Vanagon EuroVan
Previous messageNext messagePrevious in topicNext in topicPrevious by same authorNext by same authorPrevious page (June 2006, week 2)Back to main VANAGON pageJoin or leave VANAGON (or change settings)ReplyPost a new messageSearchProportional fontNon-proportional font
Date:         Mon, 12 Jun 2006 23:00:01 -0400
Reply-To:     Lon Bordin <lonbordin@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Lon Bordin <lonbordin@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Main crank pulley problem 85 Vanagon
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

*Prologue: I’ve owned VW’s since I’ve owned cars, they’re like a virus you can never get rid-off, just live with… We sold my 78 Westy (sniff, sniff) for a safer vehicle and we weren’t using it much as we had a baby but we loved that Bus and the trips we took… So here we are two wonderfully reliable vehicles a 95 Ford F-150 and a 98 Ford Windstar. But I forgot my meds because I start looking for a Pop-Top and after a couple of months searching I Google an 85 Wolfsburg Westfalia Weekender for $750 off Craigslist in Pennsylvania. The spouse says OK and I tow the Wolfalia back (4 down) with the F-150 marveling how well the Ford does it.

*Intro: So the Wolfalia has the typical dents, well worn upholstery and a not so coherent story about the main (crank) pulley. Apparently the pulley has been coming loose and a fix proposed by GoWesty (previous owner swears but I don’t believe it!) is to weld a large washer on the face of the pulley. This does not work and the owner decides to sell the Wolfalia as he is moving to Oregon for work. I get home pull the pulley and notice the lack of a Woodruff key and a slight chip on the crank keyway. I go to my local incredible hardware store (Kliendorfers) and they have keys both metric and English. I buy a bunch and find one that seems to fit well. I remove the ugly weld job (talk about out of balance) and the washer, install the pulley and put on new belts all-around. Everything works well and I take it to my local VW specialist who proceeds to give it the once over. He gives it a clean bill of health with some minor ball joint work needed upfront. Hooray, buy of the month award! I proceed to begin the slow restoration while driving process while putting my F-150 on the market. We are often 4 people traveling together and the Single cab does not accommodate that and we can’t afford three cars. It sold today (sniff).

*Heart of Darkness: Well, I’m coming home from depositing the cashiers check for the truck and the steering stiffens, the Alternator and OXY lights come on… I pull to the side and see three belts off their pulleys?! I feel to see if the main pulley has any play… it does not?! I decide as we are less than a mile from home to go as is. I pull the belts out and take a hard look. The main pulley is slightly (very slightly) out of alignment with the water pump pulley but everything else looks ok… I decide to remove the main pulley and check it out. The Woodruff key looks like it was in a fight (it lost) and the chip “seems” to have grown slightly. There is damage on the back of the pulley.(See pictures of the items at my blog: http://lonbordin.blogspot.com/) (Disclaimer- my Bentley and other manuals are in the mail but I’m working off one of those Mitchell On Demand CD’s and my shade tree history, not bad but not great!)

*My questions: What parts are there from the end of the crankshaft to the bolt and am I missing something? It looked like everything was ok and worked for ~2 weeks before, kablooey! Any suggestions where to get a replacement pulley or high performance pulley (stop snickering at my 1.9!)?

I found a possible fix (quoted below) any other ideas? “Lenny, the crankshaft flywheel pulley bolt on my golf diesel recently sheared off completely throwing the injection and alternator belts off as well and probably the timing belt as well. My local specialist tells me I will need a new crankshaft as it is impossible to get the rest of the bolt out of the crankshaft. Is this correct? Are there ways of getting this bolt out economically or do I need to replace the whole shaft? Lenny, the crankshaft flywheel pulley bolt on my golf diesel recently sheared off completely throwing the injection and alternator belts off as well and probably the timing belt as well. My local specialist tells me I will need a new crankshaft as it is impossible to get the rest of the bolt out of the crankshaft. Is this correct? Are there ways of getting this bolt out economically or do I need to replace the whole shaft?Graeme Biddle. Graeme; I can answer your question but I just wish I could get people making inquires to tell me simple stuff like the year of the car , tranny type, size of engine etc. Anyways , here goes. We see this problem every so often and each time the car was of a certain age and type that the owner couldn't justify a complete overhaul which require pulling the transmission in order to replace the crankshaft. This is what we did. We rigged it, with the owners full understanding of what we were doing and each time it worked. First off the crankshaft pulley will deliberately not bottom out when it is installed so we have always been able to get it out. It is made of a different hardness of of steel so it does not readily want to gall or combine with the softer steel of the crankshaft. It takes a little time and patience, less than an hour, but we have always in the past been able to back the remnants of the crank pulley bolt out by taking a punch or a chisel and carefully tapping on the bolt remnant in a couterclockwise direction until the shaft eventually spins out. At this point I would be very surprised if the crank gear were not damaged so you probably will need to replace it. Also the keyway on the crank is probably damaged. With a new crank gear you usually can realigne the gear very close to the original position it should be in. Use lock-tite on the bolt. If the key way on the crank is damaged and it usually is you will want to add some JB weld and let it setup overnight. Also another trick to keep the gear from slipping would be to drill with a small drill bit into the seam or mating surface of the inner portion of the gear and the outer diameter surface of the crankshaft as tho you were drilling a new keyway and then breaking the drill bit off inside the crank and gear. I have done this on diesels and gas engines and have never seen one come back yet. WARNING This is not the "proper " way to make the repair but it can work. By the way do you think the valves in the cyl head got damaged when the bolt came loose? Lenny” (http://www.lennysvw.com/vwforWAT.htm)

I already miss my truck (sniff, sniff). Thanks for any and all assistance. -Dave Wilcox 1985 Wolfsburg Westfalia Weekender (I’m thinking of calling it Cranky) Bloomington, Indiana, USA


Back to: Top of message | Previous page | Main VANAGON page

Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!


Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com


The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.

Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.