Date:         Tue, 11 Mar 2008 20:13:49 -0500
Reply-To:     craig cowan <phishman068@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         craig cowan <phishman068@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Engine Removal
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Hey Gang. As some of you may know, i've had nothing but engine troubles for
about....a year and a half now. I just gave up. Something needed to be
done...
So i made arrangements with local Vanagon Guy Walt Spak to buy a good
running 1.9 from him. I still have dreams of a conversion someday, and still
hope to do one eventually, maybe on my next van. But i need to get this van
running for the summer, and i am home from college on spring break after my
spring break plans fell through, so i thought "What better time than now?".
Yesterday i got down and dirty with it, and successfully removed the engine
for the first time! I was supprised as to how smoothly everything went, and
it was so nice having the engine out! I had every intention on replacing my
engine and all the components, as i have vaccuum leaks, everythings rusty
beyond use, and my fuel injection system just SUCKS. In addition, after last
summers exhaust issues ($500 in labor to have them screw up and 'fix' their
screwup after breaking a drillbit off inside my head...all in order to
replace a single $2.50 exhaust gasket...), i had no intention on EVER
reusing that head.
With signs of headgasket leakage immenant, and a clutch that was too weak to
make it out of the driveway... it was time to do something.

A single college student with little mechanical background can remove a
vanagon engine with only an assistant for the latter portions of the engine
removal. To go a few steps further, today i pulled the entire intake,
exhaust, fuel injection, and cooling systems, reducing my engine to a block.
For curiosity's sake....i pulled the heads (some trouble with the cylinders
trying to come out with the heads....). With the heads off it was obvious
that this really IS a low milege engine (Supposedly a canadian rebuild) as i
was told by the previous owner! Not a single crack between the valves, minor
pitting, and everything looks as if its been working well! Long story short,
it looks like i'll be reusing this engine and just replacing everything
around it! Aside from a few broken bolts, and some concerns about fixing my
one exhaust port "propperly", i think this should be a good candidate to
make my van run and run well!

Tommorow, I'll be dropping the gas tank (to revise my resealing of last
year), and replacing the rusted out coolant pipes using a good used set.
This should be quite a wrestling match, i have NO idea how well these will
go in, as they were plently hard to get out of the parts car...
Any tips for this?

Once the engine's back in with a bunch of good new and good used parts, i
can start on the body : )

Thanks for all the help and advice from so many of you! I've learned so
much, and i'm confident now more than ever in my abilities to work on
vanagons!

-Craig
'85GL