help needed: splitting the crankcase - GOT IT!

The motor is out of the kombi again for a good bottom end inspection 😂
Toruble is, I can't split the case! I have tried a rubber mallet and the old hammer and block of wood trick but no dice. I could hit harder but decided to stop at this point and try to get help.
The 6 large bolts don't want to pull all the way out - do I need to use a drift to get the threads over the big o-rings? Wouldn't it still show signs of separating along the facing where the two halves meet?
I'd appreciate any ideas as I need this done by the end of tomorrow so there is time to get parts and machining done by the weekend.
TIA!

Toby :thumb

[ Edited on 18-4-2007 by type3lover ]

Sounds like you might have missed a nut somewhere.
Check again around the perimeter,
and there are two others that are on slightly longer studs
near the lower forward most big stud,
and also near the oil pump.

On the large 6 big ones, they have nuts and washers.
There is no need to remove the stud.

If the case has been shuffle pinned, the case halves can be difficult to separate.

Dont forget the oil pump and sump plate!

Checked many times for missed nuts, and yes I found a couple that can only be seen when you stand the case up on it's end and look underneath. I had missed those on a previous attempt actually. Now I'm sure that they are all out.
Oil pump and sump plate are already out. The oil pump was a real pain to remove too! :vader



[ Edited on 16-4-2007 by type3lover ]

When my case wouldn't separate, it was because I'd missed one nut in a very hard-to-see place: it is deep in the "crease" between the bellhousing end and the main body of the case. It was buried in grime which actually looked like it followed a natural contour of metal, completely disguising the fact that there was a nut buried under the oily grime. As soon as I got the last nut off, the case came apart easily.

Good luck, and whatever you do DON'T use a screwdriver or other metal object to try and pry the case apart.

type3lover wrote:The oil pump was a real pain to remove too!

Oh yeah: for future reference, loosen the case bolts & nuts before removing the oil pump, because the pump is kind of gripped between the case halves.

Thanks for the replies!
I got it at last. There was one bolt left which was recessed on the left side of the case under and in between cylinders 3 & 4. (Thanks Boris!!)
It all came apart easily after that. Happy days.

Off-topic, but I found the problem I was looking for straight away too...
The thrust face on the camshaft bearing had sheared one side off so things were a little sloppy in the cam timing department since the cam was able to move forward and back a couple of mm.
Another reason why I always buy 2 sets of cam bearings - 2 thrust bearings are better than one!

Cheers! Toby :thumb