Pull engine to fix sparkplug threads??

That would be how I would do it. Pull the motor, and pull the head, then no chance of metal shavings getting anywhere you don't want them.

Jody

Ya know the best gaskets around are the old leather ones. Yep, go get a yard of cow hide and make your own damn gaskets beats fish tank glue.

oopps... uh... well, he could retap it maybe ... depends on many shavings of metal got down in the #2 cyl...

Why not pull it clean it out... Put in a helicoil yourself and save a few bucks?

unless you have easy access to do the job on the car and you don't mind a bit of steel getting down in your engine when he installs the helicoil then i don't think there is any other way to do it. When I pulled my engine to put a helicoil in I did all four...

A lot depends on how much room you have around the engine. In your replica, it may well be easier than normal to get access to the cylinder head, and remove it, but then, if you have that much room around the engine, its still probably easier to remove engine. There isnt much work involved. A competant VW mechanic should have your engine out on the floor easily within an hour, and if no heater cables etc, less than that.

Neil

NO.

You can do it this way, but if it was my car, I'd rotate the engine so the exhaust valve was open, connect a shop vac (on blow) to the exhaust pipe, and turn it on while I drilled and tapped. The shavings will be blown out the hole.

Use a timesert for a foolproof repair, NOT HELICOIL.

John Aircooled.Net Inc.

Now that is a TIP!!!!! I would never have thought of that.............

-- Terry B AKA VDUBBS Buggin in Bama

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That is what he is going to use...But to retap and get it straight the engine must be pulled. Not much room otherwise. And thanks to everyone for thier advise.

Larry Hill

just wear glasses so those shavings otherwise destined to foul your engine don't instead foul your eyes.

cover the tap with grease and make sure the piston is DOWN!!!!!

How do i know this????

i had never heard of timeserts when i did the helicoils on my heads... and only recently have i seen them in the stores... i didnt know it at the time, but when i pulled the engine there was already a helicoil in one of the heads... that had been there for the 5 years I owned the engine... i now have all four replaced with helicoils... have not had a problem... yet...

Is this a logic quiz?

Competent Mechanic == 20 minutes VWgirl == 20 minutes

Is VWGirl a competent mechanic?

Cover the tap cutting tip with vaseline before tapping new threads for the insert. Most of the shavings will get stuck on the vaseline instead of dropping into the combustion chamber.

Jan

TerryB wrote:

What makes you think she isn't? Just because she's a girl? They are out there! My latest ex was very handy with cars. Timing belt replacements, brake rebuilds, head gaskets.. anything on watercooled cars. She didn't know aircooled VW though.

We both had our hands dirty on several occasions with cars, and it was a blast to be able to share the hobby with her, and to be able to talk about car stuff without having to explain things to a novice.

Jan

I said I can do it in less ;-) I mean come on, how long does it take YOU to remove four bolts??? 4 bolts, a gas line, acc. cable, a few wires... doesn't take very long... Usually half the time I spend on an engine pull is finding the tools to remove the bolts/wires

and I did the helicoils too... who would have thought I could do such a thing eh? I will say it's a pain in the ass though...

When you movin to FL Jan? ;-)

and how long would it have taken him to pull the engine and take the head off??? i think it is quicker in the long run to pull the engine... just my opinion though...

Just when you thought you'd heard every possible use for Vaseline from Jan... ;-)

On Wed, 30 Jul 2003 11:16:11 +0300, Jan , who was sitting in a corner eating his Xmas pie stuck in his thumb and pulled out a plum and began to run off at the mouth like so:

-- Travis (Shaggie) '63 VW Camo Baja...