2.0 aircooled engine tear down

[Mr Brown]

I finally decided to pull the engine out, after years of hoping all the noises and knocks would go away. Any suggestions or comments are welcomed.

The engine is original to the van which has 195K Kms on it. It is a stock engine running stock fuel injection. I have been using Brad Penn oil for the last three years and the van is only used in the summer.

According to the PO the case has never been split and it looks like it hasn't now that it is apart. According to the PO he overheated the engine and did a top end rebuild. It must have gotten pretty hot as the aluminum fins in the original heat exchangers had melted . Included in the top end rebuild were new AMC heads, new Mahle PC's, two used rods, and a used oil pump. I purchased the the van shortly after so it has had about 20K Kms put on it since the top end rebuild. It had decent power, no oil consumption and has been really reliable. The last couple of oil changes I have noticed some copper in the oil filter element along with some plain bearing material. I have also been fighting with lifter issues and have run out of adjustment on the adjusting screws so some of the lifters had little preload. Lately it had developed an intermittent rattle at idle and now that it is cold I noticed a new knocking noise. I decided I should dive in and have a look while there is still something to rebuild.

Most of what I found is normal from what I have seen on the various forums: worn cam and cam bearings, worn lifters, scored rocker shafts, etc. I did find some anomalies such as a badly scored oil pump and odd bearing wear.

Number two bearing shells, now I know where the copper in the filter came from. Would overheating cause this?

Number 4 main bearing. All the bearings had this pitting even the cam bearings, what could cause this?

The pistons look good to me though this one has some scratches, will measure them up to be sure. The cylinders still have the cross hatching and don't look worn at all. Reusable?

The crank looks good, may need a grind, some very slight ridges on the number four main. What I am most worried about is the blue coloration, sign of overheating? Should I reuse it?

There was a lot of plain bearing material in the sump along with a washer and with the previous history I think it would be prudent to change the oil cooler. I am planning on reusing the PC's and heads. Will re-ring the pistons and change the valves, guides and hardware on the heads. Not sure what I will do for a cam but I am leaning toward a Jake Raby cam kit at the moment. The case looks good so far, at least the oil pickup boss is not cracked. I have yet to measure anything so there may be more surprises.

[Randy in Maine]

After you get it all mic'ed at a good machine shop, start looking for main bearings....

They are getting hard to find anymore.

[Mr Brown]

Measured up the case, looks like it will need some work, the #2 main bore is over the limit. The case halves are actually worn smooth (machine marks are gone) at the #2 main saddles and there was a bit of fretting going on. Looks like an align bore is needed. I have another case that needs a bore as well, is this normal for these cases at approx 120000 miles?

Does anyone know if there is a reputable shop in Canada that does align boring on these cases?

Does anyone have an opinion on the blueness of the crank? The journals aren't discolored, maybe that is a good sign?

[fredn]

[Wildthings]

All your bearings look like they have had metal bits run through them, maybe the oil cooler for full of crap after the first disaster and should have been changed out then.

Your piston looks very low mileage.

[AndyBees]

Based on what you have told us, I'm of the opinion that the "over heat" by the Previous Owner really trashed the bearings..... thus the copper showing with the lead babbitt all but gone! HEAT

I split the case on my '83 Air-cooled back in 1998 at 190k miles. The case did not need align bored. It was excellent. The bearings looked okay too! The engine has had nothing but 20w-40 used in it.

I'd say a new set of rings will do fine!

My advice: do not have the heads milled........ increased compression in those engines means more HEAT!
_________________
'84 Vanagon Tin-top, ALH TDI. 1989 Tin-top
1983 Air-cool, 225k miles, 180k miles mine. Seven trips to Alaska from 1986 thru 2003.

[Mr Brown]

Thanks for the replies. The oil cooler is definitely going to be replaced with this rebuild. The pistons only have 12000 miles on them so I am planning on reusing them as is after cleanup and checking the rings for wear, hadn't considered re-ringing but maybe I should at this point.

As for location, I am in the Okanagan so if there is a shop in Vancouver that could align bore that would be easy.

[Wildthings]

[AndyBees]

With only 12000 miles on the heads, unless it was ran hot, why would you replace the seats?
_________________
'84 Vanagon Tin-top, ALH TDI. 1989 Tin-top
1983 Air-cool, 225k miles, 180k miles mine. Seven trips to Alaska from 1986 thru 2003.

[Wildthings]