Small Hole Under Nose Section of the Transmission

[johber41]

I need to ask the experts in the group another goofy question. Every now and then, my transmission will leak a bit under the nose (shifter rod side) and I thought I had a cracked casing. After looking around, I found a small hole, looks like the kind of hole where some kind of locking pin, or even a very small rubber hose would go. I found a small rubber plug, the kind that comes on new parts to protect the ports, and I pushed that in the hole. It does not leak anymore. My question is am I creating a bigger problem by plugging this thing? I can shoot a pic of the hole if needed, and it is located on the bottom of the trans, just above a mounting bolt on the nose section. I like the car not to leak, but as I have learned from reading the club's many postings, this might be unrealistic for an early model VW. Between the oil return tubes, the valve covers, and the wheel cylinder seals, I think leaking is something the car just does. After all, why did the Germans design a vent in the brake drums if the wheel cylinders were not supposed to leak? Enough of the leak talk before I need medicine!

[Bryan Porter]

send a pic please.

[johber41]

Thanks Bryan. The vent hole is above the spacer you see on the mounting bolt. I hope the red arrow shows up in the email pic. My trans has only 2 ribs, and the serial number is 3625046 if this helps. The hole is something intentional and you can tell that the hole is a metal conduit that has been machined through the casing. It is very difficult to photo the exact hole due to its location and my inability to move around under the car with the camera. I put the spacer on the bolt to make room for the rubber plug I stuck into the hole. The spacer helps keep the plug in place.