1982 Vanagon Rebuild

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reluctantartist
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Location: Bloomington, IN
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1982 Vanagon Rebuild

Post by reluctantartist » Tue Oct 20, 2020 9:22 am

I'm starting down the road of rebuilding my engine so I have lots of questions and yes I have all of the repair manuals. I have a core engine, an extra engine case that measures out okay, and of course my blown engine. I'm hoping to build a pretty solid engine so I'm just gonna stay with the stock motor build. I lucked out and I have new old stock VW hydraulic camshaft and gear, lifters, pushrods and oil pump. So my next question is should I just go with a new crankshaft and rods or look at rebuilding the rods and crankshaft? I haven't done this before so can the local machine shop do the rebuilding or is this is a specific VW type 4 thing that needs to go to a specialist. I am planning on getting AA pistons and cylinders and I'll make the splurge to get HAM heads with the ceramic coating and black coating. I still haven't decided on bearing specifics so any advice here as to what currently is decent would be appreciated. Is there any problem with just using the car wash to clean the case and then going over it with fine brushes etc. to clean it versus taking it to a machine shop to clean it? Is there any special machining that should be done to the engine case if the crankshaft and camshaft bores all check out? Some of the case studs bent during shipping so I have to replace those so are there any specific issues with replacing case studs other than heating first and then taking it out and then installing a new stud? This is a California engine and the L jet is in good condition so I want to keep the oxygen sensor set up but is the California exhaust really that bad?

I'll have more questions as I go on obviously, and I'll keep you posted.

Thanks everyone
82 Westy

TrollFromDownBelow
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Location: Metro Detroit
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Re: 1982 Vanagon Rebuild

Post by TrollFromDownBelow » Wed Oct 21, 2020 7:49 pm

Hi,

Welcome to the club. I'm currently going through the same process (see my boring engine rebuild thread). I'll answer what I can:

- depends on how 'blown' your engine is ... you didn't say what happened. May not need a new crankshaft; although polish or grinding is probably in order.
- rods will most likely need to be rebuilt
- i would budget for new custom pushrods...geometry will most likely change making stock lengths not usable
- spend the $$ have the block cold tanked (yes, cold, not hot) and save yourself a ton of hours cleaning.
- didn't say which case studs were bent....or how bad. I would spend the money to have someone inspect and see if the case is still usable. if the stud bosses are cracked, you need to start over....again, your original case may still be usable, depends on how 'blown' it is.
1976 VW Bus aka tripod
FI ...not leaky, and not so noisy...and she runs awesome!
hambone wrote: There are those out there with no other aim but to bunch panties. It's like arguing with a pretzel.
::troll2::

reluctantartist
Getting Hooked!
Location: Bloomington, IN
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Re: 1982 Vanagon Rebuild

Post by reluctantartist » Sat Oct 24, 2020 10:13 am

here are the picts of the studs in question,
bent stud 1.jpg
bent stud 1.jpg (756.98 KiB) Viewed 3324 times
bent stud 2.jpg
bent stud 2.jpg (737.22 KiB) Viewed 3324 times
bent stud 3.jpg
bent stud 3.jpg (733.43 KiB) Viewed 3324 times


Would a regular machine shop be able to check out the case and do the rods and crank? I really would like to keep it local. They only place I know of around here is http://motorserviceindiana.com/auto-par ... on-in.html. I keep reading how the type 4 is so unique that only specialist can do anything with it. I have a new cam shaft and push rods and lifters already. I am keeping it stock so hopefully I won't have to mess too much with geometry. I am hoping between the core engine and mine I will have a useable crank shaft and rods.
82 Westy

TrollFromDownBelow
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Location: Metro Detroit
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Re: 1982 Vanagon Rebuild

Post by TrollFromDownBelow » Sat Oct 24, 2020 6:19 pm

You will need new studs. What I would be concerned about would be stress cracks in the case where the bent studs reside.

Yes, the Type 4's are very unique, in fact, I had accepted that I was going to have to ship the block to California for machine work (and I live right outside of Detroit...lots of machine shops, but no VW specialists), until I came across Rick Sedoris in Youngstown, OH. He's about 400 miles away from you .... so close enough to do a roundtrip in one day; or you could ship everything. He'll do as little, or as much as you want up to building a turnkey engine. Initially I was going to have him build a short block, but in the end decided to have him do a long block. I felt his rates were very fair and reasonable. Haven't fired it up yet, but he documented everything meticulously, looks to be an A1 job....FWIW I know people out in Cali send him work.

Definitely NOT trying to dissuade you from doing your own rebuild....go for it. Just pointing out that there are options out there. I simply did not have the time to do it, and my biggest concern was having to do everything over again. I think if it was a 350 Chevy - something simple, I would have attempted myself.

I would bring both blocks and cranks to Rich and have him choose the best.
1976 VW Bus aka tripod
FI ...not leaky, and not so noisy...and she runs awesome!
hambone wrote: There are those out there with no other aim but to bunch panties. It's like arguing with a pretzel.
::troll2::

reluctantartist
Getting Hooked!
Location: Bloomington, IN
Status: Offline

Re: 1982 Vanagon Rebuild

Post by reluctantartist » Wed Aug 04, 2021 9:45 am

Okay I ended up having to send a bunch of stuff to European motor works in California since there isn't anybody here that even does car parts in my town. I was going to buy top of the line heads from Hoffman but he doesn't have any and I'm not sure when he's going to have some so I went ahead and had the ones for my core engine rebuilt. The question I have now is what size bearing should I get with the crank they didn't tell me what to get and said I could tell by the markings being one dot is one size under and two dots is two sizes under. But that doesn't tell me what I need for the rods. I did find a W with a DOT and then a G on the other side. So what does that mean?I have a case I'm probably going to use it already measures out within the wear limit so it doesn't need anything other than standard bearings for it so it all depends on the crankshaft. That may change as there was a piece broken off of it but I have a local machinist that does fabrication work for the Navy, cook pharmaceutical, etc, that said he could fix the case. He has helped me out in the past making some custom parts for my 412 since parts for that can be unobtainium. Anyway can somebody help me with vw Machinists hieroglyphics?
82 Westy

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