Flywheel leak

[516racer]

ok heres my problem we build our own motor for our 5/1600 and after the last couple of races we've been having trouble with an oil leak behind the flywheel, its a good amount of oil that always leaks and we cant figure out how to stop it. can anyone give me some info on how to solve this problem?oh and we do use the flywheel seal.

[FABRICATOR]

Do you have stock cases? If so, are they reinforced in that area? Make sure your case is not cracked. It is common on stock type cases for a small crack to form near the rear main area. That often lets the little aluminum plug leak oil or pop out althogether. The cam plug should also be checked. Use a seal behind the flywheel.

[bajaruner11]

Couple things here to look at;

1st-The obvious like case cracks, and leaking oil galley plugs. (I recommend drilling out all oil galley plugs behind the flywheel and drill and tap for threaded pipe plugs sealed in with red loctite<--yes red loctite not Teflon tape.

2nd- Make sure you have adequate crankcase ventilation. This will cause a seal leak every time. So will blown out rings, and bad cylinder walls.

3rd- The seal must be installed with an installation tool (Empi offers one that’s fairly inexpensive) that properly seats the seal in the case parallel to the flywheel.

4th-Check the seal ride surface on the flywheel for grooving from the seal. If the flywheel is grooved, and or worn down at all, it will leak.

5th- The oil return whole behind the seal sits at about 9 o'clock on the dial if you’re facing the case from the back. Drilling a second whole of the same size just after 6 o'clock of the same size, and side at a downward angle, will greatly reduce the amount of oil pressure pushing against the seal.

6th- I don't recommend using that flat gasket between the crankshaft and the flywheel, (I'm not talking about the rubber O-ring) being a race engine I'm sure your running an 8 dowel flywheel anyway correct? To seal this area use a Chromoly gland nut with the large Chromoly flat washer (I like the ones from Pauter Machine) and put just a small amount of RTV silicone on top of each dowel pin not so much though that it squeezes out around the washer and torque that sucker down to 350ft lbs. using red loctite on the threads. This will keep oil from getting onto your clutch plate.

Last I know some of the seals and o-rings on the market are junk! Look carefully at the seals appearance for quality. I've seen allot of torn and chipped up o-rings right out of the box. A high quality o-ring can usually be picked up at your local bearing and industrial supply house, and these are much better than what is in the VW gasket set.

I hope this helps fix your problem, if you have any other thoughts throw them on the board.

[516racer]

thanks for all the info i willl try it out and let you guys know if it worked out

[ZTFab]

Hey Steve....it sounds like you may have worked an a VW before?? Just a guess :D

[bajaruner11]

Just a few LOL!!!!