September 1, 2007: On Order: Well I bit the bullet and ordered all
of the parts that I need to fix that pesky rear main seal leak on my
Beetle. I ordered a new product from California
Import Parts that I'm really excited about too. It's a German double
lip red silicone flywheel seal. This is the finest quality German made
DOUBLE lip flywheel seal. This seal design is far superior to the standard
single lip seals in controlling oil leakage from around the flywheel
so I'm hoping that this will be the last one that I will ever change.
I also ordered a new clutch kit because I can feel it starting to slip
due to the oil leak. While I have the engine out I'm going to replace
the tarboard around the engine with OE quality German made stuff as
mine is warped beyond belief. If I've learned anything from this problem,
it's change you oil before you store your Beetle. The contaminants
in the oil can dry and crack the seal and cause it to leak. My bad.
September 5, 2007: Order
here: All of the parts that I needed to replace the rear main seal
arrived today. I had them delivered to my work so I wouldn't have to
trek off to the UPS depot to pick them up since no one would be at home
during the day. I opened the box and marveled at the wonderful German
quality of the Sachs clutch, pressure plate and bearing. There was my
special rear main seal, the O-ring and five shims that might be needed
for the flywheel. I didn't bother to open the tarboard as it was wrapped
up with a bunch of those plastic strips. I called Emilio at Progress
Motors and he told me to bring the car in on Friday. 
September 7, 2007: Done:
I dropped my Beetle off at 7am this morning and had one of the guys
from work picked me up. I left my copy of the Bentley Volkswagen Shop
Manual in the back seat just in case Emilio needed some specs for the
repair. As the day went on I wanted to call but kept myself busy so
I didn't bother the "doctor" as he worked on his "patient".
Around I got impatient at 4:15, called, and got the good news. The operation
was a success and I could head up to pick up my baby. I hailed a cab
and was at the shop in about 10 minutes. Emilo was busy installing the
air cleaner housing and reconnecting various hoses. I took a look at
the old clutch and found that it had oil on it and it was glazed. It
was no wonder that it was starting to slip. The pressure plate was in
good shape and only had one slight gouge in it. Then I spotted the seal
that was the cause of the whole problem. I was surprised to see that
it was red and not black (which is the original seals colour). I guess
it was a silicone seal but not the new style that I had installed today.
On the floor was the old tarboard, it was the waffle style and the new
stuff (which was German product as well) is sort of a black cloth and
looks great. It really cleans up the engine compartment and make me
want to detail it even more. Now for the moment of truth, Emilio turned
the key and it fired up first go, a turn of the distributor and it was
running like a clock. After a test drive to make sure that everything
was in order he handed me the keys and told me to call him next week
and we'll settle the bill. I headed off down the highway with the biggest
smile on my face. My Beetle is running perfectly, no more oil leaks,
and now I can look at the garage floor underneath without cringing.
Thanks Emilio, you rule! 
September 8, 2007: 100,000KM:
I forgot to mention that while I was at Progress
Motors, Emilio had that 100,000KM document that a customer brought
in for me. It's very cool and is signed by Heinrich
Nordhoff! Apparently Volkswagen (and Mercedes Benz) sent a letter
of congratulations to every owner who had driven their Volkswagen over
100,000KMs. I tried to translate the German text into English and got
pretty close, except for the section when it calls the owner a "male
nurse". 
I am going to scan the document and post it on the site. Here is the
German version and the English version, if anyone out there speaks German
please contact me at wayne@superbeetles.com
if you can help.
German:
Dank und anerkennung. Der Volkswagen Hat mehr als 100000 kilometer. Ohne nennenswerte reparaturen zurückgelegt - Auf diese leistung dürfen alle stolz sein, die daran mitgewirkt haben: die vielen tausend unbekannten im volkswagenwerk und seiner organisation, die diesen wagen konstruiert, gefertigt und betreut haben,vor allem aber sein gewissenhafter, sorgsamer lenker und pfleger, Herr Fritz Müller, Der gute fahrer dieses guten wagens. Wir widmen ihm diese urkunde als zeichen unserer dankes und unserer anerkennung. Volkswagenwerk GMBH.
English:
Owing to and acknowledgment. The Volkswagen has more than 100000 kilometers. Without considerable repairs put back - on this achievement all may be proud, which participated in it: the many thousand unknown in the Volkswagenwerk and its organization, which these dare designed, manufactured and cared for, above all however his conscientious, careful steering wheel and male nurse, Mr. Fritz Mueller, the good driver of this good car. We dedicate this document to him as indication our thanks and our acknowledgment. Volkswagenwerk GmbH.
September 9, 2007: Two
more: The plan was to wash the Beetle and take a cruise through
Streetsville today. I need to completely wash the car after it has been
for a repair. Something about another man having his hands all over
my baby. 
So I got
it washed and my son called to say that he was coming over with his
girlfriend and their children. We also had plans to go out to dinner
with some friends later that night. At this point I knew that the cruise
was not going to happen today and since the forecast was for rain tomorrow,
I figured I'd take a quick spin around the block before my wife noticed.
I got a couple of blocks away, made a left turn and there was a beautiful
blue '68 Beetle parked on the side of the road. I pulled up driver to
driver and said hello to this Beetle and owner that I had never seen
before. It seems that Lawrence lives on my street and owns not one,
but two Beetles. Small world isn't it? He was also out for a spin but
his Beetle had died and wouldn't crank over. This Beetle was a highly
tuned machine and both of us were not sure what the problem was. So
when in doubt, bump start it. We started pushing his Beetle down the
street, popping the clutch with no luck. We even got a few of the neighbors
that were watching to join in with the same results. Unfortunately I
had to go as I knew my wife would be wondering were I had disappeared
to. So I gave him my card and said my good-byes as he called for a tow
home. Later that night I got an email telling me that he had waited
so long for the tow that the Beetle eventually started up. Bad ground?
Ignition switch? Wiring issues? Who knows? All I know is that there
are a couple more Beetle in the 'hood and that always a good thing.
See you at the cruise on the 23rd Lawrence! 
September 16, 2007: Oil
Leak - Part Deux: I took my Beetle in to look at another oil leak.
I could tell that it was not from the rear main seal that I changed
last week (Thank God!!!) as the case was dry there. When I ran my fingers
around my new oil plate it was wet with oil. This was the part that
I installed so I could drain the oil without having to remove the whole
plate each time. It has a centre drain bolt with gasket and came on
the older VWs. Volkswagen changed to the newer style (sans the bolt)
when they found out that people were not cleaning the oil strainer screen.
Anyhow, when we took it off we found that the metal was so thin that
the acorn nuts that hold it on actually bent the metal inwards causing
the paper gaskets to leak. When you compared it to to the original "no
drain hole" plate, there was no comparison. The OEM one was way
thicker, heavier and even after being used since 1975 was flat as a
pancake. So it was into the garbage, or should i say recycle bin with
the cheap one, and back on with the Genuine VW one. I guess the old
"if it ain't broke don't fit it" rule should have come into
effect here. Live and learn. 
September 23, 2007: Last
Cruise of the Summer: Today we went on the official last cruise
of summer, as organized by Greg of Tuned Perfection. The meeting place
was a local Tim Hortons, and when we arrived there had to be about 50
various Volkswagens that were revved up and ready to go. The assortment
consisted of Beetles, Pumas, Porsches, a faux Porsche, Dune Buggies,
and a few water-coolers that were invited along. It was nice to see
that air and water can mix. The cruise last year was not planned out
very well and people really had the right to complain. But this years
event was a totally different story. Route maps with a quiz were handed
out and as we got underway we were told that we would not exceed the
speed limit so that the entire cruise could stay together. The high-performance
water-coolers were told that they could go on ahead to the halfway meeting
point if they wanted, but they pretty much stuck around with the slower
vehicles. The cruise was well laid out and took us through some of the
most scenic roads in Southern Ontario. About an hour into the cruise
we all stopped at a park for a bit of a break and some lunch. There
were picnic tables, washrooms and lots of room for us to park our rides.
After lunch was over the quiz's were collected and prizes were given
out to the three people that got the most answers right. After that
they had a mini-cruise around the town of Guelph and then it was off
home for all. This was an excellent event and much respect to Greg and
all of those who helped in the planing and execution of this cruise.
See you all next year!