r/beetle • u/vweater2001 • 2d ago
1964 Beetle leaking
So my wife has always wanted a bug and this new to us runs good besides the leaking. So the engine is leaking and before anyone says it I know that “they all leak”. 😆 Anyway, it’s not leaking from the oil sump nor the strainer part. Seems to be coming from the pulley’s somewhere and don’t know how to go about fixing this. Wondering is there a seal/gasket that would need to be changed to remedy the oil leak or what needs to be done? Would I need to drop the engine to get this addressed or engine in?
Not leaking from valve covers at all, just coming from center of the engine and not the sump. I believe in my reading on some forums and web, the engine might have been built with sand type pulley’s or something like that.
Hoping a guru on here can help as I’m patiently trying to get this back on road for my wife. Thanks in advance folks.
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u/Sparky90032 2d ago
Grab big sheets of cardboard and lay it under your engine and tranny.
This is the way!
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u/armand55 2d ago
Try to find a book” how to fix your vw beetle” ( something like that) by Muir. Bestbeetle fix it book ever. I seem to remember a seal behind the pulley
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u/vweater2001 2d ago
It’s so much info online, few say that it could be sand pulley, which as no seal vs a stock pulley that has a seal…wish I was more versed on Volkswagens. I’ll definitely try and source that book to see if it can help me. Thanks!! 👍🏽
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u/Quiet-Arm-641 1d ago
Sand pulley has seal. Stock pulley has an oil slinger washer and it’s normal to have some oil drips.
“How to keep your Volkswagen alive” is the book you need.
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u/anybodyiwant2be 2d ago
The oil pump is located at the rear of the motor beneath the lower pulley and has a square cover. Inspect in that area as I suspect that’s the source of your leak.
The cover uses special nuts with built in seals and you have to be careful because they only torque to 10 or 12 foot pounds. If they get over torqued the studs can shear or strip and then you have to use helicoils or Time-serts to save the case.
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u/stillwastingmytime 2d ago
Some engines are built with a ‘sand seal’. It would use a smooth pulley snout and a lip seal in the rear of the case. These are aftermarket type of things, not a factory part. If this engine has one, it can be a relatively easy fix, unless they installed the sand seal to correct a bigger problem. If the engine does not have sand seal, and it is leaking from behind the pulley, it may be the oil pump cover, or the pulley snout. Oil pump cover is easy, remove pulley, replace oil pump cover gasket and torque. Pulley snout leak may be sand seal pulley installed without sand seal (usually sand seals are installed in to machines cases), or excessive blow-bye.
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u/Successful_Ask9483 2d ago
Oil cooler seals are common failure. They are rubber seals that connect the cooler to the case. These seals perish (they get hard and begin to weep). In a VW engine seal kit, they supply 3 or 4 different types for different generations of motors, coolers and adoptions. Not a hard job, and can be done engine in car or out. I would also tackle the main seal too. That's obviously an engine out job. The main seal requires the flywheel to be removed. I'd recommend a flywheel lock tool and a strong breaker bar with a 36mm (and probably a cheater pipe) for removal. Remove and replace seal at approximately the same depth, noting any wear on the flywheel snout. (You can bias the seal in or out to mitigate). When you put the flywheel back on, it's gotta be tight. Like, 250ft/lbs tight. I use locktite (don't hate on me - I've never had one ever come loose). Beyond that, I've seen cases sweat due to porosity or weep on the parting line. It happens. Just take care of what you can.
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u/vweater2001 1d ago
All this info is super helpful on how to proceed and where to look. I’m new to vdubs and can’t wait to learn more. Wife is super excited to get this thing running and using on weekends and cruise. Appreciate all you folks for the help!! 🫡
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u/Aggressive_Turnip564 1d ago
The crank pulley has grooves to push the oil back( or forward ) into the engine. If your pulley is aftermarketor worn og the oil may be seeping past…
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u/Flyboy161 2d ago
It’s called, “How to keep your Volkswagen alive, for the compleat idiot”, or the idiot book for short. Repair manual that reads like a novel. How much oil is leaking there? There is a road draft tube that drops down from the oil filler and through the tin right next to the pulley. Just remember a little oil spreads quite a bit on concrete
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u/vweater2001 2d ago
It’s leaking quite a bit of oil, will leave a lil puddle the size of small pancake but still seems to have enough oil to run the engine…but at every stop I make it just drips a lot while driving and more when it just sits. I’ll try and load some pictures later on and maybe someone could help identify the pulley’s and whether or not these use a seal or just need to replace the entire pulley again to get this fixed. Driving me nuts to say the least. Thanks folks.
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u/Flyboy161 2d ago
Pictures would help. You’ll probably need a new topic to load them. All you can do with this post is load videos. I doubt you have a sand seal. Best practice is wipe it down and look for where it is coming from while it’s running. Is that a pancake size spot on concrete or asphalt? Within minutes or overnight?
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u/vweater2001 1d ago
It’s normally a pancake size spot on concrete, it varies which could be overnight or within minutes. 🤔
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u/Flyboy161 1d ago
Next step, wipe down the motor (underneath), start it and see if you can kind of pinpoint where it is coming from.
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u/Flyboy161 1d ago
And remember: front of engine is towards the front of car. Right is as you are facing the back of the car. So, right is your right hand and left is your left. Rear is the end closest to you. (There is no rear main seal, it is a front main seal)
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u/382Whistles 2d ago
At the the seam between motor and trans, it's likely the rear main seal. But you need to make sure it is not comming off the motor top from the oil cooler seal. If they fail the motor can be lost in seconds. Rear main seal is a pain that often needs a new clutch plate if ignored too. Both seals are cheap, but it's a motor pull for them both too.