2.1 WBX engine rebuild noob....

[silverbullet]

The torque converter makes a lot of heat, thats why there are those big slots in the housing to help air circulation.
Could it be that you have inadvertantly made an oil interwarmer?

[123-jn]

I do hope not!! WE did test it first and the air off it was 25 degrees when ambient was 18 degrees while on a varied drive. (according to my multimeter probe.) It keeps the oil temp below 100 degrees. Its a pretty powerfull breeze that comes out. Sorry for the thread HIJACK.

[sherlylock]

After a christmas hiatus and a session on removing the old engine from the van I've finally got back into my rebuild....

Took all the bits to a local recommended engine builder to check the pistons/crankshaft/case bearing bores.

A week later I got a call to say all had been checked and all is within tolerance. Crankshaft journals are within spec and can be rebuilt with new std bearings......

So an order to Brickwerks later and I have a set of rebuild bits (less tappets as I forgot to tag them on the order)



Ordered some engine cleaning brushes and have started cleaning out the cross-drillings on the crank. Looking forward to getting everything ship-shape, clean and re-assembled.

[123-jn]

Nice looking pile of bits you have there, Have you got your new piston rings ? It looks like you have!! The single piston sets from brikwerks. Best of luck , I can't wait to see how the build goes. Mine is coming along but I'm short of cash so have slowed down at present. I have tappets , and rings as well as pushrod tubes to get (spring loaded ones) and my cylinders to get honed!!

[silverbullet]

Side note for spring-type pushrod tubes:
You may find that you can't get the cylinder head drain screws out...
Check that the screws are no longer than necessary (M8 x 10 or 12 long?)

This may only be a problem with the new screws supplied in AMC heads...

[sherlylock]

Side note for spring-type pushrod tubes:
You may find that you can't get the cylinder head drain screws out...
Check that the screws are no longer than necessary (M8 x 10 or 12 long?)

This may only be a problem with the new screws supplied in AMC heads...

Good info - personally I'm going to use the same type as I removed (the ones with the bellow type features). Is there any reason why I can't reuse these? Bentley suggests an overall length which they should be before fitting to ensure the seals do their job. If I manipulate the originals to this length and they're not damaged can I re-use. Do they work harden over time or some other (not obvious) reason not to re-use. It's £80 I could do without spending...on the other hand I don't want to spend all this money on a rebuild and then skimp and cut corners......

Nice looking pile of bits you have there, Have you got your new piston rings ? It looks like you have!! The single piston sets from brikwerks. Best of luck , I can't wait to see how the build goes. Mine is coming along but I'm short of cash so have slowed down at present. I have tappets , and rings as well as pushrod tubes to get (spring loaded ones) and my cylinders to get honed!!

Yep - all bits from BW (all shells and rings are Kolbenschmitt brand). Cam shells are Silverline brand(?) bought from elsewhere (supplier slips my mind at the mo) as couldn't get from BW.

I must apologise John - I was meant to send you the bearing shell off the old 1.9 crank! Completely went out of my head (gonna blame Christmas!) - hope it didn't cause you any issues (looks like your build has progressed nicely!)

[itchyfeet]

Is there any reason why I can't reuse these? Bentley suggests an overall length which they should be before fitting to ensure the seals do their job. If I manipulate the originals to this length and they're not damaged can I re-use. Do they work harden over time or some other (not obvious) reason not to re-use. It's £80 I could do without spending...on the other hand I don't want to spend all this money on a rebuild and then skimp and cut corners......

I have reused the stock tubes by opening them out a little.
I used a thin sheet of Aluminum 1mm I think which I rounded the edges so it would not damage the tube, then push it into a fold and roll around so the whole fold is the width of the sheet, you won't need to do them all or of you will end up with it to long.

you will notice they are not all compressed the same so pick your folds to open up.

[weimarbus]

re push rod tubes, you can usually pull and roll them apart enough to expand them, I've never had a leak from reused ones on a wbx or air cooled beetle engine, don.t stretch them too far though it makes the cylinder head nuts hard to get on and line things up correctly, also make sure that they compress in a straight line not on the p*ss

[Simon Baxter]

Yep - all bits from BW (all shells and rings are Kolbenschmitt brand). Cam shells are Silverline brand(?) bought from elsewhere (supplier slips my mind at the mo) as couldn't get from BW.

We have some Mahle ones, they just never hit the webshop.
Sat in piles of stuff we have waiting to go on the shop.
Always worth dropping us a mail if you can't find what you want.

[sherlylock]

Yep - all bits from BW (all shells and rings are Kolbenschmitt brand). Cam shells are Silverline brand(?) bought from elsewhere (supplier slips my mind at the mo) as couldn't get from BW.

We have some Mahle ones, they just never hit the webshop.
Sat in piles of stuff we have waiting to go on the shop.
Always worth dropping us a mail if you can't find what you want.

Haha...I didn't word that well did I? When I say "couldn't get" from BW I meant "couldn't see on the webshop" or "couldn't be arsed to send an email to BW to find out"

Will be putting another order in soon for the remaining bits (when the bank balance has recovered!).....love receiving a box of goodies with the BW tape wrapped around it

[123-jn]

I reused my old tubes on the engine that I have in at present when I rebuilt it. They were absolutely fine no leaks. The reason I want to use springloaded ones is that shortly after building the last engine I suffered tappet issues which required me to cut off two of the tubes to get at them (these were new tappets) and then a cylinder head developed a crack and it was easier to put the new head on without trying to line up the tubes as well as engine was in situ. For this reason I changed to spring loaded 3 seal scat bigmouth tubes. These have been faultless with no leaks despite yet another two tappets having to be replaced. ( next tappets will be from BW not previous well known supplier). So just incase of similar teething troubles I thought i'd start with scat bigmouth tubes this time!!! If you can 100% trust your parts then I see no reason not to use the old ones but beware, they don't seem to make things like they used to!! PS I have silverline cam shells also they are fine, current engine is running them now. Also £9.00 compared to £17.00.

[sherlylock]

I reused my old tubes on the engine that I have in at present when I rebuilt it. They were absolutely fine no leaks. The reason I want to use springloaded ones is that shortly after building the last engine I suffered tappet issues which required me to cut off two of the tubes to get at them (these were new tappets) and then a cylinder head developed a crack and it was easier to put the new head on without trying to line up the tubes as well as engine was in situ. For this reason I changed to spring loaded 3 seal scat bigmouth tubes. These have been faultless with no leaks despite yet another two tappets having to be replaced. ( next tappets will be from BW not previous well known supplier). So just incase of similar teething troubles I thought i'd start with scat bigmouth tubes this time!!! If you can 100% trust your parts then I see no reason not to use the old ones but beware, they don't seem to make things like they used to!! PS I have silverline cam shells also they are fine, current engine is running them now. Also £9.00 compared to £17.00.

Cool - sounds like a re-use on the tubes is OK then - I'll be ordering a set of the hydraulic followers from BW when payday arrives. Good to hear some feedback about the Silverline cam shells too - IIRC the gen. VW ones are listed on VWHeritage at £54 with a 3 week wait. The silverline ones were about £18 (leading to my slight concern that they might be inferior)

So - next thing to look at for me - oil gallery plugs....

I want to remove them so I can properly clean the galleries - how do I get them out? Do they tap out if I insert something long down the gallery to drift them out?

What's best to replace them with? I've seen examples of the bores being tapped and screw in plugs used - or just use the original style plugs? (I'm guessing these are readily available?). How are these fitted? Pressed in with sealant?

Cheers!

[123-jn]

You can drive some out with a drift but others have to be drilled and collapsed carefully. I only removed one that looked leaky and one that I tapped to convert to an oil pressure gauge inlet. The others all looked dry as a bone so I didn't disturb them!! The ones in the back under the flywheel are reasonably easy to drill out and tap with 3/8 npt tap to accept an npt 3/8 plug. These threads are slightly tapered and so only need a bit of thread locker to seal for good. Mine seem to have been done previously this end!! Fingers crossed the other end. You can get the larger aluminium core plugs from heritage and coolair (same size as an air cooled case) I couldnt find the tiny 1/4 inch one but you could easily tap that and wind in some allthread if you need to (with thread seal) I used the steam cleaner in my oil galleries through all the drillings except the plugs!!! I kept going until no more muck came out.

[sherlylock]

You can drive some out with a drift but others have to be drilled and collapsed carefully. I only removed one that looked leaky and one that I tapped to convert to an oil pressure gauge inlet. The others all looked dry as a bone so I didn't disturb them!! The ones in the back under the flywheel are reasonably easy to drill out and tap with 3/8 npt tap to accept an npt 3/8 plug. These threads are slightly tapered and so only need a bit of thread locker to seal for good. Mine seem to have been done previously this end!! Fingers crossed the other end. You can get the larger aluminium core plugs from heritage and coolair (same size as an air cooled case) I couldnt find the tiny 1/4 inch one but you could easily tap that and wind in some allthread if you need to (with thread seal) I used the steam cleaner in my oil galleries through all the drillings except the plugs!!! I kept going until no more muck came out.

Hmmm.....now wondering if I want to disturb them.....but I really want everything as clean as possible. More research needed.

Second round of cleaning on the pistons - been making sure the ring grooves are clear of carbon deposits. Bit of brake cleaner, wirewool and a piece of old broken piston ring and we're starting to look good. Oil holes brushed through with the cleaning brushes too.....



Looks like the engine has been apart once before - the piston crowns have number scratched into them, corresponding to the bore position they were removed from.....apart from one which has 3 & 4 on it!

[123-jn]

Your DJ pistons seem to have a hump in the middle of the combustion chamber, Mine are flatterer!! Just out of interest are the german piston rings cast iron for 1st and 2nd ring or chrome for 1st and cast iron 2nd?