Well, I meant to start this thread last winter when I started this project. As many local member know, I drive a 1976 Westy. I have owned it since June of 1988. I turned over 250,000 miles this past year. In may of 1989 I built a fresh motor for it at 103,000 miles. Now at 250,276 miles. After 147,000 miles, it's time . Most of these miles were towing 1000lbs of trailer and loaded with my family all over the Midwest,Northeast and East coast. It still runs great, but is seeping and leaking oil from too many places. I could have torn it down and inspected and re assembled/re sealed, BUT,
I have been stashing components for it' eventual replacement since late 90's. So, let's build a new motor. The current one is a fully balance stock displacement motor and worked so well that I figured I would do the same with a few more details. So, here goes. I will try to keep this updated every few days.
Bill's T4 engine build
Re: Bill's T4 engine build
The case.
I chose a case that I had that looked to be a good candidate. After some measurments that confirmed that it had not been align bored or did not need one, off to the machine shop. I had them double check the crank bore. Perfect spec
at 70.00mm for 1,2and 3 and 50mm for # 4
First, I pulled the oil galley plugs(pressed in) and tapped them for threaded plugs. This does 2 things. That they are not going to blow out and puke oil and allows for thourough cleaning of the Main oil galleys. There are 5 of them.
this pic shows them installed. Actually I don't install the plug until I am done with all the case work
This one after being installed, needs to be ground down a bit( you may find a shallow plug for this) This is why. These dowels on the flywheel will hit the protruding plug and when you try to turn over the engine, you will only get so far before it stops.
I had the machine shop "deck" the case. After the cylinder studs and case dowels are removed, the case is clamped on a flat table and measured from the case parting line to the cylinder seat. When the shortest distance cylinder is found,it is then machined perfectly parallel to the parting seem. The 3 remaining cylinder mating surfaces are then machined to exactly the same distance as the first. this does 2 things, obviously, a perfectly machined surface parallel to the case mating line for the cylinder, and puts the crankshaft perfectly in the center of the case. It proved to be a benefit later as we will see when setting the deck ht.
to be continued when I find the rest of the pics.
I chose a case that I had that looked to be a good candidate. After some measurments that confirmed that it had not been align bored or did not need one, off to the machine shop. I had them double check the crank bore. Perfect spec
at 70.00mm for 1,2and 3 and 50mm for # 4
First, I pulled the oil galley plugs(pressed in) and tapped them for threaded plugs. This does 2 things. That they are not going to blow out and puke oil and allows for thourough cleaning of the Main oil galleys. There are 5 of them.
this pic shows them installed. Actually I don't install the plug until I am done with all the case work
This one after being installed, needs to be ground down a bit( you may find a shallow plug for this) This is why. These dowels on the flywheel will hit the protruding plug and when you try to turn over the engine, you will only get so far before it stops.
I had the machine shop "deck" the case. After the cylinder studs and case dowels are removed, the case is clamped on a flat table and measured from the case parting line to the cylinder seat. When the shortest distance cylinder is found,it is then machined perfectly parallel to the parting seem. The 3 remaining cylinder mating surfaces are then machined to exactly the same distance as the first. this does 2 things, obviously, a perfectly machined surface parallel to the case mating line for the cylinder, and puts the crankshaft perfectly in the center of the case. It proved to be a benefit later as we will see when setting the deck ht.
to be continued when I find the rest of the pics.
Re: Bill's T4 engine build
OK. Now we need to check ALL the threads in the case. Important to do this now as it can be a big problem later,ESPECIALLY if it is from a motor that is not just torn down for rebuild. In this case, none of the components are coming from the same motor.
While we are polishing. Did the same with the lifer bores.May seem anal, but fiction causes heat and robs power. Also polished the lifters. They should slide thru the bore without hang up,( bore diam was checked prior) to be continued
This one is VERY important. It holds the oil pick up in place. It is 71mm long. Too long or to short and you will have problems. Check it carefully. It is sometimes bent, do to someone over tightening the strainer sump cover,which only torques to 9ft lbs. If is bent, get another one and check the threads in the case as they may be damaged.
on assembly it goes thru the left case half here. Which is easy to miss on teardown,as it is usually buried in crud.
Now here's where I ran into a big problem. When I tried to check the cylinder studs, I found that several had f'd up threads in the alum case. Bummer. I sent the case to Jorge at European motorworks and he installed threaded inserts in all the cyl. stud holes. Nicely done. recessed.
I got this tool from Gene Berg many years ago. It allows you to cut/clean up the seat for the oil pressure relief piston.
I also polished the bore with a dremmel and small buffing wheel and some semichrome polish and with a magnet made sure the piston moved smoothly in the bore.While we are polishing. Did the same with the lifer bores.May seem anal, but fiction causes heat and robs power. Also polished the lifters. They should slide thru the bore without hang up,( bore diam was checked prior) to be continued
- Karl Kombi
- Posts: 280
- Joined: Wed Sep 27, 2017 9:56 am
Re: Bill's T4 engine build
Thanks Bill for the great storyline of your build. It's a welcome break from the recent silence on the forum!
I'm assuming that the "cracks" in the casting between the lifter openings are superficial and not really anything...
I'm assuming that the "cracks" in the casting between the lifter openings are superficial and not really anything...
Re: Bill's T4 engine build
Joe, yes superficial casting marks. Identical to other cases I have.
Now, a little more case work for today. since it involves the crank shaft I will jump ahead a bit.
Current motor has a counter weighted crank, as will this one. It's the ONLY crank that I would use on any air cooled VW.
The crank on the right is a stock crank. Notis the 2 center rod journals are on the same side. This creates an imbalance.
The counter weights are welded on a stock crank to offset this imbalance.The crank is then balanced. The result is a crank that rotates perfectly with no "whip" do to imbalance. Which results in an extremely smooth running engine capable of much higher RPM without beating the center main bearings and journals. Do to this added material, it is sometimes needed to :clearance some areas of the case.
I use a couple of used bearing for this since it may require taking the crank out and back in a few times. It's also a good idea to install the flywheel with a couple of the flywheel shims for this process.
Here you can see where some material needs to be removed from the case. after a little grinding. You do need todo this check with the crank in both case halves. most of the work was done on this journal. out of time for today.
Now, a little more case work for today. since it involves the crank shaft I will jump ahead a bit.
Current motor has a counter weighted crank, as will this one. It's the ONLY crank that I would use on any air cooled VW.
The crank on the right is a stock crank. Notis the 2 center rod journals are on the same side. This creates an imbalance.
The counter weights are welded on a stock crank to offset this imbalance.The crank is then balanced. The result is a crank that rotates perfectly with no "whip" do to imbalance. Which results in an extremely smooth running engine capable of much higher RPM without beating the center main bearings and journals. Do to this added material, it is sometimes needed to :clearance some areas of the case.
I use a couple of used bearing for this since it may require taking the crank out and back in a few times. It's also a good idea to install the flywheel with a couple of the flywheel shims for this process.
Here you can see where some material needs to be removed from the case. after a little grinding. You do need todo this check with the crank in both case halves. most of the work was done on this journal. out of time for today.
Re: Bill's T4 engine build
We are going to set the case aside and move to the crank shaft.
Check it AGAIN. 1,2 and 3 spec is 5.97-5.99 they were all spot on. No pic for #4, but it was also spot on. Now clean the oil passages. A gun cleaning bore snake works well for this. Now to install the crank gears and # 3 bearing. Bruce documented this well and the procedure for type 1 and type 4 are the same. BUT, I had a little problem.
After wiping the journal and bearing with brake cleaner and wiping the journal with assembly lube,
I pump a little oil into the journal. This pic shows another journal (no pic of #3) I heat the gears on a piece of fire brick with a torch. Be sure you orient the gear so the timing marks face the nose of the crank. Install the spacer and heat and install the dist drive gear. Then, install the snap ring in the groove in the crank. This is where i had a small problem. The snap ring would not seat in the groove. Shit. Maybe I did not have the gears seated. Pull them off and try again. Re installed and had the same issue. Pull them off again.
I had used a NEW brass dist drive gear. Let's check it out.
POS Grab a used dist drive gear and guess what.
Check it AGAIN. 1,2 and 3 spec is 5.97-5.99 they were all spot on. No pic for #4, but it was also spot on. Now clean the oil passages. A gun cleaning bore snake works well for this. Now to install the crank gears and # 3 bearing. Bruce documented this well and the procedure for type 1 and type 4 are the same. BUT, I had a little problem.
After wiping the journal and bearing with brake cleaner and wiping the journal with assembly lube,
I pump a little oil into the journal. This pic shows another journal (no pic of #3) I heat the gears on a piece of fire brick with a torch. Be sure you orient the gear so the timing marks face the nose of the crank. Install the spacer and heat and install the dist drive gear. Then, install the snap ring in the groove in the crank. This is where i had a small problem. The snap ring would not seat in the groove. Shit. Maybe I did not have the gears seated. Pull them off and try again. Re installed and had the same issue. Pull them off again.
I had used a NEW brass dist drive gear. Let's check it out.
POS Grab a used dist drive gear and guess what.
Re: Bill's T4 engine build
Before we move on. I am going to back up a bit. Before installing # 3 main bearing, you need to orient the bearing, so the dowel holes are aligned.
Note, the dowel holes are offset. They are all offset towards the flywheel end. Also, set the bearings in the case, making sure they seat nicely and mark the parting line. Also a good idea to put a magic marker mark on the.flywheel side of the bearing. #1 shown, but the same was done to #'s 3and 4 Now we can move back to the crank.
The pilot bearing in the type 4 is in the end of the crank. It is in the gland nut on Type one, and in the flywheel on 914.
ALWAYS REPLACE . When this bearing fails, it grabs the trans mainshaft like a Chinese finger and you are stuck in whatever gear you are in. Then, it's pull the motor, which is not easy,as the crank and mainshaft are locked together. Pull the old one out Pack the new one with grease, I use Spectro synthetic Install the new bearing. Next up, we will install the rods
Note, the dowel holes are offset. They are all offset towards the flywheel end. Also, set the bearings in the case, making sure they seat nicely and mark the parting line. Also a good idea to put a magic marker mark on the.flywheel side of the bearing. #1 shown, but the same was done to #'s 3and 4 Now we can move back to the crank.
The pilot bearing in the type 4 is in the end of the crank. It is in the gland nut on Type one, and in the flywheel on 914.
ALWAYS REPLACE . When this bearing fails, it grabs the trans mainshaft like a Chinese finger and you are stuck in whatever gear you are in. Then, it's pull the motor, which is not easy,as the crank and mainshaft are locked together. Pull the old one out Pack the new one with grease, I use Spectro synthetic Install the new bearing. Next up, we will install the rods
Re: Bill's T4 engine build
I'll just sit and watch... where's my popcorn?
It's Marla with an " L"
(My list of assets is just too long...)
(My list of assets is just too long...)
- Karl Kombi
- Posts: 280
- Joined: Wed Sep 27, 2017 9:56 am
Re: Bill's T4 engine build
I have a huge bowl right in front of me. Do you want some?
Re: Bill's T4 engine build
Now that every one has their popcorn We will move on to the connecting rods.
sometime,way back around 2000, I took a set of stock 2 liter rods to the machine shop to have them re-bushed sized and balanced, total weight and end to end.
To re-bush them, install new bushings in the small end. For this process, they press out the old bushings and press in new bushings which have a smaller inside diameter, then hone them out to spec, using one of your wrist pins for measurements. To "size" the big end, they remove a few thousandths from the mating surface, in this case the rod ,as opposed to the cap. The big end is now oval. Then they hone the big end perfectly round and size to spec. I also had them machine this groove,per a VW tech bulletin that I had. According to VW, this increases "oil splash" to the bottom of the piston.
Now let's check the weight.
They got them pretty nuts on within 1 gram 794 -grams. VW specs a 6ram difference between rods new . Short break . I am being beckoned for supper
This pic shows where they machine off material on the small end to balance end to end with the other rods.
(the difference in weight is this one has the rod bearing install, which is 37grams.) Next up ( tomorrow) we will hang the rods and take some measurements.
sometime,way back around 2000, I took a set of stock 2 liter rods to the machine shop to have them re-bushed sized and balanced, total weight and end to end.
To re-bush them, install new bushings in the small end. For this process, they press out the old bushings and press in new bushings which have a smaller inside diameter, then hone them out to spec, using one of your wrist pins for measurements. To "size" the big end, they remove a few thousandths from the mating surface, in this case the rod ,as opposed to the cap. The big end is now oval. Then they hone the big end perfectly round and size to spec. I also had them machine this groove,per a VW tech bulletin that I had. According to VW, this increases "oil splash" to the bottom of the piston.
Now let's check the weight.
They got them pretty nuts on within 1 gram 794 -grams. VW specs a 6ram difference between rods new . Short break . I am being beckoned for supper
This pic shows where they machine off material on the small end to balance end to end with the other rods.
(the difference in weight is this one has the rod bearing install, which is 37grams.) Next up ( tomorrow) we will hang the rods and take some measurements.