Hey guys,
We have recently purchased a 1963 and 70 beetle one a deluxe and one a super and they are both leaking oil. The super beetle (1970) is leaking from behind the oil plate. I looked on you tube and it said the engine has to be taken out and something has to be replaced. Due to myself not having any knowledge i have no idea how to do any of this and was wondering if their is a simple way to resolve this problem. If anyone has any ideas can you please post on here. Thanks

Hi
First off don't look on You tube to fix Vws..

to change the oil with beetles You need to take the drain plug out to drain all the oil... THEN You do need to take the sump plate off to clean the oil strainer inside...
You can clean it with petrol or kerosene or turps etc..
or if its just oil, just wipe it clean...

Now You will need an oil change gasket kit..
these are available at Any VW Parts shop for about $5 or less.
it includes two gaskets, a sump plug sealing copper gasket and 6 copper gaskets for the small cap nuts that hold the sump plug On..

it may not be necessary but I always use Permatex gasket cement on both sides of the gaskets to help stop any oil leaks.

this needs to be done every 3000miles or 5000klms
[this was still recommended by VW mexico in 2003 when they were still making beetles]

cheers

LEE

PS: Now & then You may still get a leak from one of the small cap nuts... it shouldn't be a bad leak..
don't try to tighten the cap nuts too tight as You can pull the thread out of them very easy..
Good idea for about 6 spare cap nuts... nyloc or ordinary nuts let the oil straight thru the threads... LEE

I clean My engine underneath every time I find an oil leak
I use foaming degreaser $4-95 at GoLo or reject shops.
then just hose the oil off... Lee

By oil plate do you mean the round sump plate on the bottom of the engine?
Or is it dripping where it bolts up to the gearbox?

Thanks Lee, We changed the oil yesterday and left it to run for around 10-15 mins. their was no oil leaking from the nuts or around the gasket. I put an oil pan underneath the car last night to see if it was leaking and nothing maybe it was just excess oil from drainage or something.

Why would anyone suggest removing the engine to fix oil leaks from the sump plate?

The leak is not coming from the sump but the bolt behind it

at the rear of the sump plug you can see some type of bolt like thing behind it this is where the oil is leaking from

That is the one it is leaking quite a bit when the car is running. and yes the bolt is horizontal. Should i see if the nut is loose? thanks for the help lee