<VV> Question from Newbie concerning annoying oil leak

[BBRT]

Serge, Welcome to the quirky world of Corvairs. The main shaft that drives 
the transmission runs from the pilot bushing thru the clutch splines and 
thru the differential (hollow pinion gear shaft) to the front end of the 
transmission. The output shaft of the transmission is hollow.  Where the 
main shaft passes into the differential from the pressure 
plate/clutch/flywheel end there is a seal located in a hollow (about 3") 
tube that sticks out toward the engine. This seal is held in with a big lock 
washer . Both of these go inside that tube. The throwout bearing rides on 
this tube- I believe it is called a "clutch release bearing shaft". This is 
the path for transmission and differential shared oil to get into the 
bellhousing. There is a drain hole in the bottom of some bellhousings from 
which this oil may seep, or where the bellhousing is mated to the 
differential.  If it is leaking between the bellhousing and the engine, it 
has to be engine oil. It should smell different than engine oil if it is 
rear axle oil.

Good Luck

Chuck S.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: <solidgrd25 at comcast.net>
> I'm a newbie to the ownership of a 64 convertible equipped with a 95 HP 
> engine and 4 speed manual trans.  The motor is leaking a fair amount of 
> oil between the engine and the clutch housing as the car is being 
> driven... otherwise it runs fine. This leak occurs while the car is 
> running and the engine is warm. The motor does not leak when the car is 
> parked and turned off. I have checked the plugs for oil pooling and have 
> found nothing. I'm concerned that this may be a crankshaft main seal leak? 
> The thing I'm puzzled about is that the oil is a dark grey and does not 
> smell like regular engine oil. Could this possibly be a transaxle oil leak 
> instead of an engine main seal leak? The engine oil is fresh as it was 
> just recently changes. I would appreciate any feed back and thoughts on 
> this concern. Thank you in advance for helping a frustrated "newbie"
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Serge