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rebuilding motors
blutopless2 - November 17th, 2005 at 01:07 PM

is there much involved in rebuilding a vdub motor?
I have never attempted this myself but curious as to the difficulty etc


VWFREAK - November 17th, 2005 at 01:28 PM

Buy a vw manual and start 1 page at a time. There's quite a bit involved in my opinion, so get a mate to give you a hand if he has the know how. Thats how I started out.


helbus - November 17th, 2005 at 01:30 PM

I found that using two manuals was more beneficial. I used the Gregory's workshop manual and the Muirs Idiot book. I found that whn one could describe it better, the other would hava photo, and the workshop one tended to have more of the torque settings and other specs.

This was on an 1800 type 4 motor.


blutopless2 - November 17th, 2005 at 01:37 PM

So i take it that it is not just a simple bolt on process with the barrels and pistons?


helbus - November 17th, 2005 at 01:43 PM

Not really that simple. There are pushrod tubes and seals, tinware, manifolds, gaskets, all have to be cleaned, faced, make sure they are all servicable etc. If you have any sort of service manual at the moment, or one you can borrow and read, it will give you much more of an idea of what is involved.


PurpleT3 - November 17th, 2005 at 02:47 PM

I would suggest a book called How to Rebuild the Volkswagen Aircooled Engine by Tom Wilson. It is quite an old book, but it covers all models and types of engines. I bough mine from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0895862255/104-9093965-0091100?v=glance&n=283155&n=507846&s=books&v=glance
It is quite thorough and covers all the details. This, in conjunction with a service manual specific to the model should tell you all you need to know.
How far you go is up to you. You migh just want to do a top end freshen up, or do the pistons & barrels as well or go all the way and rebuild the whole thing. It is not all that complicated, but there are many hours of work involved, hence the high cost of buying a rebuilt engine.


blutopless2 - November 17th, 2005 at 02:52 PM

thanks.


Bizarre - November 17th, 2005 at 04:49 PM

depends what you call rebuilding

A top end rebuild is pretty easy.

New pisons and barrels, refurb the heads, check deck height, set compression ratio, new seals, set/check rocker geometry ( :duh ) bolt back together.

It is the bottom end that gets harder.
line boring cases, thrust cutting bearing faces and bearings to suit, setting end play

here is something of an over view for you

http://www.vw-resource.com/engine_rebuild.html 

Also there is a wealth of information on the engine rebuild forum on Shoptalk.

http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewforum.php?f=34&sid=7e413be45e9abc6d796590bd...

A whole section just for rebuild questions.


shiftyvw - November 17th, 2005 at 05:06 PM

VW motors arnt any easier to build than any other engine in my opinion. a bit trickier in many respects, especially if you dont want oil leaks. If you wouldnt attempt to rebuild another type of engine a VW is no easier. Why do you think your motor needs rebuilding?


blutopless2 - November 18th, 2005 at 08:09 AM

thanks bizarre that made for a good read.. gives me more of an understanding of the things involved with rebuilding.


blutopless2 - November 18th, 2005 at 08:10 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by shiftyvw
Why do you think your motor needs rebuilding?


I dont.. just curious as to the amount of work involved and whether it can be done by a mechanically minded person etc... or whether its best left to the pros.


HEL-70Y - November 18th, 2005 at 08:19 AM

me and my mates were going to re-build mine but after talking to a bunch of people, the bottom end seemed a little difficult, of how everything has to be precisley spot on and if its not you will have some problems. Also i found that the right combination to be very important and people not willing to give out there combination. So i built up the top end my self then pulled out my engine stripped it down to the pistons and then gave it to a mechanic, cost a bit but i thought id be better off, also the 1yr warrenty is good...no headachs this way


shiftyvw - November 18th, 2005 at 04:50 PM

if your mechanically minded and know how to measure things you can just send the case to someone for lineboring or whatevers neccesary.


ugabuga - November 20th, 2005 at 12:14 PM

I saved my engine rebuild for the very last part of my restoration. That gave me plenty of time to study several shop manuals (I have 4), read just about everything I could find on http://www.shoptalkforums.com,  and review the bugme videos. It is something a begginner with the necessary tools can do. But, you have to be willing to pay attention to detail, take your time, and never force anything. I highly recommend the book that PurpleT3 offered up as it it seams to be the most comprehensive and has a very logical format..although I did find a few minor things in it that I consider wrong. If you are serious, you should also consider purchasing the definitive Bently manual. The Haynes book is also very good.

Most of all--have fun--or get someone else to do it.

Markley


68beetle - November 21st, 2005 at 10:24 AM

I'll put in a quick word for the bugme dvds also - just about to start on a rebuild myself with the book that PurpleT3 mentioned as a guide. I've got an old DVD player and TV in the shed and plan on just working through the bugme dvd bit by bit and cross-checking it against the book. The best thing about the DVD's is they show you how to get things apart (rather than just telling you to get things apart like most books). He shows more than one method of separating pieces in most cases also, depending on what tools you have available.

My brother's a mechanic and watched some of the engine rebuild DVD with me and was very impressed - said he wished he had something as detailed as that to help him with the engines he rebuilt while at TAFE.


HotRodMatt - November 21st, 2005 at 11:45 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by HEL-70Y
me and my mates were going to re-build mine but after talking to a bunch of people, the bottom end seemed a little difficult, of how everything has to be precisley spot on and if its not you will have some problems. Also i found that the right combination to be very important and people not willing to give out there combination. So i built up the top end my self then pulled out my engine stripped it down to the pistons and then gave it to a mechanic, cost a bit but i thought id be better off, also the 1yr warrenty is good...no headachs this way


You did the top end or the tinware?

Pretty sure I saw your engine on the stand witht he barrells, pistons and heads on it before delivery...


HEL-70Y - November 23rd, 2005 at 12:55 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by HotRodMatt
Quote:
Originally posted by HEL-70Y
...So i built up the top end my self then pulled out my engine stripped it down to the pistons and then gave it to a mechanic, cost a bit but i thought id be better off, also the 1yr warrenty is good...no headachs this way


You did the top end or the tinware?

Pretty sure I saw your engine on the stand witht he barrells, pistons and heads on it before delivery...


sorry i lie. i did the easy part,pulled the engine out, carbi's, alternator and yes tin-ware. what more do u want from a boy that works in an office. I meant in the previous post that i stripped it down up until the pistons. Not sure what you guys class as the top end

[ Edited on 23/11/2005 by HEL-70Y ]