Not sure this is in the right place, but maybe the mods can move it if it isnt I have just bought a Beetle with a 1641 leak free engine. I know its a Beetle but i thought seeing as its the same as a bus engine you wouldn't mind. Anyway on closer inspection it was clearly not leak free and had over 1mm of end float. After a bit of bargaining I bought it anyway knowing I would have to do a bit of work on the engine. I quite fancied the challenge, plus it would give me a chance to build up the engine and check everything so that hopefully it would be a nice reliable motor as this is going to be my daily drive. I am on a tight budget and I have to have it back in the car and running by 25th November so I am slightly up against it. I am armed with Tom Wilson's book and a load of enthusiasm (at the moment) so thought I would document my progress on here. Feel free to offer advice, tell me where I'm going wrong, laugh at me or whatever. I am hopefully picking up a new crank case and bottom end next weekend, so up until now I have been stripping and cleaning all the bits of my one. Not sure I have ever encountered so much oil and grease. So far I have managed not to get any in the house so all good there! Due to limited budget I am going to try and reuse as many components as possible, and I'll probably paint a few bits and bobs whilst I'm at it. It's not going to be a show winner and it's not going to be super spec. I just want to get a reliable motor at the end of it. I'll update with pics as I'm going and as always, any advice is much appreciated! Nick Here is my leak free case... Slight oil seeping but think this is ok Not sure if this head was sealing too well
Check the heads for cracks. Get a small wire wheel in you drill chuck and clean up between the valves and between the valves and spark plugs. You'll spot any cracks then. Cracks are bad.
Will do Zed, although I'm pretty bored of cleaning already Crankshaft pulley nut was done up stupid tight. Had to get the scaff bar out on it. Didn't need a pulley to get it off though which I guess is a bonus. Head bolts were at all sorts of different torques. Some almost fell undone, others needed a good bit of force on the ratchet. Same for the big end nuts. Some were ridiculously tight and others as you might expect. Anyone know if thats normal? I'm thinking not.
It's been seriously overheated and possibly the bearings so worn it's put it way out of balance shaking everything loose. I wouldn't put too much faith in the B&P's either if that's the case, but the heads are expensive so unless they're cracked I'd give them a go.
The B and P's don't look too bad. Pistons look virtually new apart from carbon on the tops. Rings look in good nick. Barrels might be slightly glazed but I'll give everything a measure and see where I'm at. Nick
Hmmm, I was hoping it had just dribbled between the ring gaps whilst it was standing..... Ever the optimist!
That's most likely if you tilted it one way then the other while stripping it. That amount of oil wouldn't have been in there when the engine stopped for the last time! We were really just making the point that to avoid disappointment you should assume nothing, and as Paul suggested, after a big overheat (which is common!) the bores should be checked for roundness - they do wharp. It might turn freely when cold, but seize when hot. Most people do not have the tools to check the bores so replace the pots to be safe. Not so long ago this would only cost you £60 for barrels, pistons and rings!
Been doing some more bits. Picked up a new (to me) bottom end. All seemed good apart from a couple of cracks in the casing. Took it to a local welder who is confident he could fix it so all good there. Just need to split the case so he can do it properly. Didn't really want to have to do that because of my time limit but at least I will be able to put new bearings in which can not be a bad thing. Peace of mind and all that! So last night I set about splitting the case. Was fairly straightforward. Case on the stand Case split Thats how I left it as I realised I needed somewhere clean and safe to put the crank and cam and it was getting a bit late and so thought I would hit it tomorrow. So far so good.
your new block looks like it needs a line bore... looks like the main bearings have been shuffling in the case to me!!
Will do Snotty Paul, I have removed the crank and cam this evening and on inspection it all seems fine. There is signs of wear but nothign untoward. Couldn't feel anything with my fingernail on the crank of in the bores so should all be ok. Will be putting new bearings in once I have worked out what size I need. Nick
No offence dude, but you need to measure the bearings and the case with a set of verniers... I can tell by the visual wear on the outside of the bearing, that they've been moving... fingernails just don't cut the mustard!! But, your engine, so your choice...
Oh, and for reference, all of the wear tolerances are in the haynes manual... it is one of haynes's redeeming features
None taken Paul. I'll measure them. But I'm pretty sure its been align bored already so not sure Haynes will have those wear tolerances in? Thrust is 22mm which I think is standard but I only have a vernier at the moment. Will be borrowing some mic's off a mate to measure it all up. Nick
Wear tolerances will be the same, you just have to apply them to the oversized bearings... I would check to see if oversized tolerances are listed, but that manual is in the shed
