[T3] Leak under front driver side

Jacob Adam Schroeder jacob.schroeder at gmail.com
Fri Mar 15 22:21:52 PDT 2013


Thanks for all the replies.  I crawled under the front end, checked the
brake fluid reservoir, and looked for leaks near the gas pedal.

The reservoir looked fine and the floor near the gas/brake pedal was dry.
Under the car, not enough of a leak had accumulated since I last wiped off
the area, but I pumped the brakes several times and did not see any
noticeable leaking.

I know very little about the front end (it is one of the few components I
have not yet touched on my car), but the leak appears to be around the seal
which has this number stamped on it: 311 705 263.  The seal itself looks
fine, but that is where the metal seems the most moist.  If I was having
oil separating from the grease in the front end, is this where it would
leak?  Could a leak from this area cause a grease spot about the size of a
small pancake on my garage floor under this area?

I already replaced the fuel lines end-to-end.

I do plan on having my brakes worked over.  They were done about 8 years
ago (before I parked it) and the brakes feel solid, but I still plan to
either go over it myself or take it to a shop to get them done.  I'll post
any detailed brake-related questions in a new thread later.  Because the
car was not in ideal storage for those 8 years, the parts (at least on the
outside) are quite rusted.  It it just as "easy" to replace the brake lines
as it was the fuel lines?

Jacob


On Fri, Mar 15, 2013 at 6:14 PM, Jim Adney <jadney at vwtype3.org> wrote:

> On 16 Mar 2013 at 0:34, Dave Hall wrote:
>
> > Could it be the oil separating from the grease in the torsion arm
> bearings?
> > I think there are drain slots at the bottom of the axle where the halves
> > join.
>
> If it's actully coming from the axle beam, this is certainly a
> possibility.
>
> > If it's oil-based, it won't rinse off you finger under a tap, but normal
> > brake fluid will (not silicone fluid though).
> > The brakes aren't very close to the axle beam, so I can't think of how
> brake
> > fluid could appear there.
>
> If it's coming from the pan horns that grip the axle beam then I
> think brake fluid can get there from the front footwell area.
>
> Checking for solubility in water is a good test.
>
> > Is it from the steering box?  The grease in there can also separate and
> > dribble out over a time.
>
> Sure, that's another possibility.
>
> > With a simple fuel tank vent, there is a pipe that ends up near the
> > left-hand axle beam end - could fuel fumes condense in cold conditions
> and
> > drip from there?
>
> Hmmm, seems unlikely since this is a '72, but who knows what's still
> there of the OE vent system. Perhaps he should check in the trunk to
> see if there's any sign of spillage or leakage that would have slowly
> made its way to the ground.
>
>
> --
> *******************************
> Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
> Madison, Wisconsin, USA
> *******************************
>
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