Date:         Tue, 29 Oct 1996 11:13:16 -0800
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         mholser@Adobe.COM (Malcolm Holser)
Subject:      Re: Rear (pulley) seal on Syncro


> > Eric-
> > what is an engine hole plug?
> > 
> > Derek
> 
>        Well, it must have a better name, but I don't konw of it.
>  
>        If you would look at the back of the motor, (you can only
>        see bits and pieces form the top and bottom) there is
>        a steel plug, I think on the pass. side of the engine.
>        I have no idea what it is for, but mine is leaking oil!
>        My guess is, they (VW) needed access to something inside 
>        the engine in manufacturing.
> 
>                                               Eric Zeno
> 
Mine leaked, too.  I had one of these (there are many) come loose.  Vast
quantities of oil would pour out occasionally while parked at a slant, but
not driving or at other times.  It was mysterious to me at the time (I
could not see the plug that was loose at all).  I eventually pulled the engine
and removed all of the wonderful TypeIV cooling crap (thankfully my other
two Vanagons are waterboxers) and found a loose plug.

Eric is right on his guess -- these plugs grant access to the case during
manufacturing and should never come loose.  I *never* had one loose on any
typeI engine, and so did not suspect these.  Some of the plugs are there
to allow drilling of oil passages, some are to get the sand cores out of
the castings.  They are typically dished aluminum affairs that are placed
into a recess in the case and then struck to flatten and expand them.  It
sure helps to use the high-shear Locktite or some good superglue or JBWeld
to make sure these don't come out short of destruction.

To get one out, should the need arise, you have to destroy these anyway,
so it doesn't hurt to glue 'em in.  You typically drill a hole into them,
screw in a sheetmetal screw and pull them out.  I used to replace mine
during engine overhaul so that I could really clean all of the oil passages,
including those on the crankshafts (whose plugs are really robust ones).

malcolm