TheSamba.com :: View topic

Wed Aug 11, 2010 10:55 am

Anyone have any resource (e.g. web sites) for rebuilding an air cooled vanagon? (other than Bentley or the list of popular threads).

Or if anyone has experience of rebuilding a air cooled vanagon engine, I would be interested to hear about the gotchas (like special tools, places where the manual sucks, etc.)

thanks!

Wed Aug 11, 2010 11:55 am

Bentley has all the information you need (or most) for the rebuild, but it's not laid out as DIY guide to teardown and rebuild. What I used to recommend to newbies to building is to get the original How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive by John Muir. Have that sitting side by side with your Bentley. Follow his process but refer to the appropriate section in Bentley for the specific tolerances, torques, and procedures. That's how I build my first Type IV engine... the thing came out great.

Paul

Wed Aug 11, 2010 12:42 pm

Sure, I will look into the book. I should mention that I am far from being a newbie. Just never have done a Vanagon engine before.

Wed Aug 11, 2010 12:55 pm

Check Ratwell too:

http://www.ratwell.com/

Wed Aug 11, 2010 1:30 pm

Another really good book is "How to Rebuild Your Volkswagen Air-Cooled Engine" by Tom Wilson. It covers all the air-cooled engines and goes into great detail on how to disassemble, inspect, and reassemble each model of engine. Worth its weight in gold.

On the other hand, this would be a perfect time to consider a Subaru conversion. At least twice the hp, heat that actually works, and an engine you'll be able to buy parts for years from now.

To rebuild this engine the right way, you're going to have to spend plenty of money.

Wed Aug 11, 2010 2:02 pm

Thanks for the tip on the book. I will dig into it.

The Subaru conversion does sound tempting at first blush, however reality sets in quickly: I did a EJ22 conversion on my previous 84 westy. Huge work (120-160hrs) and costly ($5-6k). The owner is not capable to take on, doesn't have the money and I sure dont want to do it again. Complicated by the fact that this is an air cooled vanagon - no rad, no heater coils, no plumbing.

I balance this against the expereince we have rebuilding type 1's: 10hrs - engine out, rebuild, back in, and running. (after doing 20 or 30 of them one gets really good!)

Wed Aug 11, 2010 2:40 pm

The one 'extra expense' I HIGHLY recommend is to have the bottom end professionally balanced
My old 'stock' motor was really working hard getting the RPMs to 4,500
My new 'balanced' engine easily rev's over 5K
IMHO, it can only make your engine last longer