Itinerant Air-Cooled

Didn't realize we Baywindow T4 owners had it so good. Helping themiz with his '82 air-cooled Vanagon and I have no idea how to properly hand-turn the engine. On my 1975, I simply put a wrench on the alternator nut but the Vanagon has a squirrel cage fan (like the Baywindow Aux Heater Fan) directly in front of the alt pulley.

Is there a better way then yanking on the belt to turn the engine by hand? There must be.

The only other way I know of is a 13 mm socket on an extension to the fan nut, after removing the debris shield and timing scale. It is not an easy task either way...

Is it on a Westfalia?

If the alternator has the fan blades, you can spin the belt by turning the alternator via it's blades.
I had an 82 Westy for a long time and that's how I always did mine. Im sure it's not ideal, but it works just fine. I usually used the handle/butt end of a deadblow hammer so it wouldn't dent anything.

I simply remove the plastic brush/leaf/small-rodent guard from over the engine fan and grab the fan/pulley by hand. Somewhat clumsy, but it works fine. Just don't pinch your fingers between the fan belt and the pulley.

Addendumdum: make sure the van is not in gear before doing this.

SlowLane wrote:I simply remove the plastic brush/leaf/small-rodent guard from over the engine fan and grab the fan/pulley by hand. Somewhat clumsy, but it works fine. Just don't pinch your fingers between the fan belt and the pulley

Manual transmission? Stick it 4th gear and push vehicle to position engine where you want.
Colin

SlowLane wrote:I simply remove the plastic brush/leaf/small-rodent guard from over the engine fan and grab the fan/pulley by hand. Somewhat clumsy, but it works fine. Just don't pinch your fingers between the fan belt and the pulley

...this is what I have been doing, as it was the answer Slowlane gave a few years ago when I asked...recently rediscovered the thread.

...it should be easier now that I have removed the fan guard that came on the engine after it partially fell off and got chewed up by the fan on the CO road trip.

the miz wrote: ...it should be easier now that I have removed the fan guard that came on the engine after it partially fell off and got chewed up by the fan on the CO road trip.

Ouch. If you can't find a replacement, I've got a slightly beat up, yet still functional fan guard in my spares box. Shoot me a PM and I'll mail it to you.

To turn the engine:
Prying with some tool stuck in between fan fins is a bad idea. I have two of these broken, I suspect this is how someone made it to happen. Fan fins, made of cast light alloy are fragile.....

twinfalls wrote:To turn the engine:
Prying with some tool stuck in between fan fins is a bad idea. I have two of these broken, I suspect this is how someone made it to happen. Fan fins, made of cast light alloy are fragile.....

I agree.
Alternator fan blades in a pinch, closest to the alternator. Duh make sure the engine is not in gear!

Do not rotate the backwards if using the 13mm bolt in the middle of the hub. You could inadvertently loosen it from the crankshaft. This is a very hard-working bolt/hub assembly.
Colin

...came up with a new method for this over the weekend, based upon a Colin suggestion:

-transmission in 4th gear: push the Vanagon forward, engage clutch, pull bus back, disengage clutch, push Vanagon forward, etc.

It worked really well.

Of course, this method either requires 2 people or a lot of running back and forth and shifting from neutral to 4th, but it seems beyond normal human capability to turn this particular engine by hand and I have a nagging fear that the 13mm bolt will snap one of these days, if I keep doing it that way...

-miz

the miz wrote:...came up with a new method for this over the weekend, based upon a Colin suggestion:

-transmission in 4th gear: push the Vanagon forward, engage clutch, pull bus back, disengage clutch, push Vanagon forward, etc.

It worked really well.

Of course, this method either requires 2 people or a lot of running back and forth and shifting from neutral to 4th, but it seems beyond normal human capability to turn this particular engine by hand and I have a nagging fear that the 13mm bolt will snap one of these days, if I keep doing it that way...

-miz

That is how I have been doing it all by myself.
Colin
(glad to see you are still alive . . . we're out of casket stickers)

No worries, Colin!
For future reference, if I should die while working on my Vanagon: please apply the sticker to Vana's bumper, placed my corpse in the driver's seat, have her towed to Dead Horse Point State Park in Utah, and push us both over the edge...

the miz wrote:No worries, Colin!
For future reference, if I should die while working on my Vanagon: please apply the sticker to Vana's bumper, placed my corpse in the driver's seat, have her towed to Dead Horse Point State Park in Utah, and push us both over the edge...

I'll follow you both over the edge as my heart attack hits . . . a final bit of itinerant air-cooling as we plummet.
VannaGone Mizzing