The worst of this job, I reckon, is how high you have to get the vehicles back end up to get the engine out underneath. If you have some ramps that might help?
My first rebuild was done on an ancient workmate and it was spot-on as an improvised workbench , my only concern would be a newer one not being as robust As mentioned earlier , some blocks to support the head and barrels would help but to be honest but once they`re off the cases sit quite well on the flat surface of the workmate . Go for it but take your time getting the motor out - good luck .
I guess if you had the patience after lowering it down you could strip that and anything else that sticks up off first?
I do it the two-stage way as well. Van on it's wheels, lower engine on jack, tilt it a bit on a length of fence post to get it on the ground, then pull the jack out to lift the whole van up to clear the engine as you slide it out.
Update, removed the sump oil strainer plate and gauze. Found a few small pieces of aluminium., Then poked my little finger around the inside of the sump and felt some bigger metal pieces, managed to hook out an inch long curved piece of aluminium shrapnel, out of my own curiosity I will use a piece of wire to fish out some more pieces. But the big piece is curved and well shattered. I reckon its a piece of piston, maybe lower skirt or gudgeon pin support. So an afternoon of removing as much as possible from the engine.
My neighbour popped round and we decided it would be best to tow the van around so the back end is next to the garage door. MGB moved forward to the back of garage so giving room to set up the van engine. The single driveway slopes down to the garage and we thought it would be a lot easier to raise the back of the van, drop the engine onto a large jack with sheet of board and pull the engine into the garage for the strip down. Meanwhile I do have other van jobs, like finishing the interior and repairing the driver door window mechanism. Keeps me busy and active in my 75th year.
@mgbman you do realise we are gonna want pictures Good luck. Hope it's not too serious and you and your kind neighbour can fix it for you.
Will put up some pictures when more progressed. I am ok with the engine, its part of my Bay ownership experience. I look forward to tearing down the engine and until that's done and depending on the damage, decisions will have to be made as to either sell with broken engine, keep it and rebuild the engine or keep it and put in a new or recon engine. There are plenty of options. Meanwhile I am happy to just work on it, better than some neighbours who sit indoors watching tv all day and moaning.
Now you have found metal in the crank case, you have a rebuild on your hands. Because it was running and metal was circulating there is a lot of flushing out needed as well as probably a set of new bearings, pistons and cylinders and an oil cooler. Consider your options. Fastest is to order something as an exchange off the shelf from the VW Engine Company. Slower is DIY and more interesting.
There are a lot of factors to consider. I am not a young man and the old body is wearing out fast and not easy working on old vehicles, but I do get the enjoyment doing it. I have the lovely MGB sitting in the garage and maybe its time to move it on to a new caring owner. I love the MGB but it sits quite low down and getting in and out of it has been a challenge lately for my creaking body. It has a good value as its a mk1 car in mint condition. tartan red, chrome bumpers, wire wheels, leather seats and all original, drives beautifully. At one stage, my grandson was interested in having the MGB and I was happy to give it to him, but he has a mk2 Golf project now, there would be no garage to keep the MGB in and soon Grandson will be off to Uni. So I could sell the B and use some of the money to buy a new 1600tp engine with a warranty. In the future if I sold the Bay then it would have its nice engine and be more desirable to a buyer.
That makes perfect sense and is the way forwards. The JK heritage ones seem a good build As an outsider I'd be reluctant to 'donate' anything to a a son/grandson who would happily have their 75 year old father/grandfather wrestle with an engine on the drive . Not my place to judge anyone but that's just not on ... Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk
I agree. Happy to give them cash but not something I'd put my love into. If they are anything like me they'd just use it until it fell apart then ditch it!
Thanks for the comments plus advice about a new engine. JK get a lot of stick about their parts but it seems their engines are quality. This week I will check them out and what the VW Engine Company can do for me. Without any family help and even with a little help from my car mad neighbour, it would be a bit of a struggle for me and him, and he is older than me. Out in the sunshine on the driveway today, I continued removing more accessible tins, throttle cable disconnected at carb, carb off, battery out, ignition out, exhaust nearly out except for the 4 rusty heat exchangers front nuts to remove. Its enough for today. Tomorrow's plan is get the exhaust and heat exchangers off and drain fuel tank and remove fuel lines. A little each day is very enjoyable.
