Date: Mon, 21 Dec 2015 11:03:01 -0500
Reply-To: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Here goes nothing...
In-Reply-To: <CAAEUmu9M6y=UEv3ULhCC_4euCrtgjaKbaE0k+NZk_0rf_EKaQg@mail.gmail.com>
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Christian,
I would look to do just a bit more testing before ripping the motor apart. I re-torque the heads and do another leak down test. Then you will know if you need more work on top. Since you are leaking oil on the sides you have to inspect the surface where the cylinders sit for any signs of pound wear and that the case is actually straight there. Re-torque the main bearing bolts. If the center ones were loose than the case has “shuffled” and worn out where the case halves meet. Tear down and a lot of machine work.
If the pistons and cylinders are not damaged they could very well be re-used. They don’t normally wear. The usual failures are the cylinders burning where they meet the head and piston burning from overheating and detonation. Maybe inspect-replace the rings.
I usually avoid going the route of just replacing stuff. Spend money wisely but more important evaluate what is worn-damaged. Doing inspection first will also make you give though a figure out why? If you don’t fix the why all the new parts in the world won’t prevent you from doing it again.
While the van is out of service I would consider addressing that transmission. May be an easy rebuild now. Once the parts start flying and you’re in need of the tow truck the cost rises quickly.
For dropping the engine consider doing some disassembly while it is still in the van. You can remove the exhaust and all the stuff on top. This will make it lighter and a lot easier to handle.
Dennis
From: Christian Smith [mailto:christian.smith.84@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2015 3:57 PM
To: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com>; vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com; Stuart MacMillan <stuartmacm@gmail.com>
Subject: Here goes nothing...
Hey Dennis, thanks again for taking the time to show me a few things and running a few tests, the ole girl ran about the same from L.I to it's home for the winter upstate...now for the fun stuff...I've decided to (at a minimum) pull the engine.
I have bought a few books:
-Idiots guide to keeping your VW alive- J. Muir
-How to Rebuild your Aircooled VW- T. Wilson
-and of course the Bentley
The plan is to pull the engine, I think I'm going to leave the transmission in but I'm open to advice....once the engine is out, I'm just going to look at things to see what needs to be done.
My questions (for now) are:
-Do you have any tips/tricks or just things to keep in mind when pulling the engine? I am fairly confident after reading a few things and watching some how to videos that if I take my time and follow the Bentley pulling the engine shouldn't be too tall of an order....i just wonder if you've experienced anything "outside of the book"?
The garage im working out of has a floor jack and im going to pick up a few jack stands as well....the plan is to jack, stand, remove, and roll the engine out with a jack/plywood set up with meticulous attention to labeling/organizing parts....of course it's more complicated than that but I think I understand the general idea.
That's pretty much a good starting place and I'll check back in once the engine is out... not to get ahead of myself but I think im just going to plan on new heads, cylinders and pistons. If I need to get down to the case I might then take it in somewhere for that level of attention but I think I can handle pistons, cylinders and heads if I'm pulling the engine
A couple other questions:
-With the oil consumption and compression/leakage results and since im pulling the engine, there is no reason NOT to replace the heads and pistons right? There's almost no possible way they're re-usable and just need re-torquing and and seal/gaskets/rings replaced?
-Can I handle going further than the pistons and should I consider splitting the case and doing a "full rebuild"? Definitely test end play before deciding that I guess?
-Any other "partial" rebuild areas I should research and plan on doing... like the fly wheel seal?
That's pretty much my game plan for now which will certainly evolve as the engine comes apart but if you have any "homework" materials or suggestions for reading/research, or gameplan adjustments that would be great...do I even sound like I'm heading in the right direction?
Thanks again, happy vanning-
-Christian
