Oil plate leak

[zoti]

I did an oil change on my 62 and replaced the oil plate seals with new ones. One between the case and the screen and another between the screen and the plate.

Torqued the acorn nuts to exact specs with new washers and it’s annoyingly leaking from the cardboard seals.

I don’t want to over torque but the leak is annoying.

What’s the trick to make it stop?
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1962 Beetle
1979 Super Beetle Convertible
1988 Vanagon Westfalia

[rcooled]

[zerotofifty]

Often the plate gets warped, dimpled at the stud holes. Remove the plate and set a straight edge across the holes (the top side) to check for this un flatness. If the area around the holes are dimpled, pushed upwards, then file them flat or with a supporting anvil and hammer, pound out the dimples till flat as you can get them, then follow up with a file.

The plates wont seal well with those dimples around the holes, has to be flat.

As for the washers, assure you got real copper washers, soft copper forms a nice sealing gasket over the acorn nuts. BEWARE some vendors sell copper plated steel washers steel washers are not soft, and thus will not seal well above the acorn nuts. A magnet will rat out the fake copper washers.

If the real copper washers were quenched (rapidly cooled) they will be hard and not seal well. If this is the case, heat the real coper washers to a dull red hot on your stove top, then allow to SLOW air cool. this slow cool will anneal the copper, making the washers soft for a perfect seal. I do this operation, as many times the real copper was cooled too fast when manufactured, and thus is too hard to seal well. you can NOT anneal the fake copper plated steel washers If you fast cool the real copper washer in cold water from a dull red heat, the copper will be hard. A hard copper washer will bounce and make a ring sound when dropped on a concrete floor, but if the real copper washer is annealed, it wont ring, rather it will make a dull thud sound and not bounce much at all. That is what you want for the washer, nice fully annealed soft washers, a nice flat plate with no dimples around the stud holes, then your paper gaskets will seal well Remember two paper gaskets, one on each side of the screen flange. do not over tighten the acorn nuts as over tightening these acorn nuts is what causes the plate to become dimpled. A nice flat dimple free plate will seal well even on used paper gaskets. I usually reuse the paper gaskets several times, leak free!!! BUT the plate MUST be flat.

Pro tip.. Get some small high powered magnets and stick them on the plate, under the screen assembly. I fit about four of them on the plate, maybe 3/16 inch thick magnets or so will fit under the screen assembly they wont move, Been doing this for years on all my VW sump plates and it works, they do pick up little bits of iron or steel hairs. A magnetic filter!!!!!
This is a great magnetic filter.
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Sorry About That Chief.

Give Peace a Chance.

Words to live by.

[zoti]

[Ovally]

Or use the better VICTOR REINZ gasket set, part number 13-18254-01, very good German quality, no leaks.

I've also used the paper gaskets without any leaks.
If you use them, apply a small amount of grease to both sides of the paper gaskets.

Regards.
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VW Bug Oval 1953
VW Bug 1200 D motor
Porsche 911S MFI 1970
Mazda 929 Hardtop 1977
Mercedes SLC 180 Roadster 2018

[Glenn]

[Cusser]

I also use the silicone gasket set on both my VWs. And since I have CB Maxi2 oil filter pumps on both VWs. I oftentimes don't even remove or look at the strainers, as history with the Maxi2 units has shown these to stay clean.
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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

[Glenn]

[Cusser]

[VW_Jimbo]

During the time I was an ACVW mechanic, I did thousands of oil changes, THOUSANDS! One of the old timers set me straight on how to keep the plate from leaking. Everytime I removed the strainer plate, and strainer, I would drop them in the solvent tank, brush them briskly and dry them off. Then I went over to a large steel plate
Table we had and laid the plate engine side up. The dimples would be facing me. Then with 2 ball peen hammers I would undimple the plate. I sat the 16oz hammer with the peening side down into the hole, dead center. Then with the 24 ounce hammer, I gave the 16 ounce hammer a good thump on the business end. The dimples magically reversed themself! AND IT PRODUCED A LEAK FREE GASKET! We used no sealants, no gasgacinch, no silicon anything, just created a good flat surface for everything to seal up. We did not over tighten those action nuts. They are tightened to just barely snug. I go snug and 10 minutes worth of a turn. Nothing more. Go to tight and the assembly will leak, because you deform the plate!

WARNING, striking hammers together is a known issue. They will sometimes fracture and send pieces falling. These pieces can enter one’s eyeball! (Been there, done that!). So, wear safety glasses during the double hammering time! It really sucks getting a splinter of steel embedded into your eye!

Good luck! I know that this regiment works with today’s cheap ass parts. The running Bug does not leak out of the sump. It leaks from other spots, but the sump is not one of them!
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Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[indianpeaksjoe]

I’ve had good luck with these FelPro brand gaskets when my sump plate was leaking. I ended up replacing the cover too, but no leaks after two changes.

-Joe
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Adventures in owning a 66 beetle

[RWK]

Check that the acorn nut does not bottom on the stud before compressing the gaskets, happens over time, nut bottoms out a few times then locks on stud and turns stud out a bit when loosened.
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73 Type 181
63 Type 113
63 Type 261- 428 071
62 Type 241-378 025 178 530

[rcooled]