tencentlife wrote:
Mainseal leaks are the norm, but there are several galley plugs in the bellhousing end of the crankcase, sometimes these leak, too. The 1/2" one for the main galley (in the left case half) is the most notorious. You should preclude their leaking while you have access, the quick n' dirty way is to clean off and rough sand the plugs and a patch surrounding them, degrease, and apply a cap of JB Weld over each.
good tip
The myth perpetuates due to Haynes manual tencent, it stipulates bolt renewal.The flywheel bolts are not TTY (torque-to-yield, aka "stretch bolts") so they are not single use only. Why this myth persists is also something I don't understand ( a TTY fastener is easily identified by its torquing spec saying "torque to x pounds and then turn x degrees further"; the wbx FW bolts have a simple torque spec). You can reuse your old ones with assurance, again and again, uness you bugger out the sockets. They are 10mm in-hex, final torque is 80 ft.lb. Use a little Loctite on the threads for the final tightening. Having a VW flywheel lock is also very useful here, they can be had from any VW aftermarket parts supplier for less than $10 (what's that, 6 pounds?)
But that solves T25converts dilemma ...thanks
Could you expand on this checking of end play?Spend a little on a dial indicator and holder (only $30 here gets you both, so many uses). You will want to check the crankshaft endplay and adjust it if it is out of spec, or your new mainseal may leak too. If the case is an old-style 1.9 with a flanged #1 thrust bearing you will also want to check that the thrust bearing is not moving axially in the case, or your efforts will also come to naught.
Mainseals get replaced again and again because people neglect to deal with the flywheel hub which has to ride in the seal. Wbx's run long enough without needing teardown (as opposed to aircooleds) that a groove develops on the flywheel hub. If you put the flywheel back without dealing with the groove it will just leak again, immediately. If the groove is deep enough to catch your fingernail in, it's too far gone and you're into a new flywheel. If it's less than that, the groove can be sanded and polished out by spinning the flywheel slowly while using progressively finer grades of sandpaper, starting with a 40grit and progressing bit by bit to about 1000grit, so the groove is gone and there is a fine polish on the hub. This is the only way to guarantee a dry seal.
Having the flywheel off it's a good time to get it resurfaced by a machinist, and install new clutch components if indiacted. At minimum, even if pressure plate and disc are OK, put in a fresh throw-out bearing**. The TOB** is the life-limiter on a clutch (first thing to wear out) so why not buy time 'til the next time this needs to be done?
You'll also have the driveaxles at least halfway out; if they haven't been relubed and rebooted in awhile, here's your chance.
Some valid points there mate thanks
**we call that a thrust bearing and they come complete with the clutch in a kit From GSF
