The felt washer is available for about $1.00 from the dealer. The
problem is the retainer if it is lost or worn. One option is to get the
pilot bearing from Beck Arnley. Theirs is a little bit longer but
includes an actual seal. You will have to bore out the center of the
flywheel or grind the step out of the crank bore to use it though due to
the increased length.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
Of Mike Collum
Sent: Friday, June 11, 2004 1:23 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Felt washer in flywheel, make your own? ... and more

I developed a problem over the winter with the rear of the westy being
covered with oil with what appeared to be a corresponding drop in engine
oil
level.  I kept the engine oil topped up, but, at highway speeds
especially,
the oil mist to the rear must've been nasty for tailgaters.  I had a
shuddering clutch when I bought the van but the clutch didn't slip any
until
after the oil leak showed up.  Then it only slipped when under greater
than
normal load.

Anyway, I found an oily mess in the clutch housing ... but not on the
engine
side of the flywheel where I expected to see it.  The transmission's
mainshaft is badly scored where it rides in the pilot bearing and I'll
be
replacing the shaft and seal.

All but one of the flywheel bolts came out without a problem, but one
was
really buggered up to start with (looks like someone tried to remove it
and
gave up).  No way was an Allen driver going to grab in this one.  Well,
a
Craftsman "Bolt Out" #12 did the trick.  By the way, instead of a
flywheel
lock, I just inserted a Phillips head screwdriver through one of the
pressure plate holes ... through the hole in the engine case and it did
the
job nicely.

I found the pilot bearing to be intact.  All the rollers were in place
but
not well lubricated.  The felt washer and its retainer were missing
which
brings me to a question.

Can a felt washer be fabricated to do the job of the original?

Thanks,

Mike
Houlton, Maine
'85 Westy 4 spd
'84 7 pass auto