2L GD connecting rod notch mod w/ pics

[Jetfxr69]

Read plenty of posts for and against the WV service bulletin on notching the 2L GD connecting rods for better piston skirt lube, but couldnt find any pics of anybody doing this. Other than the the sketch in the service bulletin.

Decided that for Ryans engine rebuild, that I would do this mod and maybe throw some pics up for anyone else considering it. The bulletin has a rough sketch that shows a v notch with a depth of 1.5mm. Very non descript as far as location (other than a sketch), and dimensions. Mic’d up the original rod width at that point and notched with a hand triangle file, cleaned up with a jewelers round file, to 3 mm less than start width. Its not very precise of a measurement, but for hand filing to a tolerance of 1.5mm, i figure it will work.

We are fortunate that we have one of the few 2L cases that arent blown out and /or been rebuilt before. Standard bearings, no cut crank, and a modest cam replacement should bring this ole boy down the road feelin bad.

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‘77 westy Seamus
‘76 tintop Crusher
‘77 westy The Judge
‘72 tintop bastard westy Hudson

[Wildthings]

The mod is to get oil up into the piston and cylinder for added lubrication and cooling. I have decided that using a 3mm chainsaw file and making a "U" notch verses "V" makes sense.

[Jetfxr69]

Agree on the “ u “. In fact I think it was based on one of your older posts about this mod that you mentioned the less stressful edges of a “u” vs “v” that led me to run my round file to finish. May not look it, but the edges are smooth and radiused.
_________________
You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer. Zappa

‘77 westy Seamus
‘76 tintop Crusher
‘77 westy The Judge
‘72 tintop bastard westy Hudson

[timvw7476]

I imagine they wanted the V cut for a mist/dispersion pattern?
.....But I digress & frown upon this barbarity. Can't look.

[Bleyseng]

It's also for piston cooling as it sprays oil up to the bottom of the piston.
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76 Porsche 914 2.1L L20c, 120hp Djet (sold)
87 Syncro Westy Titan Red 2.1L 2 knob 100k miles

[Wildthings]

[timvw7476]

[airschooled]

[Jetfxr69]

This is how I found this engine when opened up. Maybe it helps avoid this from happening, along with the shim and piston clearance.

_________________
You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer. Zappa

‘77 westy Seamus
‘76 tintop Crusher
‘77 westy The Judge
‘72 tintop bastard westy Hudson

[Wildthings]

[airschooled]

What about the increased heat in the oil cast off the pistons afterwards? The smaller Type 4’s typically run at a higher RPM which can result in higher oil temperatures. No science here, just speculating on the internet.

Robbie
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[blatzer]

myself and colin K just disassembled my 2L fi bus engine to find 1- 3 scored cylinders that were apparently causing quite the noisy ruckus and 2- 4 un-notched connecting rod re: tsb # whatever could that be the cause and effect?

oh and i forgot to mention the engine had been assembled by our local 'expert' vw engine builder and it only had 2100 miles on it

[SGKent]

that problem is most likely too much heat related. Mixture, timing, amount of air cooling the fins etc.. Lack of all the tin can do it too. Pushing the engine too hard in a sustained manner can also do it. or the guy who put it together could have not been as clean as needed. I do have to wonder, was that the bottom side of the piston? If so were the under cylinder tins in place? Were the piston arrows in the correct direction?
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“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[mikewire]

Is that 1 thru 3 or 1 and 3, meaning 2 and 4 were ok?

Looks like lack of lubrication and/or like SGK said, heat. Maybe a mouse nest on that side of the engine or something blocking airflow.

How do the rod and crank bearings look?
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-Mike

@countdowngarage
@bigskyeuro

1972 VW Kombi 9 Passenger Deluxe w/ 2.0L F.I. VWAC swap
1965 VW Beetle Deluxe Bahama Blue

[blatzer]

still tearing into the rest of the engine, only 1 out of the 4 cylinders was not scored, # 3 was the worst- there were no omissions of the oem tin and related parts, the engine was not clogged or dirty- it did run a bit rich based on the tail pipe but based on oil temp it was in the normal range as far as i can remember.....the other side of the barrel of all 3 was damaged, in general one side was worse

[Wildthings]

Maybe someone fired it up without oil at some point? Could also have been an engine low on oil that was pumping a lot of air through the galleys and there just wasn't enough lube reaching the pistons. If your crankcase ventilation clogs and pressure builds up in the case, most all the oil can be blown out within minutes.

[blatzer]

would you notch only one side of the connecting rod?

[SGKent]

I did both sides. You don't go deep enough to compromise the bearing. The oil coming out of the bearing will tend to exit more toward the piston. I did not leave a V but rounded the bottom of the V so that it lessens the chance of a crack forming at that juncture over time. VW never thought these engines would be going thru multiple overhauls.
_________________
“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[Wildthings]

[blatzer]

skep, you wanna chime in here?