major oil leak

natedog914 · 10:00 AM

today after my son came home from school the 914 was pouring oil out between the trans and the engine, rear main seal?, or could it be the transmission seal, did change the trans oil with fresh hypoid gear sae 80w 90 gl-5 2.5 qt, could it be that I over filled?, if so if I empty and refill to the correct amount will this fix the leak or have I done damge to a seal? and do I have to pull the trany. thanks

larrym · larrym's Garage

most likely it popped an engine oil galley plug - a well known issue

yes - you have to pull it all out to fix it

saw it happen to another guy at an SCCA event some yrs ago

AND it happened to me once - a long time ago on my first 914-4 - cost me an engine - cuz i did not know then that "green" lite meant DANGER - c'est'l'vie

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Dave at Pelican Parts · Dave at Pelican Parts's Garage

Gear oil should smell rather more stinky than engine oil. Which one is it?

Regardless of which one, you need to take the transmission off the engine. The good news is that it's easy to do.

If it's engine oil, hopefully the engine didn't run too long without oil.

The most likely suspect, as Larry said, is an oil gallery plug. They like to pop out when you first start the engine, as that's when the oil pressure tends to be the highest.

--DD

natedog914 · 08-17-2013, 08:20 PM

smells like gear oil, took the top plug of the gear box off put in more gear oil tell it ran out put back in ran it again and of course it ran out between the gear box and the engine like a stuck pig, my guess is it was low on fluid so when i changed the fluid with new oil at the correct height it caused the seal to leak. car set for a few years before I bought it and leaked when I got home so my guess is it leaked oil until it went under the seal. I guess it is time to pull it all out.

TheCabinetmaker · 08-18-2013, 08:04 AM

could be the seal or maybe you got so much oil in there that it is simply venting oil out the top vent located near the bell house, such that it appears to be leaking at the tranny /engine interface.

larrym · larrym's Garage

?
on all my 914 transaxles, the filler plug is well below the level of the input shaft - your gearbox should (could?) not ever be filled to a point level with the shaft -

and you should never fill more than about 1/2" below that hole - test it by inserting little finger & bending down - your finger should just touch the top of the oil fill

? where are you pouring in all that oil that results in a level above the shaft ? what do you mean by "top plug" ?

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natedog914 · 08-18-2013, 05:16 PM

top plug=fill plug

TheCabinetmaker · 08-19-2013, 10:17 AM

the filler plug is kinda of more on the side than the top, in the VW nomenclature but anyways....

If the car was jacked up on one sdie or on one end to gain access to the filler plug, the oil level could eaisly be filled too high. the car should be pretty level when checking the oil.

Two other seal on these trannies are the side seals on the axles located on the tranny sides.

There is also a set of seals (O-ring and spring seal) in the speedometer drive assembly that can fail and leak oil.

It is time to clean the underside really well, dry, then drive it for a while, then park it and inspect for where the leak is coming from.

Bell house, top vent pipe, axle seals, speedometer drive. likely one of them will show up leaky

Racer Chris · Racer Chris's Garage

There's another possibility.
The clutch fork pivot bolt screws into a hole that goes through the case into the differential housing.
If the bolt is loose you will lose gear oil until its down to that level.