Charlie the 1967 Beetle Sedan thread

[KTPhil]

Engines cores that can't be verified as running are about $100, its value mostly being in the mounted accessories.

[TheRide]

[TheRide]

It came apart much easier than I thought it would.

I have a set of genuine single port tins and useable heater boxes if nothing else.

It was 60 here today so it was nice to have something to work on outside.

[Rome]

[TheRide]

[TheRide]

A solid mass of sludge kept the water away from the metal here so that may have saved it.

I don't have a case splitter so i'll have to round one of those up. Will try to get the heads off soon.

[scrivyscriv]

[Rome]

I don't think you need a case splitter. Make sure you get all the perimeter nuts and bolts off (M8 nut), and of course the 6 large center nuts on the right half of the case. The ones most people miss are the two M8 nuts down low on the #1 cylinder side of the case. When you have all nuts off, take a block of wood and place one end against the "ear" at the upper rear (pulley) left case half end. Give it a few gentle taps with a medium hammer. Move the wood along the top of the case back to where the case rises up for the flywheel. There's another upward-protruding ear there, also on the left case half. A few more taps. Tilt the case upwards so you can access the bottom of the case. Put an M8 nut onto one of the studs a few turns, and hit that nut with the wood with a few taps. This breaks the initial case split hold and should enable you to pull the oil pump off. With the pump off, you can move the wood around for a few knocks evenly at those places, and you should notice the case halves move apart more. NEVER pry the case halves apart using a metal object, since that can leave marks on the machined case half surface and be a potential oil leak upon assembly.

You'll probably not reuse the lifters nor camshaft at all, so it won't matter that the lifters can fall out of their holes as you separate the case. If the cam turns out to be OK, use new stock-spec lifters.

[TheRide]

[TheRide]

#4 is pretty rough shape. Suggestions for what to soak it in to get the jug off?

[Rome]

My basic degreaser is a 5 gal plastic bucket with lid from HW store, and 2 gallons of diesel fuel. Keep this outside and put the lid on after you place the head in. Let it soak overnight. Next day, or whenever it's warm enough to work outside, I put the bucket on top of an inverted garbage can for a comfortable working height. Wear solvent-resistant rubber gloves. Use a stiff bristle parts washing brush to work the grease off. You can balance the head across the bucket opening if all 4 of your exhaust studs are present.

The oxidation can be removed with various brass-bristle brushes. I start with a medium-size BBQ grill hand brush, then use a round one on a power drill. A cone-shaped brush on a drill works well when you hold it vertically to reach the combustion chamber "walls" outboard of the valves. The brass won't gouge the aluminum like steel bristles would.

[TheRide]

[Rome]

That makes sense; "jug"; I must've thought you made a typo for "junk". I've also been faced with heavily rusted cylinders on a few core engines, with similar rust debris to yours collected on the cylinder inside bottoms. The cylinder walls would be pockmarked with corrosion, meaning many small pits on the wall on which the cylinder metal had deteriorated. Even if you could get the cylinder off and run a hone down the walls to remove surface corrosion, those pockmarks leave voids which reduce the effectiveness of the piston rings. Increased blow-by is the result. Such a cylinder would be OK for an "engine blow contest" type engine or for assembly practice, but would not be optimal for a long-term driver IMO. So I invested in new cylinders, and on another engine, a new piston/cylinder set.

What were my methods for jug removal? On one engine, I held a propane torch to the cylinder, hoping that the concentrated heat would expand the rust and break the corrosion bond from the cylinder to the piston rings. That did not work, but if you had an acetylene torch that produces more heat, that could work. So I tilted the engine upwards so that the corroded cylinder faced upwards. I poured in a mix of automatic transmission fluid (ATF) and acetone to about 1" fluid height and let it sit for a week. Idea was that this would work itself down past the rust to the piston rings. Well, after a week the piston did not budge after hitting the piston with a wood stick and hammer... so getting impatient, I hit the top of the piston with a flat-end tip of an impact hammer/air chisel to forcibly press the piston down. That worked, but the piston top received many indentations from the hard metal tip. It was a dished low compression bus piston anyway...

On another engine I used a sawzall to cut a notch into the outer side of the cylinder, chiseled the cylinder apart into fragments. That created access to the outer piston wrist pin clip. Did the same to the adjacent cylinder which freed up access to the first piston's other (inner) wrist pin clip. Once the two pistons were off on one side of the engine, I could rotate the engine using the flywheel as leverage to pop the cylinders off the base on the other side of the case.

[viiking]

That piston and cylinder are junk!

I have tried sometimes for months to free up rusted cylinders. All sorts of solvents, half ATF and Acetone, heat cycles, dry ice cycles and sometimes violence. On the occasions that I have got the piston to move you will find as mentioned above that there is significant corrosion where the rings have rusted to the bore. Honing will not normally remove this before the ring to cylinder clearance becomes excessive.

You need to drill the piston out. Try and find where the piston pin is and then drill some 1/4" to 1/2" holes through the piston top 90 degrees to where the piston pin lies being careful not to drill into it if you are trying to save it. Drill radially on both sides of the piston pin then use a chisel or sharp implement to crack open the piston top. This will free up the piston and you can usually get the broken bits up and out and release your conrod.

Edit: More or less similar process to Rome's above. I just have more control over a drill than a sawzall.
_________________
1968 1500 RHD Lotus White Beetle since birth. In the hospital for major surgery
1966 Lancia Flavia Pininfarina Coupe - in the waiting room
Discharged: 1983 Vanagon, 1974 1800 Microbus,1968 Low Light,1968 Type 3

[TheRide]

[viiking]

OK. I misunderstood you. I thought you were unable to remove the cylinders because the pistons were totally stuck.
_________________
1968 1500 RHD Lotus White Beetle since birth. In the hospital for major surgery
1966 Lancia Flavia Pininfarina Coupe - in the waiting room
Discharged: 1983 Vanagon, 1974 1800 Microbus,1968 Low Light,1968 Type 3

[TheRide]

[AutoMechanic]

Nice to see some progress . Yes this nice weather down south the last few weeks has been nice.

[TheRide]

The intake is badly rusted on the inside. Is there any hope for it?

I have been envisioning the right size brush to do like a chimney...but maybe a brillo pad on a string will work? Possibly only the end pieces with a dual port center section...so can use a 34-3 carb.

If I end up having to buy heads i'll get DP but i'm trying to salvage as much as possible.