Date:         Sat, 29 Apr 1995 18:52:35 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         eugp@uclink3.berkeley.edu (Eugene C. Palmer)
Subject:      Engine build and other things, part 3

78 x 90.5 log Part 3

What day is it? oh, Wednesday, April 26,

What did I say before?  Engine mostly finished on the stand?  Guess not.
Last few days have been spent in preparation and execution of the VW super sale.
Yesterday, however, things started to gel.

Installed fan housing and checked thoroughly for fit and clearance.  Ground
out to fit the oil temp
sender on the type 3 cooler, some more, then still more.

When flipping the thermostat control rod, I found the flaps jammed when the
housing was on
tight.  Had to bang down the piece of internal shroud that directs air
towards the spark plugs in
order for them to clear.  Now it sits low and snug and it all clears nicely,
though the left bank
flaps occasionally stick in the open position, the spring should take care
of it.  Remove.

Thoroughly checked the alternator/fan by itself on the mount.  Decided I
didn't like the little
squeak that the front of the alternator was making.  No amount of spraying
stuff into the center
area would stop it.  Not even when running the fan with a drill, spraying
oil in a fine circle up the wall, oops.  Off it comes, even though it's the
Bosch and I'm replacing it with a Motorola.  Boy those things are hard to
get off.  I used a 10" crescent wrench in a 3' breaker bar on an old inside
fan hub to hold the pulley end, and the 3/4" socket on the inside and it was
still really tight.  Of course they're spinning at over 10,000 rpm sometimes
so it's a good thing.  Then I dropped the Bosch because it is so back heavy,
oops.  Re-install fan on Motorola and check for running clearances at speed
with the drill, reset shims and do it again.  I like it, runs nice and true
with minimal clearance to the fan tin, no squeaks.  Tighten up with the
previously mentioned method.

Replace fan in housing, install assembly and hook up thermostat.  Beauty.

Install oil pump.  Bergs got an O-ring around the outside of the pump now so
I used the RTV on
the inside flange of the pump, then put the gasket on, then another thin
layer of RTV, then put
the O-ring on with a little oil like he says.  Now when the pump is
installed the oil squeezes out
and ends up near the RTV.  I tried to wipe away as much as I could before
pushing the pump
home, but I think that little bit of residual oil is going to make the pump
leak because the RTV
was contaminated.  May be the price you pay for Berg to make sure there is
no air being sucked
in from the cam side of the pump.  Install outside thin gasket with very
thin layer of RTV, making
sure the ring groove is clear, another thin layer on the outside of the
gasket, cover, thoroughly
soak the pump nuts in green locktight, spin on.  Torque to tight, then 10
around twice, then 14
around a bunch of times.

Rear engine tin on with red locktight.  Fancy Berg pulley gets heated with a
torch around the
center, then goes on no problem.  Clears everything alot better than the
achiever.

Somewhere in here I got the idea to grind down an old broken 3/4" ratchet to
make a trans seal
puller.  I ground till the grinder was too hot to touch, then tried it out.
Close, more grinding, then the trans seal finally comes out.  This tool now
looks like a medieval weapon or something out of Emerson Lake & Palmers
Tarkus album.
Gently tap in new trans seal, no prob.

Lower shroud in, heater boxes go on.  I decide to use the 15mm nuts for the
heater box to head
studs.  Better holding power and they clear. Tighten way tight, almost strip
studs I think.  I then
backed up these nuts with some puny little copper ones on top.

Rear engine mount has to go on before headers so I scrub it down (yuk) clean
up the bolt
threads, check the hole depth to see if I can get a head type washer under
the 13mm bolt.  OK,
offer up the mount with all threads soaked in green locktight. Tighten way
tight, don't break
anything.  Hey, I'm talking like the Haynes manual now.

Remember to install oil fittings in pump and case before it's too late.
Clean up the AN-8 fittings
and install with threads soaked in the green goo.  Way tight, but didn't
break the brass.  I
probably should get the hoses out and install them with locktight, but I
don't want to risk bending
and breaking them when I install the engine so not now.  Those damn super
expensive stainless
steel hoses are great, but the steel braid just shatters if it's bent too
far, new or old.

Install headers with 13mm nuts and lockwashers, heater box to header flanges
are most
beautiful, they still fit good, just a little lifting on the left.  Break
one of those exhaust bolts that come with the kit.  Put grade 8 ones in instead.

So here the engine is almost finished on the stand and looks very knarly.
I'm especially
confident about the alternator/fan and the headers.  We'll see about the leaks.

Today; goof with listserver,

Attach stinger ignition module to oil cooler exit duct, cut and fit
terminals to shorten wiring.

Install manifolds, throttle bodies.  Fit injectors to throttle bodies.
Attach air cleaners
Clean oil filler/breather, try to decide what sort of set-up to use for oil
filler, breather.  Maybe stock, what a shock.

Fit clamps to fresh air heater connections, find some leaks, cover
connections, then fit clamps.

Why is it that the paper/aluminum hoses never fit over the tubes they're
supposed to fit over?
They always seem to rip the inside up.

Thursday, April 27,

Get friend over and take engine off stand, everybody wants to know when it's
going to run.

Can't seem to come up with six clean clutch bolts and I want new washers, so
they go on the list.

Run wiring for O2 sensor, comes up through the old draft tube hole with a
rubber grommet.

Fit aftermarket CB type of oil filler/breather, drill and tap 3/8 npt
fittings in top of air cleaners.
Use 3/8 hoses from breather barbs to air cleaners, one each side.  1/2"
charcoal canister hose
will attach to top of breather.  I think I'll still be able to detect fumes
in the cabin with this, but I'll try it before hacking away at the body,
cleaners, etc.

Chop extraneous control pieces off heater boxes, I only need the ones on the
outside, top.

Find enough fittings lying around to make a 1/2" T for the vaccuum lines
from the manifolds.

Get together the vaccuum servo test rig, 1/2" hose to servo, T with vaccuum
gauge, !/2" hose to
brake valve, 3/8" hose to body tubing, 3/8" hose to vaccuum cleaner at the
rear of the car.  Fire
up vaccuum cleaner, look at gauge.  Gee, doesn't move very much, I thought
it might be too
strong, it's a 3 HP Eureka, it only moved ~4psi.  Anyway, with the vaccuum
on I could feel the
boost, but it didn't seem like much.  When I let my foot off the brake, the
vaccuum climbs again.
When I stop the vaccuum, it holds it's position for at least thirty seconds
before starting to drop, and slowly at that. I think the servo is OK.
Remove test rig and install the brake valve 3" from the servo, hoping it
will respond faster.  Any domestic vehicle I've ever seen has the valve at
the servo.

Guess I need a 1 1/8" hole punch to finish running wires through the
firewall, and the fuel line
into the engine compartment.

Got 5/16" fuel line and 1/2" hose for the vaccuum.  This is not the factory
VW vaccuum hose, but
it is very heavy hose and I like it.  Hook up left bank to right bank fuel
ring, and left to right
vaccuum, with a 1/2" T.  Run fuel line to pump, not next to the heater ducts.

I also got a fog light type of relay and I will hook all these engine
components up to and run the
relay off the ignition switch.  There is just too much load here for the
switch alone, and I can use like, 10 gauge wire for the ignition circuit.
Ignition, O2 sensor power, computer, reverse lights.

Run the oil temp sender wire from the pressure regulator site up through the
new grommet.  I will
put a barrier strip on the ceiling of the engine compartment and run all
sensor wires to it with
push-on connectors. Cute.  Oil temp, oil pressure (later), O2 sense, tach
(later), spare.

Borrow punches.  Punch 1" hole for fuel line grommet at the stock, front tin
location, just bigger for the 5/16" rubber line.  Punch 1 1/8" hole next to
starter wire grommet for FI harness.  The
injector connectors barely fit, but I get them all through, then push the
grommet into place.
These are both yer basic Grand/Kragen auto type of replacement grommet,
picked for fit through
the plastic packaging.  The fuel line is 1/2" ID, the FI is 1" ID.

The beginning is near.

Friday, April 28,

Run sensor cable bundle to front of car.  Install barrier strip in left
ceiling of engine compartment, hook up bundle, lovely.

Rerun fuel lines away from heater ducts.  Install a filter on the return
line that goes back to the
pump, but is part of the return circuit that is in line with the tank so no
gunk from the gas tank gets to the pump.

Set-up ignition circuit relay, discover the battery is dead.

Change manifold nuts to 11mm from 13, so I can get a socket on them.  Much
better.

Grease gland nut needle bearings.  Install clutch & cover after chasing
threads down and green
gooping them.  I always end up with a good deal more than 18 ft. lbs.  Stop
at 22, go round a
couple times.  Remove staples.  Looked around for new clutch bolts and
washers but nobody carries these so I use the old ones cleaned up.

Put battery on charge.

Test alternator again.  Still can't get voltage, call the alternator shop,
they say it needs the
battery.  Well, that seems ridiculous, I know it doesn't _need_ the battery.
Try it again, this time touching the D+ to the B+ while it's spinning, whap,
alternator kicks in nicely.  Keep goofing
around with it, touching D+ to B+, then, battery connected and all, touch
them a bit too long and
quietly, but odorously, I burn out the internal regulator.  Several bad
words later, I'm off to my
friends on my bicycle to pick up a car to take the alt in for an exchange.
Shall I say "OOPS?"
That was an almost new alternator, traded it for a new one, pay $60, return
car, bike to work, end
of day.  Say it Homer, "DOH!"

Saturday, April 29,

Refit alternator in fanhouse, refit fanhouse, and all connections
associated.  I drill and punched a hole under the thermostat so I could get
a socket on the thermostat bolt, this came in handy
when refitting it.  Somehow the slight stickiness at the end of the flap
throw is gone now, they
work very nicely.

Fuss about in the engine compartment, greasing cables and finalizing the
fuel lines.  I found a
bad spade connector that was on the starter selenoid wire.  So thats why it
would intermittently
fail!

I'm ready to install this baby, but I can't get it through the door without
help and no friends are
available so I guess I'll clean the CV's or something.  Check the VW list.
Log some stuff.  Here
we are logging.

End part three, posting.

Gee, not very many messages, everybody must be out working on their busses.
Locktight those shifter set screws folks, use some sort of safety wire too,
you don't want to loose your shifting, and the set screw.

Eugene