Transmission holes.

[ladon67]

Can anyone shed light on what these holes that are up in the nose area are for? (Pictured) They are in the section which the nose cone mounts to. (gear selector section?) They look almost like breather holes. I'm in the process of replacing gaskets and just noticed I can see into the cavity where the shift selector shafts run, and whatever plug like things were in there are pretty
well worn. There's also a little cork (?) plug right around the corner from the holes.
Tranny was shifting fine- no issues, just leaking. I can't seem to locate any parts that would go into them on Jbugs, Appletree, or the EMPI catalog. TIA. -Mark

[VOLKSWAGNUT]

Detent Plugs..

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=673668


As opposed to trans axle disassembly to correct broken or missing plugs leaks, there have been numerous cases of simply cleaning them out and sealing with a wooden dowels or plastic plugs and high quality sealer externally.. or sealer alone.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/search.php?searc..._chars=200
_________________
aka Ken {o\!/o}
Its your vehicle- stop askin' for approval-do what YOU like for cryin' out loud
Better to roll em' how you want and wear em' out-than lettin' em' rot out
Its about the going not the showing
Rebuilt to drive not decorate
WANTED: Local Eatin' Joints, Triple D for TheSamba contributions here http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=570510
Search "VOLKSWAGNUT" on YouTube since you cant watch a "certain" BELT change video round here
Usually and often edited

[ZEKE65]

Has anyone tried tapping these holes so a threaded removeable plug can be installed?
_________________
1965 VW Sedan, 1968 C10 Step BB, 99 C5

[ladon67]

Thanks for the replies!! I had no idea the terminology "detent plugs" to use to search for the answer!

Seems very strange that the engineers felt that a spring and ball should go in here behind a "plug" which can just rot out. Then be cleaned out and plugged up without the springs/balls and still be fine...

[ladon67]

Seems lots refer to Weddle Industries for the parts. They have everything, including a "sleeve" for the spring that isn't in the exploded parts view. Wonder what's with that...

https://weddleindustries.com/products/1000287/1001285

[VOLKSWAGNUT]

[61SNRF]

[EVfun]

I was recently well informed on just this subject. Here is the thread and the part numbers.
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[ladon67]

[VOLKSWAGNUT]

[ladon67]

Volkswagnut- no, I didn't disassemble! All I did was pop off the nose cone to change the gasket. I didn't even realize the holes were there until I was cleaning it up close and realized I could see the shift rails. So you're saying I can't just pop the springs/ball bearings in and plug it? Where did the other ones go if I didn't removed them?? UGH!!!

[EVfun]

[VOLKSWAGNUT]

[ladon67]

WHEW!!!! Thanks!!!

[sjbartnik]

Make sure you get the 4-piece kit that includes the small one that faces downward! You will have to remove the stud below the hole to install it.
_________________
1965 Volkswagen 1500 Variant S
2000 Kawasaki W650

[KTPhil]

Although this exploded diagram sorta makes it seem like the springs and balls go in from the outside after the shafts are in place, they do not.

The holes are to insert the springs and balls BEFORE the shift rods are inserted. The plug just seals the hole. Look at the diagram-- the detents on the shafts are on the backside in this view, so the springs/balls are on the OTHER side of the rods, and can't fall out.

[ladon67]

[sjbartnik]

Don't do it! That's what PO did to mine and it leaked. It will leak eventually.

Easy to double-nut the stud out.

I found a 4-pc kit at Bugcity.
_________________
1965 Volkswagen 1500 Variant S
2000 Kawasaki W650

[carlk3]

Thanks to the TheSamba Forums for solving my problem once again!

After I changed the gear oil in my '64 Ghia's transaxle back in July, I started seeing a leak. At first, I thought that it was probably just spillover from refilling the trans. Then, I thought it was overfilled, and let some oil out. Then I thought the boots needed tightening, which was a pain, because the screws on the clamps were up at the top. Next, I crawled all over the trans from under the car and snugged up all of the nuts. The leak just kept getting worse. I used engine degreaser and the hose a couple of times to try to get things clean enough that I could spot the leak. It seemed to be up by the nose, but I could not find it. To the forums!

Even after reading about the detent plugs and seeing the pictures, I had a hard time spotting them. Being in a place that's hard to see, and covered in paint and crud, they just blended right in. Eventually I found all of them, and I was sure that they were the source of my leak. I ordered some plugs from Weddle.

I feared that this was going to be an impossible job with the trans still in the car, but I started probing the top plug, which seemed to be in the best condition, and found it like cheese. The plugs were so mushy that I was able to clean them out with nothing more than a rag, a piece of coat hanger, and a can of brake cleaner:

Now I had to get the new plugs in, which was a bit tricky, since there was no good way to get a hammer in place to tap them in. Using a brass drift and a giant screwdriver and a hammer, I was able to get them in pretty far. Maybe I tried too hard, since when I took a photo, I could see that I had banged up the plugs a bit:

It's not a pretty job, but I think they will hold.

I didn't change the bottom plug, since it seemed like it was already aluminum:

However, looking again at some of the photos in this thread, I'm now thinking that I was mistaken, and that one needs to be replaced, too. Bummer; I've already refilled the transaxle.

[fl59bug]