removing engine

brentsmith · Post by **brentsmith** » Fri Jan 14, 2011 2:26 pm

Just went out to the shop and tried the double nuts with a lock washer. It didn't do any good on the oil pump studs. The lady at the hardware store pulled the wrong lock washers for the jug studs, so I can't try them.

So I'm back to having a stuck oil pump and two stuck jugs. Since I have four viable jugs and pistons, and another oil pump, I'm toying with the idea of just taking my cold chisel to the jugs and the gears in the oil pump and getting them out of the way that way. I'm going to go lie down now until that feeling goes away.

rokemester · Post by **rokemester** » Mon Jan 17, 2011 9:46 pm

FIGHT the urge to use brute force on a VW. Penetrant, penetrant, penetrant and then HEAT. Also can you find an experienced second set of eyes and hands in the neighborhood to lend a hand? Believe me it does wonders!!! Try not to do anything rash. I've been there.

brentsmith · Post by **brentsmith** » Mon Jan 17, 2011 9:51 pm

LOL. Yeah, I was kidding.

brentsmith · Post by **brentsmith** » Mon Jan 17, 2011 10:05 pm

What I think I may try is to take an allen wrench (the stand-alone kind, and not the kind that comes in a flip-out pocket knife-type case) and put the shorter end into the hole where the oil pump extractor goes. I'm hoping I can grab the longer end with my vice grips and pull the entire pump out.

Someone mentioned placing a short 2x4 on the piston and hitting the end with a hammer to knock it loose from the jug. Any thoughts?

brentsmith · Post by **brentsmith** » Tue Jan 18, 2011 11:43 am

The engine is now sitting in a shallow pan filled with 97% diesel, 2% brake fluid, and 1% Mystery Oil. The mixture covers the bottom gear in the oil pump.

fatalifeaten · Post by **fatalifeaten** » Tue Jan 18, 2011 11:11 pm

now light it on fire. heat and penetrant.

brentsmith · Post by **brentsmith** » Wed Jan 19, 2011 9:48 am

Light it on fire! ROFL!

brentsmith · Post by **brentsmith** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 11:43 am

Hey, guys. Well, the work is still progressing. One of the jugs is now free of the piston, and I'm coaxing the other off. It looks as though the engine is going to turn when the jug is off. If so, I'm thinking that the oil pump will turn, too, which should free things up enough to pull the gears and then the entire pump. The bell housing and engine compartment seals are installed.

Sadly, I noticed when cleaning the case that sitting for more than a decade with oil in it caused the case to be partially eaten away. I've got a new case arriving in a few days.

Looking back over my posts, I have to laugh at some of the alarm I experienced in the beginning stages of this project. "There's a hole in the engine!" LOL. The "hole," I now know, is where the stem for the thermostat goes up to the top of the engine. I'd have noticed that the same "hole" was on the opposite side, too, had I looked more carefully. I couldn't have known that, of course, since the car didn't even have a thermostat when I bought it. Nor did it have all of the cooling tins it was supposed to have.

This car and I are going to be very good old friends by the time I get finished!

brentsmith · Post by **brentsmith** » Sat Jul 16, 2011 5:28 pm

OK, guys, I'm SO close and need help! I've got all the parts I need, all the seals, lubricant, etc. I got the piston rods put on the crankshaft today, and am trying to get it to go back into the case.

I'm having a terrible time getting the bearings to set on those tiny little dowel pins so that they won't turn. Muir makes it sound so easy in his book, but I'm at an impasse.

Can I not just put the crankshaft back in just as it was taken out? I've tried putting it back in, but it won't engage the distributor drive shaft gear.

I'm SO close!

fatalifeaten · Post by **fatalifeaten** » Sun Jul 17, 2011 12:48 am

Correct fit on the dowel pins is absolutely critical. Question, are they new crank bearings, and if so, are they the correct ones? Machinists use a micrometer to measure the saddles on the case and the lobes on the crank to ensure the bearings are within tolerance. They can be very fiddly to align correctly, especially with the rods on. keep at it, carefully, you don't want to scuff them up, and they'll drop in. If you didn't replace the bearings, you're flirting with disaster, especially on an engine that sat out.

If you have to do this again in the future this might help. When I assemble a new/rebuilt engine, what I usually do is dry fit the mains into the case saddles and once they're seated correctly, I take a fine line sharpie and draw a line across the bearing surface where it meets the saddle on both sides. That way once I assemble the bearings on the crank all I have to do is line up the lines to get the bearings to seat properly. Then I install the rods , cam, and distributor drive gear. You can actually use the distributor itself to help seat the gear, and also to make sure you aren't 180 degrees out.

brentsmith · Post by **brentsmith** » Sun Jul 17, 2011 9:12 am

This is the same crankshaft, bearings, etc., that came out of the engine.

From what I've looked at since posting again on here, there is at least one bearing that is actually in two pieces. I'm also told that heating the parts with a blue torch will allow them to slip off easily.

Yeah, hindsight being 20/20, marking the location and orientation of the bearings is an ingenious idea! As for doing this again, ummmm, don't want to think about that! LOL

What I could really use now are some step-by-step instructions. I can't understand why on earth the metal dowels can't stick out a little more proud from the case.

brentsmith · Post by **brentsmith** » Sun Jul 17, 2011 9:14 am

Oh, and this isn't the one that sat out. There was almost nothing usable from that engine.

fatalifeaten · Post by **fatalifeaten** » Sun Jul 17, 2011 10:15 pm

Ok, so 2 of the bearings are assembled on the crankshaft. The third is 2 pieces, and the last is the rear main (right behind the flywheel). I'm going to take a guess that you haven't pulled the flywheel off the crank right? It's going to be incredibly difficult to get those bearings to align correctly with the flywheel on. Get a friend to help. One of you can hold the crank up just a millimeter or so, enough to feel the pins hit the cups in the bearing, and then once they're all aligned, gently set the crank down. That's about the only way you're going to get them to line up right.

I really feel like I need to urge you to not reuse those bearings. They're a wear item and even if you just put them in and have few miles on them, they should be replaced. A set of mains will run you 70 bucks tops, but if you run them as-is and one fails, add another zero behind it minimum if you do your own labor (and that's a modest estimate. 1000-1500 in parts and machine work is not uncommon even for DIY engine builders). You're at the perfect point to do this the right way now, is it worth the risk to get it back into running shape a couple days or a week earlier? If you haven't had the case measured and inspected, those mains could be out of round, out of spec your dowel pins could be worn, or your case saddles could be warped. All of these things will grenade an engine quickly and all your effort will be for nothing. Going back through this thread, you've had a heck of a lot of difficulty with this engine trying to piece it back together. You're definitely headed in the right direction, I'd just hate to see you get it all back together and then have one of those bearings fail. I've been there and I can tell you, it's very demoralizing.

brentsmith · Post by **brentsmith** » Mon Jul 18, 2011 10:22 am

"Demoralizing" is a great word! LOL

Yes, the flywheel was taken off before I split the engine.

I know it sounds terrible, but I'm at the point to where I'm through putting money into this engine. If this turns out to not work this time around, I'm going to get an assembled short block and go from there.

brentsmith · Post by **brentsmith** » Mon Jul 18, 2011 10:17 pm

I've thought a lot about your last post, and have ordered new dowels, and have found new bearings on eBay.

Could you please give me some step-by-step instructions on how to remove the bearings from the shaft to make room for the new ones? I'm told that heating them with a blue torch will expand them enough to get them to slip off. Is this OK for the crankshaft?

Thanks!

The 1966 VW Beetle Forum

removing engine

Still working on it

Getting the crankshaft to set