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HELP...! Some idiot used Stag on my engine case.

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muzz Casual Dubber

27 posts · joined Jul 2011 ·

#854530
Need some advice.
Had to split the case on the 1500/1775 motor cause of blown rear seal. Came to the oil pump and found that the hex screws holding it on were absolutely soaked in what i thought was Locktite. Anyhow after cutting flat
screwdriver slots in them and messing around for 2 hours my friend said he had a hammer screwdriver -after pounding the hell out of the screws they eventually came out.

On to splitting the case. When I split my 1600 it fell apart as soon as I hit it with a rubber mallet.On this motor I could slightly split the pulley end but not the flywheel end.
I took out almost every single bolt that i could.using two nuts. Some of the smaller nuts just rounded off because off tons of goo that was on them. Still unable to split the case I soaked the fly end in everything for a week -nothing. A friend turned up and he said he reckoned becasue the goo was orange, that the genius who built the motor had used a product called STAG,a joining compound and the only way to get it off was to heat it which i did as much as as I dared because of the flammable mag case...Nothing!

So I made a case splitter using a scissors jack between 2 pieces of wood and using the motor to trans bolts. I put a ton of pressure on it using heat at the same time -nothing!.I cannot beleive that anyone in their right mind would use stag on a mag block because it's so brittle for starters. And this guy is a professional VW bulder in the ACT area.

Just wondering if any ideas on how to seperate this case.I am gonna try soaking some metho this pm, but thats the end of the line. Can't find anything on the internet re removing this stuff.I will check with a plumber friend when he gets home because they use stag as well. I am told.


Any ideas let me know quick -i may have aleady warped the case I dont know as yet until actually split the freakin thing,which I am going back to have another go at.It's only taken 2 weeks already.

MickH Hairy Gutted Sloth

3,389 posts · joined Sep 2003 ·

#854532
Why are you splitting the case to replace the seal???
tssnq.com.au

muzz Casual Dubber

27 posts · joined Jul 2011 ·

#854535
Actually I am not but while the motor was out I wanted to check if any damage had been done to the rear main bearing plus do few other checks because she had racked up a few miles.If the case had split like it should have this could all be done in a day.

Craig Torrens 6 times Australian, 7 times State Hillclimb Class Champion

8,040 posts · joined Jan 2003 ·

#854553
you sure you have ALL case nuts undone ?


grumble Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,672 posts · joined Jun 2008 ·

#854560
Craig Torrens wrote:you sure you have ALL case nuts undone ?
It is unusual for even Stag to hold on this well,holden used to use it on their head studs and a lot of mechanics used it on everything. Check for a hidden bolt or nut.

VolksVair Officially Full-On Dubber

252 posts · joined Apr 2010 ·

#854562
Have a good look, best have a 13mm socket on a 12 inch extension and look really really hard, maybe clean some crud and have another good look
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h fractals - an ever changing lifestyle

7,671 posts · joined Feb 2005 ·

#854567
I got a jack hammer u can borrow if u need it 😀
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grumble Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,672 posts · joined Jun 2008 ·

#854588
VolksVair wrote:Have a good look, best have a 13mm socket on a 12 inch extension and look really really hard, maybe clean some crud and have another good look
Possibly the bolt from the opposite side or the one near the flywheel flange.Also sorry to tell you that to check for main bearing damage to the case the bearing will move in the bore,this can be checked with a screwdriver or in extreme cases just move the crank fore and aft and watch the bearing.

muzz Casual Dubber

27 posts · joined Jul 2011 ·

#854638
Believe me there are no nuts holding this case together,and my friend who owned a garage for many and is ex NRMA has checked it out. Also he case is easy to inspect because it is really clean.No crud at all. And as i said i have even removed most of the case bolts themselves which were extremely hard to remove.
I should have been alerted when the flywheel had come off and I found that the were was Locktite on the gland nut. I had to get`a workshop to remove it.

I was told by a bikie that this Stag is used on bike engine cases sometimes.He is a chemical engineer and he said he won't use it because it does dry hard as a rock and using a jack will only break the case.He was the one to tell me to soak it in metho. which I will do.
I think I will be buying a new case somehow, so this Stag will cost me well over $1000 and even more time.http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/images/smilies/grind.gif

muzz Casual Dubber

27 posts · joined Jul 2011 ·

#854640
Yeah grumble I already checked the end play and while still in tolerance, the bearing can still be chewed a little, so why not open the case rather that putting it all back in and then having to remove it again because a major problem develops from a damaged bearing? As I said if the freakin case had split like it should - No problemo!

hellbugged 48's and straight cuts

5,080 posts · joined Apr 2003 ·

#854644
no fun here for sure.......yeah double triple check the case bolts/nuts......couple hard to spot

i've found carb cleaner to break down sealants well when cleaning up. not sure on something of this strength tho, worth a try

shokwave2 Officially Full-On Dubber

289 posts · joined Mar 2010 ·

#854646
Will acetone eat away the case? If not, try acetone on the stag. We use it at work to clean up spilt resins, and hardeners and it eats away everything pretty much, except most metals.

muzz Casual Dubber

27 posts · joined Jul 2011 ·

#854647
Used about a can of carb cleaner. Acetone I haven't tried-that's really nasty dangerous stuff but it could be an option. I will try and contact the stag manufacturer next week and see what they say.

shokwave2 Officially Full-On Dubber

289 posts · joined Mar 2010 ·

#854649
I'm pretty sure acetone would get that crap off for you, it's just a question if it will react with the case or not. We make resin capsules at work which are used to hold up mine walls and roofs. It's tough stuff when hardened and acetone cleans it up if we spill some and hardens on the floor and machinery.

muzz Casual Dubber

27 posts · joined Jul 2011 ·

#854656
Yeah thanx for thate guys ,i will have to swipe some of the little woman nail polish remover. Just read that brake fluid is also deadly on sealants.The one big problem with all this stuff is getting the stuff to penetrate because the mating surfaces are so close together.

ian.mezz I never said, I could write or spell

3,913 posts · joined Sep 2004 ·

#854661
Good luck, sounds like you are making a bit of work for your self.🥲
years ago The stag that I used on cars was only a sealer not a lock tight?????
😂🤪😂🤪😂
car forums. where a lot of peoples good intentions end up taking a good old car off the road forever never ever to see the road again. 🥲

vwjon Fahrvergnugen

914 posts · joined Jul 2006 ·

#854668
have you undone the 6 nuts between the cylinders? they are on the right side of the block as you look at the front of the motor.
3 1959 cadillacs
1 musso
2 early notchbacks
2 split kombis
2 split panels
1 split ute
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grumble Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,672 posts · joined Jun 2008 ·

#854669
A silly question but did you ask the engine builder how to split the case since he used the stag? I find it hard to believe a professional vw engine builder would use the stuff since there are a lot of better more reliable sealants available.Cheers and good luck. Les

muzz Casual Dubber

27 posts · joined Jul 2011 ·

#854680
Yeah i took out not only the bolts and the washers which can also hold things up but the case bolts as well.There are quite a few types of Stag. This stuff was orange and it was laden on every bolt in the case. Anyhow I have the case separated now.I went for broke and applied a little more pressure on the jack and for the first time it has open opened about 5mm. Too tired to deal with it any more today. Re the builder - I actually never knew his name because I bought the motor off someone else and he told me the motor was built professionally in the ACT area. This is my 6th. air cooled motor and I have never experienced anything like this before and hopefully never will again.Thanks for all help.

Bizarre Moderator The artist formerly known as blue74l

12,789 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#854687
muzz wrote:- I actually never knew his name because I bought the motor off someone else and he told me the motor was built professionally in the ACT area. .
mmmmmm................ NEVER trust anyone selling a motor that says it was built but a professional 😂
Futue te ipsum!!!

VolksVair Officially Full-On Dubber

252 posts · joined Apr 2010 ·

#854735
All my life I have used "Permatex Aviation gasket glue, "Non Hardening" expands & contracts as alloy motors go hot & cold, great between case halves
Adventure Before Dimentia

grumble Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,672 posts · joined Jun 2008 ·

#854747
VolksVair wrote:All my life I have used "Permatex Aviation gasket glue, "Non Hardening" expands & contracts as alloy motors go hot & cold, great between case halves
The old Permatex No 3 or the genuine Vw sealant ,no problems. I thought I had seen most of the possibilities but apparently not.

muzz Casual Dubber

27 posts · joined Jul 2011 ·

#854845
Yeah I agree Permatex aviation is really good. Incidentally besides using a hammer screwdriver on the oil pump cover I had to drill out the small bolt near the # 4 cylinder because it had so much Stag on it with a hex head nut - brilliant!

muzz Casual Dubber

27 posts · joined Jul 2011 ·

#854851
Just one more point -the guy who sold me the motor is absolutely honest . I do know that the motor was built by a full time "professionall " but just how professional he was is a matter of opinion.