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Re: Slipping clutch

> >"Be sure not to overfill the crankcase with oil. This blows the seal.

> > Tell us why this "blows the seal". Oil pressure will not change and there > > is no pressure to speak of behind this seal. Over filling wil not blow any > > seals in this engine. > > > > Jim > > SR Racing

Old mechanic's tale, I guess. Now I guess I can throw in an extra

> quart of oil. Should help it cool better, eh?

Jim:

I finally found the reference for that. It's from "How to keep your volkswagen alive...etc." by John Muir. Page 75, March '72 printing.

"One of the problems with the VW engine is that too much is that to much is too much, so if too much oil gets in the crankcase, it will tend to blow out the front seal or make the oil cooler leak."

I appreciate your input to the contrary, and you may very well be correct because you are an expert, but I have gone by one or another edition of this book for over 30 years and it's helped me push my bus over 300,000 miles through all 48, make several solo rebuilds (including one in the desert sand with scrounged piston/head), and the bus is still in daily service after my most recent swapping in of a super-beetle engine.

The one time I had a clutch soaked in oil I immediately checked the oil level and it had been overfilled. I was traveling and very stupidly allowed someone else to change the oil, I did not check his work until it was too late. I had to pull the engine and replace the seal and clutch plate.

That's my experience. I guess I won't be adding that extra quart of oil for cooling after all :-)

Best Wishes

Reply to
67_bus
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volkswagen alive...etc." by John Muir. Page 75, March '72 printing.<

I didn't doubt that you had read it, (or that Muir said it). Albeit wrong.

Obviously excessive oil can cause excessive blowby and leakage from valve covers etc. However, it will not cause a rear seal to go defective. And once the oil level is put back to wear it belongs things will go back to normal. Too much oil won't cause excessive pressures, (well at least not until you fill it to the top of the dipstick .

Muir's is a good book for the beginner and I haven't seen anything in there that would hurt an engine. But I have seen lots of things in there that are just wrong. (Usually for the sake of simplicity.)

Jim SR Racing

Reply to
Jim

I lived in my '67 bus for several years and parts of several more, and I traveled all over the country in it, so I needed a reference to use that covered most situations.

John Muir (1918-1977) saved my butt a bunch of times. I would say from personal experience that you would have to be a professional mechanic or near to it before you need anything else for routine maintenance or troubleshooting or performing an engine o'haul on a '60's bus like mine.

Anyway, I will take your word on the seal business as it relates to overfilling the crankcase, and just accept it as a coincidence that I blew the seal that-a-way and he mentions it in the book. But I'm still gonna keep a close eye on the oil level.

Thanks and best wishes again.

=-=-=-=-=

By the way, is there a binaries group that posters to this group use to show pics of their stuff and other on-topic materials?

Reply to
67_bus

personal experience that you would have to be a professional mechanic or near to it before you need anything else for routine maintenance or troubleshooting or performing an engine o'haul on a '60's bus like mine. <

I agree completely for the most part.

Reply to
Jim

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