Last year I bought an NOS Type 3 oil strainer. When it arrived I realized the design of the strainer was different from the one in my Ghia, which raised some questions. Was the one in my car not a Type 3 strainer? How are Type 1 and Type 3 strainers different, and how are the various Type 3 versions different from each other? Here's the old one from my '62 for comparison:
It seems to be an OEM part, with VW and MH (Mann+Hummel?) stamps:
The VW Type 3 Workshop Manual points to the oil pickup tube diameter as the defining characteristic of the different versions. The diameter is larger in the 1500S engine (14mm) than it is in the 40hp (12mm), and the manual warns of dire consequences if the wrong one is used.
My car seems to have the 1500 strainer, identified by a ridge stamped into the filter screen. I then checked a later copy of the parts book and it lists only the following:
311 115 175 A to July 1969
111 115 175 B from August 1969
The strainer I bought is 311 115 175 A, so according the later parts book it should work. 311 115 175 A is just a later development of the strainer design.
New replacement Type 3 strainers also conform to this later design. Use them with confidence. While researching oil strainers I found this note:
So that's what that open space under the strainer is for. The magnetic oil ring was listed in the 1961 parts book as a standard part for the VW 1500 (#12):
They come up for sale every once in a while, though the 36hp version (111 115 195) seems much more common than the 40hp/1500 one (113 115 195). I'll buy one eventually if I can track one down.
