Engine parts

[Hayden74SB]

What suppliers are recommended to get the best mix of lower cost without too much sacrifise to quality?

We are doing a top-end overhaul of our new to us 73 Super Beetle. This is primarily to fix some significant oil leaks including at the base of jugs #1 and #3. We also are doing it to give my Son-in-law some hands-on wrenching to learn more about how these things work.

Other than the oil leaks, the engine ran well. We checked the warm engine compression and got the following results.
#1 – 140psi
#2 – 135psi
#3 – 144psi
#4 – 145psi
Are these pressures normal or is this higher than a stock engine should have. FYI, I forgot to hold the throttle open when testing.

After pulling the cylinders, I checked the conn rods for play and could not feel any. The oil was pretty black but there was no sign of any metal or grit.

We would prefer to not split the case if not necessary. Is this a fools errand?

[Glenn]

All you need is a gasket set... with that compression. Just keep pistons with the cylinders.
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Glenn
74 Beetle Specs | 74 Beetle Restoration | 2180cc Engine
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[baldessariclan]

[Bobs67vwagen]

If you are just resealing everything, cip1 has a complete Eleing German gasket set with flywheel seal(you want the orange one so ask if that is the one included) for around 30 dollars.

[pondoras box]

Just use some sealant, not RTV silicone, but aviation style gasket sealer at the base of the cylinders. Stretch the original push rod tubes to get the squish to seal them. Use a bit of the aviation sealant on the beveled edge of them. Reassemble and adjust valves etc.. maybe rebuild carb. Reinstall everything with new seals check crankshaft end play. Don’t replace good parts with cheap aftermarket stuff.
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[Hayden74SB]

Thanks all for the comments. Now that I have it disassembled, I find that this engine has 88mm jugs. I am a bit surprised by the compression in the 135 to 145 range. I thought that it should be around 130psi.

Should I be concerned about the pressure? I am guessing that if we leave it this way, we should probably use 92-octane fuel.

One other question. Given all of the leaks we have, it would be very nice to clean everything as well as possible before putting the engine back in. Given that we will not be splitting the case, what is the best way to clean it up? I have access to a solvent washer but do not know when the solvent was last changed so it could put more junk into the cast that it would flush out.

[vamram]

[Hayden74SB]

[Bobs67vwagen]

You could try just doing a small area at a time using brake cleaner or wd-40 and blocking off all openings with rags so not to introduce any water into the engine. Water is not your friend here.

[Rob Combs]

I agree on the whole don’t use water thing.

Brake cleaner is probably your best bet here.

So you’re pulling the rods without splitting the case? They can be a real bitch to put back in through a std bore case because you have to make sure the rod bearings stay in place. It can be done, but good luck. I’m not sure it’s much less work than to split it, but there we go down the scope creep rabbit hole.

While you have the rods out take a good look at your cam & lifters. If they’re wearing, this is the time to address it.

WRT compression ratio, octane needs, and pumping pressure, they are interrelated. Easy to calculate your compression ratio while it’s apart. If you know what cam you have and your static compression ratio, we can tell you a lot about what fuels you may need.

Check the heads for cracks between the plug holes and valve seats while you have it apart.

I say this just to make the teardown worth the effort. It sucks to put one back together only to find you missed something critical while it was apart. Ask me how I know…

[Cusser]