Date: Sun, 20 Mar 2011 15:53:38 -0700
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: leaking final drive oil pan (AT)
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reply-type=response
about tightening things ..
I am a strong advocate for learning what 'feels right' ..
not on critical things like say head bolts, or rod bearing bolts..
but for general assembly ..
that's what I recommend.
it takes some expereince to develop a feel for what's about right of course.
members may find this interesting ..
out in the regular crazy world of professional foreign car repair ..
it's very normal to unscrew say, a Honda's clutch pressure plate and
flywheel..
with an impact gun.
No big deal there..
but commonly they impact the flywheel bolts back in 'by feel' with an impact
gun. too !
and sometimes the listed torque value ..
really ...it applies to brand new things being assmbled in a factory ..by a
machine probably.
I have removed orignal engine mounting bolts from a VW bug before ..
first person to ever take out the engine ...some bolts felt far tighter than
you'd expect.
same thing on japanese cars too ...somehow ....from the factory some engine
bolts can be strangely very, very tight.
my point is ..
use what the book says, ( on non-crictal fasteners ) as a reference ..
then develop a feel for what is about right. . that's my recommendation
anyway .
..on any pan gaskset deal..
obviously ..if the gasket is starting to sqeaze out ...that's too tight.
and for sure ..
bare metal-to-metal on most fastener threads is not very good ..
either they will tend to loosen, or corrode badly in place after a while.
( corrosion btw, is almost the *main thing* I fight on vanagons ...
full time....whether on fasteners, engine parts, the body ..or electrical
connections ..
you can not do enough, almost, to help perserve these precious vehicles ..in
terms of corrosion treatment and prevention. ) .
on bolt threads ..
a treatment like teflon paste..or even better....permatex high tack gasket
sealer works very, very well on screw threads like pan bolts.
scott
----- Original Message -----
From: "Edward Maglott" <emaglott3@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2011 2:42 PM
Subject: leaking final drive oil pan (AT)
> Mine started leaking a little bit recently. I tried to tighten the
> bolts a little, but they were already very tight. Spec is only 7
> ft/lbs. So I decided to change the oil and replace the
> gasket. Yucky job. Cleaned the pan inside and out, and the bolts,
> and removed what was left of the old gasket. I noticed the pan did
> not look real true on the sealing surface. I put it back and
> followed the torquing procedure. 7 ft/lbs, diagonally, repeat after
> 5 minutes, twice. Started pumping oil into the pan and when it got
> up high enough the thing started leaking. I tried tightening a bit
> more but it only helped a little. I took the whole thing off and
> caught the gear oil in a clean pan so I could re-use it. Yucky job
> again, and more so with a sprinkling of frustration added. Soooo,
> now what? It's not like there is pressure in there. Could a liquid
> gasket product save me here? Either with or replacing the stock gasket?
>
> Thanks,
> Edward
