear end of car was jacked up...not sure if that made it seem lower than it actually was). I've dropped the car back to level while it drains overnight. I'm going to measure how much came out after it finishes draining.

Do I use gear oil to lube the seal?
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'65 Sunroof Bug

[67rustavenger]

In the 65 diagram make sure to put the oil slinger in the bearing cover before installing the seal through the back side of the cover. Use a seal installer. You'll be happy you did. You can rent one for free at the FLAPS.

Another poster in another forum suggested inserting the machined spacer that the seal rides on into the seal, then installing the entire cover and spacer as one piece on the axle. That way you don't catch the lip of the seal on the axle when installing the bearing cover.
Makes sense to me. I recently changed a rear axle bearing and snagged the seal when I installed the cover. Got to change the seal again the next weekend

Make sure to lube the seal very well before installing the bearing cover.

Good Luck.
_________________
I have learned over the years.
Cheap parts are gonna disappoint you.
Buy Once, Cry Once!

There's never enough time to do it right the first time. But there's always enough time to do it thrice.
GFY's Xevin and VW_Jimbo!
2003 Astrovan? GFYS again, Xevin!
Don't let your bad ideas remain, ideas!

[rcroane]

That might be it....they did both so maybe he was showing both versions. I watched it a couple of times and didn't hear him say that it was two different versions.

Thanks for clarifying.
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'65 Sunroof Bug

[61SNRF]

[rcroane]

Reviving this old thread, because I saw something in the Bug Me video on this subject that confused me. In the video, the narrator shows the removal of a grease seal on the FRONT side (wheel side) of the bearing cover. I don't see that seal in either of the diagrams shown in this thread.

My car is a '65....am I going to have that outer grease seal?

Thanks.
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'65 Sunroof Bug

[delliott101]

My rear axle was put together like the first picture above... those are the parts on it when I took it apart. I don't have that oil deflector thing on the second picture and I had the paper gasket on there.

I already put it all back together, per picture number one. I will hold onto this thread for future reference, though
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Transplanted Jersey Boy living in Idaho by way of Northern California!

We don't own old VWs, we just take care of them for the next driver

[Jeckler]

Early with slinger, from the other Andy's site....

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Andy
'63 Bug rebuild here.
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