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skills@eurocarsplus
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Joined: January 01, 2007
Posts: 3962
Location: sticksville, ct.
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 Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 7:13 pm Post subject: engine removal q...did i catch stupid? |
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ok, i'm a bus guy and we have removable aprons, so go easy  suspect in question is a 74 Thing. i thought, much like a beetle, you would remove the rear tin (the one the heater tubes run through) and that would give ample space to pull the engine back and clear everything. i tried every single way possible to remove the tin, and short of cutting it out of the way, i ended up pulling the crank pulley off to get the f#cking thing out. it seems that the tin was getting hooked on the pulley and engine lock bracket.
i see no way of doing the deed without tearing the engine seal to hell. so, am i to understand that you do NOT have to remove the rear tin in order to remove the engine? is there enough give in the seal to allow the engine to slide back and clear all of the studs/input shaft? i am kind of at a loss here.... 
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| VWsArent4Hippies wrote: | | Whenever I click on the baywindow forum I feel like I'm entering a place where most people have no sense of reality |
| schell '59 wrote: | | The honor system works for boy scouts..not in real business |
| modok wrote: | | It was in the instructions back when stuff came with instructions |
| curtis4085 wrote: | | as most your information you give is crap anyway |
| bugger101 wrote: |
skills, you never win with cheap vw people |
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kubelmann
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Joined: April 13, 2003
Posts: 2949
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| Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Easy big fellow. First off, Welcome to the Kingdom of Thingdom. Second welcome to the world of an air cooled VW with a mighty tight fitting motor. In the best of worlds The Thing's motor is a tough removal. To remove a Thing motor I start (after disconnecting all the regular VW stuff) removing the dist, rear apron and lower tin. |
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Semper_Dad
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Joined: May 14, 2005
Posts: 2612
Location: HELL Paso, TX
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| Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 9:11 pm Post subject: |
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I am also a recovering splity bus enthusiast. Never understood why VW didn't design the 181 without removable rear apron.
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74 VW Thing - Walküre
78 GMC Motorhome - Valhalla
"Patina" my ass, that's rust
Recovering Split Bus Addict
Washington State 181 (Thing) Registry - current tally: 58
World 181 Registry Map: http://www.zeemaps.com/394427 Gitm registared boys!
Officially, there are only 98 181s in the world |
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SilverThing 
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Joined: July 19, 2004
Posts: 633
Location: Boise/Seattle
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| Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 9:39 pm Post subject: |
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removable rear apron would make it too easy. 
I always thought the shape of the apron behind the bumper seemed oddly like they wanted you to be able to remove the bumper, drop the motor down to the ground, and roll the car forward away from the engine with minimal or no jacking. Wild speculation on my part though...
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"I like how everyone likes talking about Zeke's Thing yet he's the only one that's ever seen it." - Katie
"I've seen pictures..." - Jeremy |
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kubelmann
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Joined: April 13, 2003
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| Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 9:46 pm Post subject: |
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| Rear apron quick disconnect. Just one more Thing "kit" I have dreamed of creating for decades... |
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Semper_Dad
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Joined: May 14, 2005
Posts: 2612
Location: HELL Paso, TX
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| Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 10:03 pm Post subject: |
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| kubelmann wrote: | | Rear apron quick disconnect. Just one more Thing "kit" I have dreamed of creating for decades... |
Don't forget the crank hole
_________________
74 VW Thing - Walküre
78 GMC Motorhome - Valhalla
"Patina" my ass, that's rust
Recovering Split Bus Addict
Washington State 181 (Thing) Registry - current tally: 58
World 181 Registry Map: http://www.zeemaps.com/394427 Gitm registared boys!
Officially, there are only 98 181s in the world |
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Ian Epperson
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Joined: January 12, 2005
Posts: 2252
Location: Alameda, CA
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| Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 10:53 pm Post subject: Re: engine removal q...did i catch stupid? |
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| skills@eurocarsplus wrote: | | i tried every single way possible to remove the tin, and short of cutting it out of the way, i ended up pulling the crank pulley off to get the f#cking thing out. it seems that the tin was getting hooked on the pulley and engine lock bracket. |
Yeah, it's a bitch. I'm no longer rockin' the stock engine, but I seem to remember being able to get the rear tin out without removing the pulley - but I did have to bend it up a bit to remove it, then bend it back after replacing it. I'd kind of scoop it out - work the bottom of it to the rear tilting it and lifting it to clear the pulley.
I went to a type 4 engine a few years back (DTM conversion), and it's even longer. Getting completely fed up with the #$!@#$ latch stand always being in the way, I cut it off and fabbed up a removable latch stand:
The deck-lid prop still clears it too:
The angle bracket came from a used-metals place. I punched some holes in the body (quadruple-thick sheet metal at that point) and cut threads in them. Punched a few holes in the angle bracket - threaded as needed, and viola - it works and is solid enough. When I need to pull the engine, it's the first part to get removed for easier access to the tin, pulley and gives me a bit of extra room when getting the engine out.
If I were pre-paint, I'd make that entire rear cross-member removable. I've seen it done more than once.
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Ferretkona
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Joined: December 03, 2005
Posts: 1273
Location: Columbia, CA
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| Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:02 am Post subject: |
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I had my 59 type 2. I could pull the motor in 30 minutes and have the heads off. That removable cross piece was great.
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74 181 Thing
2008 Ford Sport Trac V8 4x4
2008 Ford Escape V6 |
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skills@eurocarsplus
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Joined: January 01, 2007
Posts: 3962
Location: sticksville, ct.
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| Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 3:52 am Post subject: |
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| kubelmann wrote: | | Easy big fellow. First off, Welcome to the Kingdom of Thingdom. Second welcome to the world of an air cooled VW with a mighty tight fitting motor. In the best of worlds The Thing's motor is a tough removal. To remove a Thing motor I start (after disconnecting all the regular VW stuff) removing the dist, rear apron and lower tin. |
ok, what parts are you speaking of? pix for clairity please
T4 guy  while i have the engine out, i may do the same thing with the engine lock bracket, if it came off like yours now does, i would have never posted this
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| VWsArent4Hippies wrote: | | Whenever I click on the baywindow forum I feel like I'm entering a place where most people have no sense of reality |
| schell '59 wrote: | | The honor system works for boy scouts..not in real business |
| modok wrote: | | It was in the instructions back when stuff came with instructions |
| curtis4085 wrote: | | as most your information you give is crap anyway |
| bugger101 wrote: |
skills, you never win with cheap vw people |
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kubelmann
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Joined: April 13, 2003
Posts: 2949
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| Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 6:01 am Post subject: |
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Here it is:  |
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yellow73kubel
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Joined: August 17, 2008
Posts: 800
Location: Aiken, South Carolina
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| Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 6:58 am Post subject: |
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You guys make it sound like brain surgery. 
Pull the distributor cap and the v-belt. You should then be able to tilt the rear tin piece up and out without scraping anything up. It takes a fair bit of twisting and pulling, but it will pop out of there. The whole engine drop usually takes my father and I less than a half-hour, but we have plenty of practice.
Pulling the sump guards helps a lot, and the whole process is really easy with the bumper off. Neither is a requirement though. |
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norcalmike
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Joined: May 14, 2005
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Location: Campbell, CA
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| Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 8:20 am Post subject: |
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The PO of mine cut a 6 inch section out of the middle of my apron.
it re- attaches with a small square plate on both sides on the inside of the compartment. im not thrilled about this hack, but it is handy when removing the engine
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73 Thing
61 Double Cab
WANTED: Howe Motors Plate Frames |
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kubelmann
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Joined: April 13, 2003
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| Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 8:58 am Post subject: |
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| Can you post pics of this modification? I would love to do that to one of mine. |
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Wildthings
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Joined: March 13, 2005
Posts: 19966
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| Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 10:25 am Post subject: |
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| I thought the bitch was the '73s with the non removable EGR valve. Is there something else that makes the '74 harder? |
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kubelmann
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| Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 10:52 am Post subject: |
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| The issue is once you slide the engine backwards to clear the output shaft the crank pulley, dist cap, carb throat and other stuff bumps into the rear edge of the engine apron and deck lid latch. It is not just one thing it is a matter of dodging odd objects. Very unlike a bug or bus where the engine slides and drops clear and free. |
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skills@eurocarsplus
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Joined: January 01, 2007
Posts: 3962
Location: sticksville, ct.
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| Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 2:27 pm Post subject: |
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| kubelmann wrote: | | The issue is once you slide the engine backwards to clear the output shaft the crank pulley, dist cap, carb throat and other stuff bumps into the rear edge of the engine apron and deck lid latch. It is not just one thing it is a matter of dodging odd objects. Very unlike a bug or bus where the engine slides and drops clear and free. |
i appreciate the insight, but what i am saying is i COULD NOT remove the rear tin, it was getting hooked on the pulley and the engine latch bracket. if it would clear one, it was caught on the other. i will have to look and see if the car got hit from behind. dam Thing
_________________
| VWsArent4Hippies wrote: | | Whenever I click on the baywindow forum I feel like I'm entering a place where most people have no sense of reality |
| schell '59 wrote: | | The honor system works for boy scouts..not in real business |
| modok wrote: | | It was in the instructions back when stuff came with instructions |
| curtis4085 wrote: | | as most your information you give is crap anyway |
| bugger101 wrote: |
skills, you never win with cheap vw people |
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kubelmann
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Joined: April 13, 2003
Posts: 2949
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| Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 3:11 pm Post subject: |
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| The great advantage to having and working on a 38 + year old car is that you always seem to have something to solve or figure out. |
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EODinert
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Joined: April 11, 2003
Posts: 443
Location: PHX, AZ
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| Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 4:01 pm Post subject: |
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I pull the belt, and the generator pulley. Never thought about pulling the distributor, but that would probably make it easier.
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'61 rag top beetle, '73 type 181, '66 13 window deluxe |
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kubelmann
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Posts: 2949
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| Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 4:11 pm Post subject: |
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| The top edge of the dist always catching on something so I either remove the cap or pull the dist depending on the outcome of the motor. |
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hank0306
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Location: Los Angeles, CA
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