Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2014 21:46:41 -0800
Reply-To: "SDF ( Scott Daniel Foss )" <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "SDF ( Scott Daniel Foss )" <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Organization: Cosmic Reminders
Subject: Re: Cylinder Head Cleaning/Checking Question
In-Reply-To: <1955360399.930748.1391478283496.JavaMail.root@sz0063a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
well....
how many VW oppossed engines have you swapped out ?
the engine layout is specifically designed to come out easily in one big
chunk.
The record engine-removal time is probably 11 minutes or something silly
like that.
There are Many ways to assess the condition of the engine with it not
installed in a vanagon.
a compression test
is easy with an engine out of the car if you have a bell housing, a
spare starter, jumper cables etc.
super easy.
The engine won't be warmed up so it's less valid a test than checking
compression on a warmed up engine.
A leak down test is very easily done with engine out of car..
all you need is the bare tool and how and where to lock the engine from
turning during the test.
there's a very handy test to check if the rear main bearing is tight in
the case or not too.
I get the impression that ...as fun and 'connected feeling' ii is to
email and all that..
that people think talking or emailing in groups will somehow substitute
for good ole..
git yer hands dirty and WORK on the mutha.
One of my sayings ..
there just is no substitue for taking the thing apart ..or doing tests
on it, or working , dirty-hands-on the thing.
I highly recommend barrier cream on the hands and fingers.
the best one is Zep's Glove.
greasey dirt doesn't get into the pores of your skin that way .
and working with those latex gloves on ...sucks. No feel..your hands
get all sweaty..
I have some..but never use them
and unless I am working on vanagons say 50 hours a week ...my hands and
fingers always look quite clean.
I also wash my hands about 30 times a day when working on cars ..
and re-apply Glove every few hours. It works great.
scott
On 2/3/2014 5:44 PM, J Stewart wrote:
> Well, there is a lot more involved in swapping engines than just a head, and I'm hoping to do this in one day, maybe a weekend. Plus, I was taking it on faith that this engine was in really good condition, after all it is kind of hard to assess the condition of an engine when it's already out of the vehicle, like a compression test for example. Plus, my current 1.9 still runs so damn nice I don't want to give up on it just yet. Jeff Jeff Stewart ----- Original Message -----
>> Just curious, why didn't you just swap engines? Path of least work!
>> And, you really need to both sides if you intend to continue to use
>> this engine, or you'll be doing it again soon on the other side.
>> Stuart
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
>> Behalf Of J Stewart
>> Sent: Monday, February 03, 2014 5:17 PM
>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>> Subject: Cylinder Head Cleaning/Checking Question
>> Those here who know me on Facebook too know that my right cylinder
>> head which used to drip a little coolant on very cold nights has
>> turned into a gusher. I've known this day was coming and feel lucky to
>> have made it this far (10+ years). Right now the van ('85 Weekender)
>> is just sitting in the garage. A few years back I bought a "spare" 1.9
>> from a young man who was selling off his deceased fathers Vanagon
>> collection (Vanagons had finally killed him) He said his dad had told
>> him this engine was the best of all the ones he had and was keeping it
>> to go into his Vanagon someday. Tonight I pulled the right head off
>> that engine and it does appear to be in very good condition, there is
>> just a tiny bit of pitting, and none near the outer sealing edge. I
>> want to get my '85 back on the road ASAP, so my plan is the clean up
>> this head and have it ready to swap out as quickly as possible. My
>> question is, what is the best way to clean it up? I want to get it as
>> clean as possible before installing it on my engine in the van. I've
>> also noticed there does not appear to be any cracks between the
>> valves-well at least that I can see, I wear contact lenses and my up
>> close vision isn't that great, so I'll check it again in the morning
>> with the naked eye before I put my lenses in. Thanks, Jeff
>> Jeff Stewart
