Date:         Tue, 4 Jun 2002 13:59:27 -0400
Reply-To:     Tim Spotted Wolf <spottedwolf@CYBERTOURS.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Tim Spotted Wolf <spottedwolf@CYBERTOURS.COM>
Subject:      arrrg, ring broke!
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="x-user-defined"

That does it! everything was going well on my 84 1.9 water boxer head replacement despite the god awful design that forces you to abuse your self confidence and since of sanity for many days while dreaming of driving her again...

I was on the rear piston on the drivers side. I finally made a tool that allows me hands free alignment of the connector arm while centering it for the reception of the wrist pin when I notice my cylinder sleeve had worked back off the oil ring. Then I saw the next problem was that it actually broke the ring!  *&^@)&*%#@^ that was the last straw! Now I have to remove the wrist pin again (a job that tested my patience already to much) and replace the rings ! G*& D$%&  IT  !!!!!!!!!

Have a beer, chill out and go back to it when my new rings arrive.  I am going fishing!

I just ordered rings which leaves me eating peanut butter for a few days.  It is also a good thing I made some tools and  bought snap ring pliers ( $13 bucks at Napa) I made the wrist pin alignment tool after careful study of the Bentley book.  They show a small plastic thing with a protrusion at each end.  I took a half inch copper pipe (remnants of my washer installation) and then drilled a small hole through one end and inserted a very heavy gauge copper wire through these holes and soldered the wire in place.  I left about 4 or 5 inches sticking out of one side of the pipe.  This very stiff wire is then shaped to lift the connector arm into the proper alignment for receiving the pin. I used copper so it does not scratch anything in there.. hehe...

Too use this tool,  You place the pipe in between the two middle lower head studs with the wire leading over to the connector arm back by the block and out of the way of the cylinder sleeves. Then you clamp a large pair of vise grips onto the protruding end of the pipe to act as a counter balance.  The weight of the large vice grips are about right for the weight of the connector arm.  There ya go.!  Bye the way.  I asked about buying these tools from our friends at our well known parts place.. hehe, 25 bucks for the week but the $300 returnable security fee was out of my budget...so with help from this awesome list and some of my own ingenuity I made mine.

I hear the salmon are biting.. My dock is waiting for me to just site an have some beers while waiting for UPS to arrive.  The I will head back to the grind and finish (hopefully) this head job and Hopefully my water boxer will run cool again.  I will let you know how the fish are biting and how the job goes as soon as I know..

Oh yeah.. next time I will remove the engine to do this job.  next time LO.L  oh god not that....!!!! did someone say "Subaru" ?

peace,

Tim

1958 bug
1971 westy bus
1974 Porsche 914/2.0
1984 vanagon