1968 Volkswagen Beetle Sedan, originally Zenith Blue, with a 1600 engine in Asheville, NC
Last summer, I started preparations to put the beetlebug up for sale, but didn’t have the heart to say goodbye. Now here we are, another Spring season passing, and another year that it sits outside in my driveway, hardly ever being driven or enjoyed. Once I get a couple more low-hanging-fruit projects taken care of, I think I’m going to have to let it go this time.
Again, obligatory post-wash and polish pics for the online listing…
The painted steelie is a nice touch.
My dad always said if it’s still leaking, at least you know it still has oil in it. Since I (hopefully) figured out the problem with the leaking trans oil, I figured it would be a good time to top it off.
bAcK tHaT tHaNg uP, gIrl!
Between the little oil leak around the sump and drain plug and this transaxle oil leak, it has gotten pretty crusty up under here. Also, another dad-ism – that’s just rust prevention. There is one stud that is screwed almost all the way in on the sump cover. Not enough of a thread left for a nut to catch it.
I’ve been afraid to put pliers or a vise grip on it, worried about messing up the threads and still not being able to get it back out.
After tightening everything up that I could find, I hosed it all down with brake parts cleaner and then let it air out under there for a little while.
I noticed a couple of bent fins and carefully straightened them back out while I was at it.
Last time I had the rear brake drums apart, I noticed there was fluid seeping in. I haven’t lost any brake fluid – like, not even a drop. So I surmised it was transaxle oil flowing down the axle, past the boot, eventually finding its way into the brake drum.
So, I headed out, jacked it up, and went to work. I very likely just got lazy last time I had the axle nuts off and only torqued them on with the cordless impact. I should know better – and did know better – but I’m guessing that’s what happened. I have a 36 inch breaker bar and a 36 inch pipe on the end of that as a “persuader”.
I took the wheel off, to get the cotter pin out, then put the wheel back on and lowered the car back down, putting its weight on the tire. I gave it all I had and got maybe another 1/8 of a turn. I don’t know what that equates to, torque-wise, but I’m sure it’s not 300 ft. lbs. or whatever the spec is. The tire was still turning with the full weight of the car on it and digging down into the dirt below the gravel.
I repeated the process on the passenger side and had similar results.
Knowing that the brand new brake pads I installed had likely been soaking in transaxle oil for a year and would need replaced, as evidenced by the parking brake still not holding much, I packed it all up and ordered new brake shoes.
Checking back on it a few days later, there was a new puddle inside that wheel.
Of course, I don’t know if that is because it is still leaking or because I didn’t take the drums off and clean out the existing puddles. I am going to be optimistic and say that the problem will be fixed once I take it apart, clean everything up and install the new brake shoes.
It has been a long, cold winter, but we made it through. Back onto that last wheel now. I brought the spare inside and prepped it for paint. It’s important that I don’t get overspray on the tire, since it is a good tire and goes back in the car.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
I think if I painted another 20 or 30 of these, I would have the process down!
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