TheSamba.com :: View topic - Engine Pulled after oil light and knock...UPDATE W/PICS

Sun Nov 01, 2009 6:19 pm

The crank will have to be re-drilled for dowel pin holes 45 degrees off because you've screwed the dowel pin holes.
If the dowel pins aren't right you'll toss the flywheel again.
If your guy torqued the flywheel to 400 ft-lb it was OVER TORQUED, the correct torque is 253 ft-lb.
My bet is the crank will not hold torque, but at least start off with a new gland nut.
All in all you've paid a heavy price for sloppy work.
So remove the starter, get a big drift and punch the flywheel out of the bell housing,
so get a Bentley Manual and start all over again.

Sun Nov 01, 2009 6:32 pm

I don't know where I got 400 from. I was on my blackberry typing and I swore that was the number. I got back home and my buddy said it was 254 ft lbs we had him do. He us the one that has been helping me carry the engine all over the place. I am for sure getting the tool to do it myself because all this transporting of an engine and having diff people assist is not paying off.
What is the saying? "The lazy an works the hardest". In my case "the cheap man pays the most".

Should I have used lock tite on the gland nut? Diff resources say different things and I chose not to.

I haven't done anything on a vw engine in 12 years. I had a 72 then 66 in high school and college, then took time off. I am very thankful for this forum.

Sun Nov 01, 2009 7:08 pm

yauchzee wrote: I am for sure getting the tool to do it myself because all this transporting of an engine and having diff people assist is not paying off
I bought a 3-foot long 1/2-inch drive torque wrench, I think for around $50 on ebay. It came in very handy for rear stub axles in my 1972 Super. Even with fairly hefty breaker bars, the torque wrench was the only thing I had with enough leverage to loosen the nuts, and they were great for torquing them on when I put the assemblies back together.

Mon Nov 02, 2009 4:16 pm

I will redrill the crank. I probably need a new flywheel correct?

Mon Nov 02, 2009 7:49 pm

I agree with your tactics. Walking away and getting some perspective is always a good idea. I use my '68 as a Daily Driver, and when it's given me troubles, I've let it sit for a day or two, even when I need to get it back up and running, because I think I perform better work after taking some down time to do some coll-headed research and formulate a plan...

Best of luck man! That's a bummer.

Mon Nov 02, 2009 7:58 pm

On a note about tools for torquing things down. is it safe to use a bar of known length and a measured load to get the proper torque? or would that practice be asking for trouble?

Mon Nov 02, 2009 8:01 pm

Blue Rabit wrote: On a note about tools for torquing things down. is it safe to use a bar of known length and a measured load to get the proper torque? or would that practice be asking for trouble?

Yes. That's called the laws of physics - laws you CAN'T break. Torque = Force x Distance. Force is the pounds, distance is from the gland nut to where you place the force.

Mon Nov 02, 2009 8:12 pm

My buddies and I gave that a try way back in high school. We thought we would take our physics know how and give it a go. One busted gland nut later and I will never try it again. We measured out the cheater bar and cut. Had a scale to measure the force. We thought we were pretty smart. To this day I say it was just an old gland nut that was the problem and not our math, but I won't do it again.

Mon Nov 02, 2009 8:39 pm

yauchzee wrote: To this day I say it was just an old gland nut that was the problem and not our math, but I won't do it again.
I agree. I've done it that way many times.

Math always works. 8)

Max

Mon Nov 02, 2009 8:51 pm

yauchzee wrote: My buddies and I gave that a try way back in high school. We thought we would take our physics know how and give it a go. One busted gland nut later and I will never try it again. We measured out the cheater bar and cut. Had a scale to measure the force. We thought we were pretty smart. To this day I say it was just an old gland nut that was the problem and not our math, but I won't do it again.

Funny how folks will have more faith in some unknown person's ability to design a complex device like a torque wrench than in their own ability to divide the torque by their weight and measure that distance along the wrench!

If something broke it's because that part was defective. It would have also broken when using a properly calibrated torque wrench in which case would you have sworn off using torque wrenches? :)

Hint: Don't try to read a scale while pulling on a wrench. Simply weigh yourself and then put your own weight onto the appropriate point on the wrench without bouncing. Works every time.

Mon Nov 02, 2009 9:02 pm

Tell me about it! Those people...oh wait...me... :D

Maybe I will try it again, then again maybe I will buy the wrench. It is a new tool for my collection. When I get to the point of putting the gland nut back on, I will make the call based on finaces at that time.

Last time I tried to save money, I had a guy I didn't know at a shop torque it for me. Big mistake. Lesson learned and now I have an engine in my shop needing TLC. I will be buying a brand new gland nut this time, so I am sure it will be able to take more abuse than the one I broke back in high school, which was original to the car. All I know is, I am not going to let a gland nut come loose on me ever again. I felt like an idiot posting what I found and admitting I screwed up, but I think posting it all might be helpful to the next guy that does this.

I will post pics of the cleaned up engine reassembled once I get there. Maybe this happened for a reason! Last time I yanked the engine, I was in too much of a hurry to get it on the road to really detail it and paint the tin. I regretted that decision, and now I have a second chance at it.

Mon Nov 02, 2009 10:05 pm

yauchzee wrote: I felt like an idiot posting what I found and admitting I screwed up, but I think posting it all might be helpful to the next guy that does this.

Don't feel like anything but a guy who's doing his best, and being honest about it.

I've been lucky with my experiences in regard to gland nuts, but I will take your experience with me from here on out. Thanks for the pictures and the descriptions!