Date:         Fri, 11 Jan 2002 22:52:36 -0500
Reply-To:     Angus Gordon <agordon@BRIGHT.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Angus Gordon <agordon@BRIGHT.NET>
Subject:      Re: Using Gunk or other engine cleaning solvents!
In-Reply-To:  <F141qWeXJiDRTm510M10001ee7b@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

I would certainly agree with Dennis regarding being cautious of running
solvents through the engine. That said, and since it's Friday, here's my
solvent story...

Years ago, I decided to park a fully bio-degraded Bug. I had been thinking
about the structural integrity (or lack thereof) for a while, so when the
gas heater burned itself up one cold Ontario winter I figured this was a
good time to end our relationship. Trouble was it had a great engine,
strong, tight, good compression. So I pulled the engine and gave it to a
friend, Dave, to keep as a spare for his Beetle. Well Dave didn't bother to
preserve it, as I'd suggested. Instead he just stuck it under his front
porch, and waited for his current engine to cave in - which wound up taking
five years before it finally threw a connecting rod.

Dave hauled my engine out from under the porch, and we took it and the car
over to my shop to see what we could do. The engine was a block of rust. It
was seized solid from the years of neglect. We couldn't turn it over, even
with a crow bar on the flywheel. So out came the plugs, and in went every
kind of solvent we could lay our hands on. We filled the cylinders and
crankcase with a mixture of WD-40, Liquid Wrench, ATF, MM oil, varsol,
diesel fuel, and anything else that was laying around. Then we let it soak
overnight. The next day, with a bigger crow bar, we could just barely move
the flywheel about an inch. So we levered it back and forth, a fraction
more each time, until we could finally turn the engine over, though it took
a lot of force.

Next we bolted the engine into the car, hooked up a chain, and leaving the
plugs out, towed it around in gear for a while. When it felt loose enough,
we drained it, put in oil and plugs and turned the key. Fired right up,
like it had been shut down yesterday! The only problems we had cropped up
about a week later when a couple of valve springs broke, right where they
had corrosion on them. We swapped springs from the trashed engine, and he
drove that engine for another five years before selling the car!

Gotta love those old VW's


Angus


Angus Gordon
NW Ohio
'86 Syncro  '89 Carat