Date:         Fri, 19 Apr 1996 09:50:00 -0700 (PDT)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "Maher, Steve (SD-MS)" <SMAHER@gi.com>
Subject:      RE: V6anagon soon to be re-V6'ed


>Herr Maher wonders whether his engine mount may contribute to the short
>and vibration-filled lives of his clutches.  I suspect not, as I have
>installed my engine at two very different heights, neither with any
>apparent vibration problem.  The engine and trans bolt together, and
>can be angled differently by about 3 in. height as measured at the
>muffler without a problem.  Steve's setup includes an adapter plate, and
>I could certainly picture that a mismachined adapter plate would put the
>engine off line.  Steve, is there a way compare the position of the
>engine's crank pulley center to the centerline of the tranny?

I wish I knew one, Bill! But can't think of any *direct* way to do it
without using X-ray vision, which hasn't been working too well since some
V6anagon heckler Emailed me that Kryptonite.   ;^)

Seriously, I hope to do this indirectly. The adapter has a ridge machined
around a circumference that theoretically fits exactly into the tranny's
bellhousing opening. It's there for alignment purposes, of course. If
the tranny input shaft is supposed to be in the exact center of the
bellhousing opening (anyone know if this is true?), then the engine
crankshaft had also better be in the exact center of this ridge, as the
engine is presently bolted to the adapter.

I'm going to cut a stick to the exact distance from the surface of the
end of the crankshaft, to the ridge in the adapter, and then use it to
measure all the way around the crank to the ridge. If it doesn't match
all the way around, this could be part or all of the problem.

If there's a discrepancy larger than a few hundreths of an inch (I wonder
if there's a spec for this), then I'll unbolt the adapter from the engine
and see if the engine can slide around on the adapter. It shouldn't--
I think Kennedy mentioned some keying dowels that are supposed to prevent
such slippage, again for alignment purposes. But if it does, then perhaps
I can use this to re-align the engine more closely. Or, if it's off to the
side and can't slide around, then Kennedy will get a "what do we do now"
call.

Finally, I'll place the adapter against the tranny and see if there is any
looseness or slippage there. I don't know if the input shaft sticks out
far enough, to go thru the hole in the adapter. It normally goes into
the pilot bearing, which is in the flywheel, which is on the tranny side
of the adapter... If I can see it, tho, maybe I can get an idea if it's
centered in the adapter also.

What a pain. Well, the course of true love never ran smooth, and I guess
that applies also to the course of true torque. Stay tuned for the latest
exciting developments in the V6anagon Chronicles...
    _______
   /\ o o o\         Steve Maher   smaher@gi.com   75461,1717
  /o \ o o o\_______   San Diego, California
 <    >------>   o /|
  \ o/  o   /_____/o|      '80 VW V6anagon
   \/______/     |oo|        '66 Mustang Coupevertible
         |   o   |o/       '89 Son Sherwin
         |_______|/
                     http://www.lookup.com/homepages/76242/home.html

"Tax the rich, and subsidize the less well off."
"From each according to his means, to each according to his needs."
Any questions?