Stuck in reverse gear

[ot1138]

For those of you not following along, I'm rescuing a Gene Berg custom '65 Beetle. When I got it, there were no brakes, nothing was running, and the engine seemed to be in bad shape with a lot of long ignored parts.

Brakes work now and after many replacement parts, the engine runs. It's a high idle, still... I can't seem to get it stay running below 1200 RPM or so. That may be relevant.

Just got the wheels back on, filled up the gearbox and started it up. All good except I couldn't get it in reverse. Pushed the clutch in and it was just grinding. Tried a few times, then it finally went in. Engine immediately died. Now it's stuck in reverse.

I'm guessing that my clutch may be non-functional. I'm not sure where to start on this one.

[ot1138]

Clutch pedal is firm and now I'm able to shift gears with the engine off.

I put it in reverse with the clutch pedal all the way down and the car jerked backwards.

Clutch doesn't work.

[ot1138]

Clutch cable is good. So I guess the engine is coming out for inspection. This is my first time so wish me luck.

After disconnecting all electrical and fuel hoses, then removing the Webers, I rolled the car up on my lift and got underneath. I found the bottom two mounting bolts but I can't fit a socket in there. Any tips?

[mukluk]

[esde]

The clutch disc could be stuck to the flywheel, I've had it happen to a few things that were stored for a few years. Sometimes I could get them shaken aport without disassembling everything, but sometimes it's just glued together with rust or oxidation. The symptom is the clutch 'feels' fine, but the it acts like the pedal isn't doing anything. Sounds familiar right?
Engine nuts need a universal and extension, or a box end wrench. A ratcheting box wrench is ideal, if you have those. The top bolts sometimes take two people.
_________________
modok wrote:
Bent cranks are silent but gather no moss. I mean, ah, something like that.

[Cusser]

[ot1138]

Thanks, guys. HF was having a sale so decided to go there and pick up a ratcheting wrench (11/16"). I used an offset wrench and a rubber mallet to knock them loose, then the ratcheting wrench to get them out. Unfortunately, the nuts were stuck to the studs, so it was quite an operation getting the bottom two nuts (and studs) removed. I prevailed in the end however.

This engine has a 6 qt oil cooler so I had to perform some difficult maneuvers to get those hoses off.

So now we're down to the top two engine mounting bolts. I see one right by the clutch lever but it appears to be only accessible from the bottom. That seems like an inherently dumb thing, especially with the bottom two studs completely removed.

I don't see the other. I assume it has to be removed from the top. But if so, I have no idea how I'm going to do that because there is almost no clearance behind the dog house.

Sorry to be asking such noob questions but I am not very familiar with these engines and the manuals seem to be leaving out a lot.

[ot1138]

Some photos:

Passenger side engine mounting bolt. This looks accessible:

Driver's side - this is definitely not accessible from the top. I really don't like the idea of having to undo this one from the bottom with the two bottom studs removed. I'd replace them but I can't screw them in very far by hand, so I'm worried about having enough clearance to slide the engine forward.

Additionally, there is a wire running to the oil cooler on the bottom of the engine. Anyone know what it's for? My oil pressure sensor (though non-functioning atm) appears to be wired up in the engine compartment just underneath the distributor.

[mukluk]

The two upper bolts are close to straight in line from the lowers, but near the top of the bellhousing. One is also the upper starter mount bolt (see the one with the arrow in the picture below), while the other is near the clutch operating arm (see the one with the wrench on it in the picture below). If you have a '71 or newer case, the one close to the clutch arm will have a nutsert pressed into the case and will not need you to undo a nut on the engine side of the firewall tin -- this bolt must be accessed and removed from under the car. A ratchet with a couple long extensions and maybe a universal works well for this. The upper starter mount bolt will typically have a D shaped head which will hold in in place while you undo the nut from the engine side. Make sure you support the engine with a jack before you completely remove the last bolt.

_________________
1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"

[mukluk]

[ot1138]

Thanks, that makes sense.

I finally managed to get the top driver's side bolt out with a long 11/16" wrench and a lot of force.

I thought the top passenger's side bolt was going to be the easiest. It was on there pretty good but after I got it loose, it just spins. I've probably turned it 20 times and there's no sign of progress. The engine wiggles now but this last nut is holding it pretty good.

[67rustavenger]

Normally, there is a "D" bolt through the upper starter flange, that also holds the engine against the bell housing. It may have been replaced with a hex head bolt, allowing it to spin freely while you turn the nut.

If you have a helper. Ask them to hold the bolt while you remove the nut from the engine compartment side.

Make sure that you remove the rear breast plate before attempting to remove the engine.
If you don't, you won't have enough rearward movement to clear the trans input shaft.
_________________
I have learned over the years.
Cheap parts are gonna disappoint you.
Buy Once, Cry Once!

There's never enough time to do it right the first time. But there's always enough time to do it thrice.
GFY's Xevin and VW_Jimbo!

[ot1138]

That would explain it.

I lifted it to get back underneath and I don't see how the other side of that nut can be accessed, as it appears to be on the upper and inner flange of the starter... I think I can feel a hex nut in the approximate location but getting a wrench in there is another matter entirely.

Who invented this torture device?!

[ot1138]

I stand corrected. I got a better feel back there and it feels like a "D" shaped cap. It's a little loose but I can't rotate it enough to get it back in position.

[Cusser]

[ot1138]

Yes you did, but unfortunately... I don't have a 17mm wrench of any kind. These were pretty close and did the job.

[esde]

[BMFBMF]

[ot1138]

It only took 3 days for a 1 hour job!

We could not get that last nut off the D-bolt on the upper passenger side, so I resorted to a nut splitter. What a job! But it finally cracked and the engine was loose.

The good news is that doing this on the lift made the job 10x easier. The bad news is that I realized a bit too late that a jack wasn't a stable surface for the engine. I had to make do in a hurry and this is where things got ghetto...

So now I need to find some kind of small engine cart to transfer it to.

Transmission case is clean and the bearing arm seems to be in great shape. It moves nicely with the pedal.

From the outside, the pressure plate looks fine, though the diaphragm arms appear rusty.

Flywheel starter teeth are a little chewed up.

[67rustavenger]

Ok, great work.
Will the trans shift into neutral?
If so, remove the pressure plate.
Look for pressure plate alignment marks. Mine has three little dots in the plate and the flywheel.
Look at the pressure plate and see if it's corroded against the clutch disc or the clutch disc to the flywheel.
Also look at the pilot bearing inside the gland nut, see if it's frozen/corroded.

While the engine is out of the car. Clean up the fire extinguisher powder from the engine compartment and the engine too. Pull the fan shroud and cylinder tins, clean up yellow powder. It's corrosive.

Even though I'm old. I dig the skulls on the firewall!
_________________
I have learned over the years.
Cheap parts are gonna disappoint you.
Buy Once, Cry Once!

There's never enough time to do it right the first time. But there's always enough time to do it thrice.
GFY's Xevin and VW_Jimbo!