Opinions from Engine Folks

[Buggeee]

[Buggeee]

[Pruneman99]

[FeelthySanchez]

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The thread insert leaves a trail ...... #2 has been cracked for a long time:

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[mark tucker]

dam I need to get a light sabre, look somuch eazer cleaning with that... yes rebuild the engine. but first!!! decide just what you want!!! more pep? better mpg? more power for passing? longer lasting? or just a slug that dosent smoke so you can sell it? I wont waste the time or $$ on a stock rebuild. a mini stroker would e the smallest i would do.74x90.5 but a 82x whatever would be eazer and more feazable since it's pretty much a nobrainer build with std rod length and B pistons. it's a shame the head prices have gon up so high for no reason other than the guy at the top of the food chains eating more....( I wonder just how much more the wages have gon up at autolina or china in the last 15 years.....) but it is what it is,your head dont look cracked form the pic. but just guides and valves and serface and valve job....= a new set of heads...or more. so...I would look for good deal on heads too. and then decide when youve added up everything...and shiping...decide weather you want to do that or buy a good rebuilt engine one ready to go from a repitable builder. possiably not to far from you. there are many.and many use a lot of new parts not just a few and a paint can. do your research. and good luck.make a plan!!! and if you want more power dont settel for less.if it's a stock rebuild it's a stock slug.

[b15605]

Ok folks. I am entirely at my wits end on how to split the dang case. I have used the search function and most of what I read is make sure you remove the hidden nut up at the front (done) and then bang on it with a rubber mallet (not working). Am I going to have to buy one of them case splitter tools are is there some trick yall can throw at me???

[Pruneman99]

I've been there, and considered a splitter, then I slapped myself. Forcing things, breaks things. There are two little bolts that get covered with gunk and get missed at the front bottom. Make sure you got both. I've torn down a few junkyard engines that sat out in the rain for years and years. Sometimes the case pins like to stick. A rubber mallet should break them free. If absolutely necessary, I've used a brass drift with a rubber mallet. Make sure to position the drift where you won't damage the parting line. Like on the webbing at the front, or the tabs on the bottom of the case. Don't go crazy here. A few sharp easy hits should "pop" the case, then you can slide the oil pump out.

If it's not working, search again for the bolt you missed.

[Zundfolge1432]

There are some pics documenting the entire process under a topic I did a couple of years ago

[b15605]

Got it! Zundfolge1432 - that pic on your other post showing the screwdriver leveraged on one of the bottom bolts to a cooling fin did the trick!!! Took a little hammering with a drift once the seam started to open. Amazing how tempting it is to wedge something in between the halves, but I persevered in resisting and now I have it split knowing I did not damage on the seam between the halves.

[Zundfolge1432]

Sometimes cases really are difficult to open because of choice of sealer used in a previous rebuild or if the case has shuffle pins. Do enough engines and you see self locking nuts and loctite used by morons. Then there’s shuffle pins, you don’t hear much about shuffle pins anymore but this modification used bushings along main webs to keep case halves from working against each other, vibration especially at center main.

Shuffle pins were a bandaid solution to crankshaft flexing but today thanks to advances in metallurgy and machining it’s not as bad. You could use plastic or micarda wedges to help split a stubborn case. Just go real slow make sure all fasteners are removed, be gentle a little here a little there. Glad this worked for you

[b15605]

Havent had a chance to measure stuff, but snapped a few pics to see if you guys could give me some input into the condition of things. No experience here, but looks like there may be some issues? Hoping I am wrong:

[Rome]

The only real concern beyond regular wear is the small #4 main bearing. The outer surface should not have streaks. Instead, the surface should be very smooth and uniform. Streaks could be that the bearing rotated around the bearing saddle in the case because it was not held in place by the dowel pin.

Each of the main bearings including the #4 are held in stationary position by a small round metal pin- the dowel pin- that slips into a hole in the engine case. The protruding part of the pin goes into a small hole in the bearing, thereby preventing relative movement of the bearing and the case. If the pin is missing, the bearing could spin around if the case crush is insufficient, or the outer diameter of the bearing is below tolerance. Check the other case half to see the hole for the pin. There's no place for the pin to go if it was installed, and the case halves are torqued together.

The bearing surfaces on both case halves can be reused if the case undergoes an align-bore. This shaves a slight amount of metal off all of the main bearing saddles in a circular shape so that you can fit new main bearings that are thicker. But before you send the case out for such machining, you should bolt the two case halves back together to the specified torque on the respective nuts, and measure the diameter of the case hole at the #4 saddle to determine if the case truly is worn beyond the bearing outer diameter factory tolerance.

[b15605]

Gotcha. There is a dowel pin on the #4 bearing saddle.

In the meantime - how does one remove the two halves of the #2 bearing without prying and scratching something up? These things seem to be seated well and the red book says just pull em out with your hands which aint working. Any tricks?

[Rome]

[Zundfolge1432]

Remove crank from left case half, need to see dowel holes and especially #1main. Look for evidence of #1 moving, excessive end play. Do you have a parts washer? You could use local coin op car wash to clean the case using oven cleaner, if you do observe all the precautions please. It’s also possible to use a cardboard box lined with several trash bags to make a temporary cleaning/soak tank. Water based cleaners may be cheaper and easier to obtain and use but unless you get everything dried and put away it will flash rust almost immediately. Better off using a petroleum based cleaner such as mineral spirits. Tip* avoid big box stores for chemicals instead seek out auto paint supply and get re-refined for about 1/3 the big box price. One of the biggest obstacles here is proper cleaning and how to dispose of toxic waste.

[b15605]

My plan was to soak the engine case in a solvent tank at work and then scrub away with brass brushes and scotch brite pads. I assume this is a good approach?

I am also thinking the #1 bearing has a little endplay issue. I have popped the bearing in there and it has a small amount of wobble (not much but i can wiggle it back and forth). From reading the wilson book this means I may need a thrust cut??? Also the bearing saddle is not smooth - has the bearing ridges in the saddle surfaces. All of this makes me think align bore is in order too? M

In the pics below there are some crankcase measurements. It appears the case has been bored in the past. After converting to inches (measured in mm) amd doing quick math, I get that my bore is already 0.033 over stock new, so I assume this was bored by .020 in the past and with more wear I will now have to have bored 0.040”...am I on the right track here? Called a local import shop and they said they can do the align bore in 20,40 or 60...I am correct this is in thousands of an inch? This is kinda gettin fun once you get your head around it!

Here are some pics of left side with crank out of the way.

[VW_Jimbo]

Yep, align bore that thing at 40. If 40 does not work you will then move onto 60. The machinist will know after he makes his first pass with the 40 cutter. You might want to have them clean up the thrust cut. Looks like the bearing was moving a little bit when in there, if I am seeing it correctly. Around the dowel pin, it looks like the bearing rotated about a 1/16 of an inch or so.
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Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[Zundfolge1432]

Make sure you are dealing with experienced VW machinist willing to hand fit bearing#1 not a butcher that cuts material from case to match bearing. Bearings are cheaper than replacing case. He should take a plus 1 or plus 2 and trim to fit after a cleanup cut, anything else is bullshit or incompetent. In either case take it somewhere else.

[Rome]

[b15605]

Been a while - mainly because I haven't had any significant blocks of time to work on the beetle. I have been cleaning the engine case and I think it is now looking good. Last night I found the following stampings on the top of the case:

I assume this means the last machining done was a 0.040 boring and a single step thrust cut?

I am about to put the halves together and torque and take it to the local machine shop (hopefully Monday). Do I need to take anything besides the case to the shop or is that all? They don't need the old bearings or the crack etc for anything do they? Any other pointers before I go would be great.