1.9 DG rebuild (2.1 MV stand-in)

[dn-j]

Further to this thread:

https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=173832

I am rebuilding a 1.9 DG as a temporary stand-in for the 2.1 MV in my Doka Syncro.  The 1.9 can go in the vehicle while I take my time with the MV rebuild, but the DG rebuild will also be good practice for the second rebuild later!

Here is the DG engine for rebuild, unknown origin:



Will try to document the rebuild in this thread as I go along.

[dn-j]

Head removal:



Came off pretty easily so I'm guessing it's not long since they were last off.  One of the cylinders came away with the head, but easily detached after:



Four cylinders removed:



Flywheel easily removed with locking tool, a blast with impact gun on the socket head screws, and then 1/2" breaker bar:



Oil pump removal with the standard tool:



First thing noticed here is that the cam gear has three bolts, so something to investigate further when apart:



All four cylinders removed:



Piston removal and splitting the case up next.
 

[Stesaw]

Have fun, hope its not a mess inside. 

[dn-j]

More progress.

Cylinder bores don't look great but let's see what they look like after a clean-up, before deciding whether to replace:



Circlip removal and the standard Rawlbolt piston pin puller tool:





Pulling the piston pins out was pretty painless - finding some circlip pliers with exactly the right angle / length for decent access was a bit more effort.

Here are a couple of shots of the removed pistons.  Is there any way that I can determine the brand / spec from the castings?  Don't know the engine history so I don't know if they are original/OEM or some kind of aftermarket replacements.





 

[BigBlueVan]

Nice one, will keep an eye on this. Doesn't look too bad inside, hopefully it'll all clean up well for you.

[silverbullet]

Its been "rebuilt" before, those are VW Brazil pistons.

What do you plan to do about crank bearings etc?

[dn-j]

Its been "rebuilt" before, those are VW Brazil pistons.

Interesting.  Are these still available and if so is the quality good?  As far as I can remember I've only ever seen unbranded, or AA, or KS pistons for sale?

[dn-j]

What do you plan to do about crank bearings etc?

Hmm, good question!  Only saw the post about them being unavailable after I started the engine strip down.  Not that it matters anyway, as this is just a spare engine.  But I definitely won't start a rebuild of the original MV that is in the Doka, until I have all the parts in my hands!

One possibility is that the crank was already reground during a previous rebuild, and I believe that some undersize bearing sets are still available?  But I haven't measured it up yet.  If it is still standard size, then not sure what the plan is.  I guess I could have it reground to undersize even if the crank doesn't require it.  Rebuilding it with old bearings would not be cool!

Fortunately I am not in a rush to rebuild the engine since it's just a spare sat in my workshop.  Surely a solution will be forthcoming at some point?  Must be a reasonable amount of demand given all the WBX engines still running around in Vanagons in the US?

In the meantime, plenty that I can be getting on with including cleaning/inspecting everything and rebuilding the heads.

[ajsimmo]

"I believe that some undersize bearing sets are still available? "

Nope, all sizes are currently unavailable. They've all been snapped up. It's a global shortage. I hope there are too many out there to just stop production, and someone like Silverline might step in to fill the gap.

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[Stesaw]

I heard that Rheinmetall was looking to sell Kolbenschmidt so that could be a bit rough.

[dn-j]

Well I have now managed to source some 0.25 u/s bearings, so having the crank reground for those is my backup plan.  Assuming it isn't already reground to something smaller than that!  Haven't measured it yet.

If the crank is within spec for standard size, then I will probably just delay the rebuild for a few months to wait and see if more bearing options come available again.  Fingers crossed.

[ajsimmo]

You found some 0.25s? Wow! Any chance that your source has another set?

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[dn-j]

I have been told they were the last set, sorry!

They came from the US (= expensive).

And this assumes that they actually turn up...

[ajsimmo]

Fingers crossed for you and well done for finding them. I've looked all over the world, including USA, Russia and Australia, but now drawing a blank.
I've just stripped a DG that had allegedly been recently rebuilt, but had severely excessive crank endfloat. Turns out it had new 0.25 u/s bearings in it, but the builder had put the rear bearing in upside down, blocking the oilway! The crank survived unscathed, but the bearing, outer thrust and shims got cooked. The other bearings are almost as new, with just a normal running in initial wear pattern. Result is I just need the rear most main bearing to repair, but have to use a full new set.
Has anyone, for any bizarre reason, got a part set of 0.25s, or just the no.4 (thrust/flywheel end) bearing, lurking on the shelf that they wondered why they kept?


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[dn-j]

Looks like I might have snapped up the last ever set then!

I was going to buy another T25 at some point, I'm now thinking that an air-cooled one might be a better option if WBX parts availability is going to be this problematic.

I can give you the used no. 4 bearing I am removing from my DG if you want, if it happens to be 0.25 (haven't measured yet) - it's not great but it's not completely cooked either