Date:         Mon, 17 Oct 94 8:51:40 PDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         David Schwarze <schwarze@io.nosc.mil>
Subject:      Re: 1700CC reinstall

Dan MacMillan writes:
> 
>  Hey all - We've been putting my sister's 1700 type IV back together after
> replacing the heads with rebuilds, and changing the rings, but are running
> into a few snags -
> 
> 1. TWee to put the heat exchanger/muffler back into the exhaust ports as one u
> unit, and _boy_ was it hard ... we even had the engine upside down at one
> point ... the pipes just wouldn't line up. Anyway, we finally did get them
> in, but in the process of tightening them down, one bolt on each head stripped.
> I'm sure I didn't over-tighten them ... is the metal of type IV heads unusually
> soft? Any ideas what I should do now?

Oh boyohboyohboy, do I.  I have been through this more times than I care to
recall.  First, when you say the bolt stripped, do you mean the end that the
nut is on or the end that goes into the head?  If the former, you are in
luck.  Since these are studs, just remove the stud and put in a new one.
If the threads in the head are stripped, you have a little work to do.

Those studs start out 8mm, usually.  If it is an 8mm stud and the threads
in the head are stripped, you have two options.  You can either install a
helicoil in the head, or tap the head out to 10mm and use an oversized stud.
I have always opted for the latter because it should be stronger.  All you
have to do is buy a 10x1.5 tap, tap the hole out, and install the oversize
stud.  Be VERY CAREFUL that you tap the hole straight, or your previous
problems lining up the pipes will look like a picnic when you try to 
reinstall the heater boxes.  Ask me how I know.

While we're talking about the exhaust, why did you install the whole exhaust
as a unit?  In my experience it saves time and reduces stress to completely
disassemble the heater boxes and muffler.  It's only 6 more bolts to undo,
and it is less likely that you will put the "bad" kind of stress on the
exhaust studs while you are removing and installing all that heavy stuff.
When you realize that all that weight is being held in by just those 8
little studs (going into aluminum!) it seems really under-engineered.

Back to the stripped stud problem...
If you find, as I did recently, that someone had already tapped the hole
to 10mm, you still have both options, but you have to go to 12mm.  I found
that 12mm studs and taps were hard to find, so I opted for the 10mm helicoil
instead.  Helicoil kits are available from most tool shops, but are expensive!
The brand-name kit was over $40!  I found an off-brand 10mm helicoil kit for
$24 and was assured that it was just as good as Helicoil, and I was just not
paying for the name.  I believed the guy (and still do).

The helicoil kit is called a "10 mm" kit, but it actually consists of a
larger tap (which I suspected to be 12x1.5, but I never checked), a dozen or
so wire thread inserts, and a tool to install them with (The wire thread
inserts are available separately at Napa for about $1 each in quantity, so
it's possible that this could be done real cheap with a little research).
The tool is nothing that could not be fashioned quite easily by getting some
rod stock and cutting a notch in the end.  Anyway, to use the helicoil, the
hole must be tapped out, and then the thread insert is screwed in.  The stud
then threads into the wire insert.  It's not really very hard.

I always use loctite on the studs (on the head side) and anti-sieze on the
threads that the nuts go on.  This helps tremendously and I would encourage
you to do it.  Please let me know if you have any questions on the above
procedures.  I wasn't able to write as detailed a description as I would have
liked due to time and space constraints.  :)


> 2. The rubber motor-mounts on the the engine bearer were cracked, so we hoped
> to replace them , but the part supplied by two local FLAPS for our year (73)
> is different. Our mounts had onlyone bolt sticking out the bottom of the
> rubber block (which then went through the bearer). The part everyone
> wants to sell us has bolts coming out both sides of the rubber block. weird.

I remember mine having bolts on both sides. 

Hope this helps...

-David

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David Schwarze			'73 VW Safare Custom Camper (Da Boat)
SAIC Comsystems, San Diego	'73 Capri GT 2800 (Da Beast)
schwarze@nosc.mil		'87 Mustang Lx 5.0 (Da Bruiser?  Soon...)
=============================================================================