1. Home
  2. Volkswagen, hot (Aircooled)
  3. Rebuild

Rebuild

Hey guys Just wanted to see what some of you experts think. I have a '73 sedan that had a rebuilt 1600 dp in it when I bought it in September. The engine has around 25,000 mi or so and runs good despite burning some oil and having low compression results - under 95 give or take a few for all 4 jugs. As I had the engine out to replace the clutch/pressure plate, I suddenly realized that I had dismantled the entire engine!!! (FUN!) In my anal-ness, I had decided that I wasn't going to live with burning oil. To my delight, I found that the bottom end looks awsome, almost new. The cylinders, however, look older than anything in the engine and had puddles of oil sitting on the pistons when I took the heads off. Seems like the person who rebuilt this engine reused some cylinders. So I think I'll leave the bottom end as-is (tell me if I'm stupid) since it looks good and get new P/C's from John C.. Anything a first time "rebuilder" should be weary of with new jugs? I've heard that it's better to seal the cylinders to the case with sealer rather than paper gaskets. Will leaving these out lower the cylinders enough to alter rocker/pushrod geometry? Of course I'd like to reuse as many parts as possible. One thing the really irks me is that the exhausts valves are a light brown color while the rest of the valves are black. Is this bad? Should I get new heads too? Thanks for reading my long post and any input would be welcome! Thanks!

~Steve

Reply to
Steve
Loading thread data ...

Here's what I would do:

put flywheel back on (if it's off) and measure the crank endplay.

formatting link
within spec, personally, I would *not split the case.(anal readers may differ...) Brw exh and black everything else sounds normal for an engine using oil.

I think I might pull the valve springs off (need compressor) and have a peek at the guide/stem clearance. Then clean up the head combustion chamber and inspect for tiny cracks from seats to plug holes. If the valves/seats and head look good (25,000 is low mileage) put it back together. Keep track of where the springs were.

Then order the P/C kit from J. Connolly.

You may get something out of this article:

formatting link
Speedy Jim
formatting link

Reply to
Speedy Jim

Hey Jim. Thanks for the post. That site is fun to read and informative. Actually, I had already checked the end play and it was right where it should be and there was no oil leaking from the crank area behind the flywheel. :-D Good to know that the variation of valve colors is normal. Whew. I will check the heads out when I get home.

Steve

Reply to
Steve

Oh. I actually DID split the case (after checking the end play) and pretty much dissasmbled everything. Figured it would be good to see how the bearings were doing before just rebuilding the top end and worrying about everything I hadn't checked on the freeway somewhere...

Reply to
Steve

With quality of some of the new P&C there is nothing wrong with reusing the old if they are indeed still round, no scratches and within wear limits. They do need to be scuffed up with a cylinder hone and new rings installed. Now that you have it apart have the crank mic'd for roundness and replace all the bearing. Have machine shop check the cam for wear.

Reply to
Wolfgang

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.