Another, Another, noob 2.1L engine rebuild

[BrownEye02]

This is the next part to me fixing my newish, to me vanagon GL. My previous thread and why I'm rebuilding can be found here, Engine Toast, What Now. This is also the thread I made before that, fixing a knocking issue coming from the trans bell housing, Why would the drive plate timing pins knick the engine case?.
This will be my first time engine rebuild ever, besides a CRF 450 dirt bike engine I got help from my step-dad with. Please go easy on me. I'm here to learn, get help, and hopefully help others with the idiotic questions I'm going to ask. I'm making slow but steady progress and hope to have this done by summer/spring. My goal is to rebuild on a budget but still replace common sense parts. Seals, bearings, pushrod tubes, among other things if needed. Per my previous post, I had already tossed around an engine swap but want to enjoy the van more before sinking that kind of money into it.

Chapter 1 - Parts / Practice Engine Teardown

Looking sad and dirty.

Piston one or should I say two out. That was easy. Means the rest should be easy, right? Insert The Lonely Island quote here.

Standard engine stand with cut washers works well! Thanks random Samba form for the suggestion.

Bath time.

Much better, drying time. Damn that was cold!!! 30°F and a pressure washer don't mix for a reason.

*.O

Bearings....

Torch and make shift slide hammer made out of the long starter bolt and a impact socket and she finally came out. Again, thank you random Samba thread. All the other wrist pins needed the same amount of attention.....

Assuming this happened when the engine hydro locked? Or was caused by the story I feared was not true when I first heard about this engine from the van's seller..... keep reading.

Why you don't let a blown head gasket engine sit.....

Hello in there!!!

Case finally split!!! Forgot to get a photo though. Sorry.

More, bearings....

Soooooo remember that story I hinted at, well here it is. So when I picked up the engine, I asked what happened to it. I was told it started knocking "making noise", the kid drove it to his buddies house, 30 min away and swapped the engine out. I showed up to pickup the engine and it was quite obvious there was a blow head gasket and the engine hydro locked. The kids buddy confirmed the kids story stating it was making awful sounds when he showed up. Not sure why but I didn't really put much thought into it. There was a rod and piston already out of the engine when I showed up. I just blew it off thinking they wanted to see what was making the noise.
Well, with the below I'm now awake. "So hold up, your telling me you drove this thing for 30min with a bent rod!!!?" I'm no longer thinking they pulled that piston. I'm thinking it let go or basically was ready to let go when he showed up at his friend's house.
When I split the case I found this nut sitting in this spot. It had imbedded itself so well I first though it was just a loose nut/bolt that was inside the case. After a second or so I realized that made no senses and had finally found one of the first piston (piston two's) rod nut.

Thankfully it wasn't too hard to get out. How there's not a hole in this case, I have no clue.....

Annnnnnnnnd time.

Chapter 2 - Main Engine Removal and Teardown

D Day. The time has come. Dad is down to help knock this out in one day.

Don't forget where everything goes.....

Everyone should have a metal jet ski stand. Even if they don't have a jet ski. I've used this thing for so many things other then holding up a ski.

Lets Quentin Tarantino this. Something in this photo wasn't there when we started. Can you guess what?

If you guessed PVC pipe holding up the hatch, you guessed right! Here's why....
P.S. Goreaphobian's I'm sorry. Samba doesn't support the spoiler tag.

Right when I pulled the van into the garage I saw my hatch wouldn't quite stay open due to the cold and yes, had the thought, "That's gonna come back to bite me later". Well it did, ten fold..... Stood up into the latch with my head. Luckily it wasn't as bad as it looked and didn't need stitches. Everyone knows you can't pull an engine with out shedding some blood, you'll have bad luck otherwise. Back to work!

Engines out. Again, don't forget where things go....

Heads, jugs, and Piston two are out! Things are looking great! Will check measurements on everything before assuming anything though. I especially want to make sure I don't have the bad Chinese pistons that have the wrong wrist pin to piston head spacing basically making them 1.9L pistons. I had one lifter that would go flat and was defiantly flat when it came out. Marked it and will check its internals on re-assemble. From the looks of it, it should just need to be bled.
Did a light wire brush to the pistons to verify they were installed correctly and they were.

Everything's off the block!

Last time I'll see the block together for a while...

And she's split. Uh oh..... I see shiny treasure in the oil pan. First time I've seen metal shavings during the tear down.
Whats that poking its head out? That be bearing, arrrrr.....

Well, at least I now know why my oil pressure would plummet after warm up. Spun bearing . Can you say path of least resistance. You can see the heat discoloration in the crank in the previous photo. The cam looked OK, thank god!

That's currently where I'm at. It looks like the oil pickup and filter did their job since I only found flakes when I got to the inside of the pan. I'll be cleaning EVERYTHING including all the oil passages. I'll also be going over everything with a fine toothed comb to make sure those shiny buggers didn't find there way elsewhere.
My hope for this coming weekend is to clean the block and start digging into why I spun a bearing. I'm hoping its just wrongly sized bearings but I have my doubts..... Only one way to find out.

[MarkWard]

That bearing looks more like it’s beat than spun in the picture. If it had actually spun, the locater tangs would be gone and the case would have been been galled where the bearing seats.

I read you want to do this on the cheap. Your going to have to clean the bare case halves, torque them to spec and have a qualified person check the crank and cam bores. Unless supply has changed, there are not oversized OD main bearings. So the case may be done.

The other case even though it through a rod, might be usable if your case is not savable. Generally when a rod disconnects it comes out the case.

You’ll likely end up grinding the crankshaft. Make sure you can get your hands on oversized ID bearings before you grind. The machine shop might be able to access the bearings for you.

The thing about a WBX engine is the costs adds up quick and you really don’t want to skip corners if you want. Good luck with the build.
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[BrownEye02]

Alright, got my first set of questions. I went through some things with my step-dad today and came across a couple items that have us puzzled. Our big thing is were trying to pin point the lack of oil pressure as he feels the bearing spun due to lack of oil. Some of my other bearings were showing wear as well once I tore everything apart.

We noticed in the oil pressure relief "cavity" that it looks like there might be a chip broken off. We believe this isn't the sealing surface the pressure piston rests against but wanted to to check with someone on the forms to verify/see if any red flags go off.

In the photo I've highlighted the chips that are missing in green. The chip is out of the inner red arrow surface. We believe the oil pressure relief piston seals/rests against the outer red arrow surface which shouldn't cause problems.

An un-painted version to show that outer surface is in tact all the way around.

Here is a photos of the parts engine which shows the same separate surfaces but no chips.

The second question is in regards to CAM's. The CAM in the main engine is with in spec of of a stock CAM and is in great shape. We noticed the parts engine cam had a larger lift. From some research I've done we believe it to be a CP 2206 as it has a .329 exhaust lift, but just wanted to confirm. Sadly I won't be able to use that CAM as it was trashed. Here are shots of the part numbers.

Main engine CAM.

Parts engine CAM.

The final question is to see if anyone else has done the oil pickup tube/oil pressure return mod and had any more details on it/tips and tricks? We just like the idea of having the oil dump back into the pan instead of re-circulate as well as remove the possibility of that passage between the cases not sealing right and sucking air.
As of now our main conclusion as to why things failed is that something or things allowed air to enter the oil system.

[danfromsyr]

that motor is done, it's junk (IMHO) and will potentially cost you more to learn on than you care to count. its good to take apart and study as you are doing
find a decent take out motor from a swap, there's a few swap shops in CO to ask around to.

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[?Waldo?]

Hatch struts are cheap. That would be step 1.

[Abscate]

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.ssS!

[djkeev]

This example is out of aluminum but many make them out of a sliced PVC pipe.

Just slip it over the extended strut rod.

[danfromsyr]

guess money isn't the only thing you are going to burn.
the kerosene heater and gas&paint cans are a bit of a concern too.

but seriously you can be far more ahead with a hand me down long block than trying to get all of the particulate matter out of the oil passages and that's even if the block/crank aren't twerked too.

that autopsy is a great learning in how things should work in the other engine you are rebuilding.

as for jackstands even a cinderblock is better than none..
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[BrownEye02]

[?Waldo?]

When you accidentally bump the pvc tube out of place and the hatch falls on your head again, you might see why ponying up $30 for a pair of hatch struts was the inexpensive choice. I'm surprised the first time wasn't convincing enough. I typically keep a spare set ready for install.

[Ahwahnee]

[BrownEye02]

[BrownEye02]

Doing a bit of proactive research I wanted to confirm if this would be a recommend engine case torque sequence? Pulled the image and details from cone's post here but added a number sequence to the picture and instructions.

Yellow (1) - M8 stud, fasten first to 20 Nm

Green (2-8) - M10 studs, fasten to 50 Nm (3 stages: 10-40-50 Nm); Ex - has external nut ; In - Internal nut in the right water jacket

Red & Purple (9-22) - M8 studs (Red), M8 bolts (purple) fasten to 20 Nm (3 stages: 8-16-20 Nm)

[BrownEye02]

This is not dead but I'm at a dead end right now. I was hoping to post my next update after I had gotten everything back from the machine shop but instead I'm posting to ask for your help!

As of right now I am in need of a 2.1L main bearing kit .25mm oversized. PN:025198463A The machine shop was not able to source any bearings themselves and all online shops are sold out, even if they don't list as being so.
If anyone has leads on some bearings I would be GREATLY appreciative of your help!!!

As for an update from the last time I posted. After dropping off the crank it was found I would need to have the crank machined. I measured the "Main Engine's" main bearing channels, if I'm saying that right and had the machine shop confirm my findings and as you guys guessed. It was way out of spec. I brought in the "Practice Engine" and had them clean and measure it. It was close to out of spec but at least was still in spec. One of the machine shop guys happened to have a 2.1L engine and offered to swap me cases if his ended up being in better shape but it was basically the same. Cool of him to offer that though. With the case being on the edge the machine shop wants to get all the parts and bearings on hand so they can confirm everything will fit with a machined crank before actually machining it. That's where I'm at now.

[ahrma439]

I am in the process of researching options for a replacement engine in an 85 Doka. I contacted Rocky Jennings to see about buying a long block and he said he has stopped building WBX engines in part because he can no longer find main bearings. I may also try to rebuild a donor engine for my project. Let me know if you find a source for 2.1L main bearings.

[Ahwahnee]

[BrownEye02]

[BrownEye02]

Well, everything is back from the machine shop and almost all the parts have arrived. Lets just not talk about how I'll be running bearings worth their weight in gold.......
I plan on slapping a coat of paint on the block tomorrow to shine up the turd a bit. I'll add some pics when I'm done.
I'm hoping to actually start the rebuild process here in the next couple of weeks. I'd start sooner but I'm hoping to "bribe" my stepdad into coming down and monitor/assist while I throw parts back together. Doesn't hurt to have someone with a quite a few engine rebuilds under their belt to be there as a mentor.

[BrownEye02]

Machine shop tank and another simple green bath, she cleaned up pretty good. I swear this has to of been the last case the mold that made this case saw. There is a bunch of build up everywhere.

Machine shop did a great job drilling and tapping a new drain plug. They machined the case to accept a LS drain plug. Very happy with this!!!!

Tapped up and ready for paint.

She's a 5 footer but the paint REALLY helped. If I had access to a sand blaster I really could of cleaned the case up better. But, for this being "a quick simple" rebuild I'm very happy with it.

[BrownEye02]

Well, after a slight delay. The engine is finally rebuilt and in. The van is driving and running great. I'm still braking in the engine but can finally enjoy the van after long last. I did not take as may photos during assembly as I did during tear down.

Lapping the oil pump cover to remove the scoring from the previous pump. Had to take an electric sander to it to get the groves out then lapped for a couple hours on a gannet slab to make it nice and flat.

Engine assembly attempt number 1. Crank and cam installed and case halfs sealed and torqued.

We called it at this point as we discovered I didn't have the right crank end play with the shims I had between the two motors. We also discovered my rings were worn and out of spec.

After picking up some brand new second hand rings from Greg here in the springs. Thanks Greg!!! As well as picking up two new shims from van cafe we were back in business. Slight change in background as we switched to my step-dad's shop for thanksgiving weekend.

As I feared I had the shorter wrist pin to top pistons. From what we could find from the markings and online these look to be the "Canadian" brand pistons. Either way this was meant to be a budget build and was not worth correcting this point.

With the engine back home I was finally able to dress the whole engine for assembly.

D Day! I was solo on this mission so the best I could do was roll the van forward to a clean spot in the street, which happened to be right in front of my driveway.

Engine to trans was quite smooth and everything bolted in with no issues. Cleaning most things and getting them installed and connected on top of the engine took me a bit longer then I thought and could only get so far before it got dark.

I back filled the oil system as much as I could, filled the oil filter and we were finally ready for oil and coolant. Sadly when I filled the coolant I had a lovely leak from the gasket for the crossover pipe coming from the water pump. I got some motivator sealant on it but had to put first startup on hold as it was Sunday night and the temp dropped big time.
I ended up taking half the day off Wednesday to hopefully wrap things up and because I couldn't wait any longer. The day started great as I was able to fill the coolant system with no leaks. With the oil in as well it was finally time to crank and build oil pressure.

Link


With oil pressure built and the coil re-connected it was time to fire this bad boy up.

Link


With the cam broken in, the coolant system bleed it was finally time to take her for the first test drive in basically a year. Note: Lifters are a bit noisy as I am running them .006 out to allow them to fully pump up since they are brand new.

Link


I didn't catch it on video but after a couple laps in the neighborhood it was time to take her around the block. Right when I pulled away from my neighborhood my front radiator coolant hose blew off spewing coolant everywhere. I had never messed with that hose or clamp the entire time I've owned the van. The only conclusion I could come too for why it blew off is the hose clamp wasn't on right the entire time I've owned the van and some how had never blown off till now. Especially with how big a pain it was to get the clamp in the right spot. Anyways, I was able to limp the van back home without running the engine much to save from overheating.
With the cooling hose back on and the cooling system re-bleed it was time again for a test drive. This time I decided to drive it all the way to work. All was good till about half way. I took off from a light and looked down to see my coolant temp gauge pegged to the top. I immediately pulled over turning off the engine before I even came to a stop. Ran to the back to fine everything fine. The engine didn't smell or even sound like it was overheating. To be safe since its a fresh rebuild I hung out on the side of the road for about 20 min to see if the temp would go down. It never budged. It was at this point I knew for sure it wasn't an overheating issue and had to be something else. My gauge was working earlier so I knew it had to be something I did. Sure enough I discovered my idiotic mistake of routing the temp sender cable around the left side of the thermostat housing, which allowed the wires to rest right on top of the exhaust melting the wires and shorting them out. Thankfully I had caught the issue in time and they were barley melted. I was able to route the wiring correctly and we were back in business. The coolant temp was cool at this point so I was good to carry on and make it to work with no other issues.

Today I adjusted the lifters as well as played with the rear hatch a bit as the auto lock system decided to lock me out where the push button lock no longer engages the latch. I've got a large order of miscellaneous things coming from Van Cafe and GoWesty which includes rear hatch struts. Finally! I'll continue work and tinker with the van till its 100%. For now, unless there are any surprises with the brake in process this will most likely be the last time I post in this thread. Thanks to everyone for the help you provided in this thread as well as the stupid questions thread!!! Thanks Samba for existing as I got a CRAP tone of answers to questions I had during the rebuild process!!!