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Date:         Thu, 4 Oct 2012 13:14:16 -0500
Reply-To:     Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Trouble getting WBX piston out
In-Reply-To:  <BAY152-ds39D78D1079A8E53DEBE98A0840@phx.gbl>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

It's out! Last night, I discovered that I could get a bolt in between the cylinder and bare piston and then screw my puller in to get a good tug at it. It still didn't want to move. So, on my lunch, I gave the piston crown about five minutes of heat. It slipped right out!

I have forseen the problem dennis is talking about, inadvertently using the main bearing as a fulcrum for all this banging, and had already cut oak wedges and splits to no only support the piston off the bottom of the water case to align the wristpin with the access hole, but also to jam between the piston and the wall to absorb the impact of the puller on the bearings.

Jim

On Wed, Oct 3, 2012 at 8:52 PM, Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com>wrote:

> While methods like this have worked it is still a poor practice. When > pressing anything the forces should be applied directly to the part to be > moved and what it is being restrained by. In this case the forces need to > be > applied to the piston and the pin. This is a proper method. Using the > connection rod as the restraint means putting a side and twisting load on > the rod as a lever and transferring those forces to the bearing. > > > > Dennis > > > > From: Stacy Schneider [mailto:vwcrewman@gmail.com] > Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2012 9:35 PM > To: Dennis Haynes > Cc: vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com > Subject: Re: Trouble getting WBX piston out > > > > When I did my 1.9 WBX 10 years ago ,I found that a Air > cooled engine case insert for the #3 cylinder worked great . This is the > insert that is in the case because you can not get to it with a dog house > cooler set up . > > The insert fit perfectly in the center of the wrist pin and > inside the wrist pin hole of the piston . I then used a Long air cooled > case > stud and a slide hammer or such to pull the pin . > > Worked great for me as it was what I could round up in the > garage when doing the chore. > > > > > Stacy > > On Wed, Oct 3, 2012 at 5:47 PM, Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com> > wrote: > > You need to get a little creative and maybe even have someone machine a > sleeve for you. A 3/8" threaded rod and nut (9/16" hex) make a perfect > puller set up. The nut will actually fit the pin and will even clear the > snap ring. The trick is that the sleeve has to fit inside the water pump > opening and the water pipe connection on the block and it should be notched > to rest on the piston, supported by the recess for the pin. It should not > rest on the side of the piston especially the ring groove. Resist the > temptation to simply pull on the pin putting pressure against the case. > This > will put a side load on the connection rod which can damage the rod > bearing. > After this happens when the engine fails in the future we can blame it on > the stretch bolts not the bad action dome earlier. The snap rings should be > replaced. When putting the pistons back into the cylinders they should be > inserted from the top. A ridge breaker should be used to cut the carbon > ridge. Hone the cylinders lightly. They already have some wear and removing > even a few thousandths will leave you an engine with piston slap. Note the > pistons and the pins are directional. Keep track. Clean everything. The > piston pins are only tough to remove due to carbon deposits. Solvent and > keep working them in the pistons until they can slid through with just some > hand pressure. I have learned to remove all the cylinders to clean tem > really well, especially the top O-ring grove. I also use a bit of lapping > compound and lap the cylinders into the heads to get the top of the > cylinders really clean. This is the most important gasket sealing area. The > top o-ring is just there to keep coolant out of that space. The top gasket > is what holds back the compressive forces. > > For the head nuts they should be replaced or at least cleaned with a thread > chaser. The threads need to be lubricated and the sealant only goes on the > flange. Do NOT fill the cap nuts with anything as that will hydraulically > prevent them from going all the way down. Apply the never-seize or > lubricant > of choice to the stud threads only. If you have stud that doesn't tighten > up > you should replace it. > > Dennis > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of > Jim Felder > Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2012 1:06 PM > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM > Subject: Trouble getting WBX piston out > > I managed to get the heads off of all the waterboxer's cylinders but one... > and that one I had to stand on in the driveway and whang it with a hammer > like it was a brake drum. Anyway it's out and now it needs to go back in. I > have the wrist pin pulled out of the piston about 1/4 inch past the piston > edge, so I've made a little progress, but now it seems that it does not > want > to move any more, at least with what I am moving it with. I have a bolt on > my puller, about 3 pounds, and I put the head through and catch it on the > far side of the wrist pin, working from the front of the engine. > > Does anyone know of a better way? A better choice of puller tools (I don't > have any fancy expanding collets)? Would about an hour of propane on the > piston crown loosen things up around the wrist pin? > > Got the heads back, want to get on with this project. > > Jim > > > > > > > > -- > 1989 Swedish Tristar with Aluminum gates and Atiwe 16" Wheels. > Oldest son is an Eagle scout. >


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