I'm tring to rebuild a 1964 40hp engine and was doing good till I tried installing the Mahle 83mm pistons. The bottom of the pistons hit a small area inside the case. So before I shave a little off the bottom of the piston is this the way to go? Thanks
Mario Vintage Werks Resto.
Had the same happen to me. I shaved a little material off from both the case and the pistons. You did weigh the pistons (with rings and pins and keepers in place? You should keep them the same weight compared to each other, so even if one piston doesn't need clearancing, you may want to do it anyway to keep the balance. Aluminum is light though, so you can remove a lot of material before you see a change in weight.
I match mine to 1g tolerance, rods too.
Jan
Common problem with the "new" kits. Do a search on The Samba and Shoptalk. This has definitely been discussed several times.
....glad to hear you were doing good till that point though ;^)
From: "Gary Tateosian"
I still find it BS that I have to grind on a new set of pistons just to make them work, thou it did give me a chance to balance them out.
Good news is the engine runs great and will be leaving the shop tomorrow.
Mario Vintage Werks Resto
Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.
Ask the community — no account required