Cleaning/flushing cold engine while replacing barrels

Hi all,

The guys on YouTube that are building engines never seem to get oil everywhere like I do!

I'm in the middle of taking the old barrels and pistons of my 1700 engine (to be replaced with a big bore kit) and, despite draining the oil, it gets everywhere (the leaky flywheel oil seal has not helped)! I have cleaned the case with Gunk externally to an extent, but I want to start assembling all the bits that cost lots of cash, in a clean environment. However, I am concerned that too liberal use of Gunk with the barrels off will mean this gets in the case and contaminates the oil when I fill it.

Should I try and be really careful when cleaning, or go for it and flush the case out with something before assembly?

Thanks

Ade

 

Clean the case before taking the barrels off

 

...or put them back on for cleaning.

 

I cleaned the case (brush on Gunk and lots of rags, no steam cleaner) with the barrels on, and used many rubber gloves to plug the push rod tube holes etc, but now I have taken 2 barrels off not only has moving the engine released more oil, but more crap appears that was previously inaccessible.

It seems the right thing to do is to clean it, but Gunk getting into the case in any quantity does not sound right.

 

Why tip the engine in the first place? Chuck it on a bench/leave it on the floor the right way up, do your stuff. I've done this quite a few times without even draining the oil - why waste it?

Nor did I clean the engine first, at all. Just around the barrel seating area with rags and brake cleaner after removing the barrels, being careful. And another wipe after getting pistons out of the way and a final one before assembly.

 

Clean off dirt from the outside so it doesn't fall into the holes when removing the cylinders before doing anything else. I would have scraped and wiped and left the use of solvents to the very end.


I would have drained the oil and then done up the drain plug.
Then sat the engine flat, wiped around the places that needed to be clean and got on with it, as you are only doing the pistons and cylinders.

Try to ignore anything that isn't going to fall down into the engine block through the cylinder holes. Ie dirt underneath the engine.

When I completely rebuilt my engine, based on a grimy cruddy engine, I scraped the crud off the complete longblock with a screwdriver then vigorously paint brushed it with white spirit and wiped it down. I then stripped it down completely then I could use a parts washer to flush out the engine oil galleries on the separate case halves, which were then drained of cleaning solution, blown out with air and left to dry..

But all you need is four clean regions around the cylinder bases..

 

Yes

No

 

I try to turn my garage into an operating theatre, when I work on mechanical stuff, wether I need to or not. Probably over cautious, but better than under cautious (?)…

 

Top end rebuild? We did them in a field on the grass at techenders regularly. It's quite different from a split the case rebuild, no need for the operating theatre.

 

No way anyone would do a top end build on my engine in a field, it makes me cringe when I see the dirt in some of the workshops on YouTube. The cleaner the better.

 

No skills, little money, no tools, no idea.
Techenders - tools, skills, knowledge, all for free.
Horses for courses?

I remember one guy didn't even have a tarp or anything, he was putting down his nuts and washers in the grass and loosing them. You'd have had kittens Geoff.

 

If I ever get to Techenders I'll have to fix the engine lid lock first.

 

Type 4 engine, cam and cam bearings will probably be toast so might as well strip it and do those as well

 

with new big bore kit and heads the poor bottom end will not thank you and soon show you how much it doesn’t like you

 

I’m sure you did, but I would still be just as fussy.

 

Back then a top end rebuild kit was less than £200, that's 2 heads, a set of B&Ps and IIRC push rod tubes and seals
What's that cost now? I'd be more cautious today.

 

Yes. I paid £260.00 from JK for mine. ( no push rods, though.) I think it’s closer to £500, now. Maybe more. That was 2006. ( I still have the receipt in my evergrowing file of VW receipts).

 

£700, TBH I thought it was more.

 

A set of AA pistons and cylinders for a T1.. £260..
A single EMPI 040 cylinder head £260.
In 2022..

 

bottom end still won’t like it .