The only O-ring is the one on the outside of the bearing carrier
housing. This is not a wear item and attempting to replace should not be
done by the faint of heart. Turning this carrier effects the ring-pinion
clearance and output bearing pre-load. The outer seal is fairly easy to
replace but unless the trans has been overheated or is very old, the
seal is rarely the problem. A groove on the output flange, worn spines
causing a loose fit, bad bearings, or an overfilled trans are the usual
causes. Unless the leak is so bad that it makes a big mess or you
regularly need to add gear oil, just accept it as part of your vans
character.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
Of rgolen
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 11:11 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: weeping tranny seal at cv joint

Hi,

Before I send my Westy to be repaired, I have a trans leak where the
axle
comes out to the CV joints. The only seal that seems to be on that area
of the
transmission is (according to Bus Deopot's site) a large "O" ring. Is
this in
fact the only seal? I have the "O" ring, but don't want to have my
mechanic
pull the trans apart and tell me I need some other seal.

Thanks.

Ric