Club 80-90 Forums

Stupid question(s) time again.

Probably going to be dropping the engine out of the van soon (to getter better access to the rusty exhaust studs for one thing) and am wondering if we're going to have the room to do this in the garage, so; does anyone know what sort of clearance the engine needs, between rear valance/bumper and floor, so it'll slide out?

Also, since I'm trying to arm myself with information:

What's best to lower the engine on to & slide it out on?

We've got Mr Bentley to guide us but are there any gotchas/hints and tips to be aware of?

And we need to get some decent wheel chocks, are the Halfords 5.99 plastic ones any good?

Appreciate any pointers or words of experience!
Many thanks,
Tom.

DrHfuhruhurr wrote:Stupid question(s) time again.

Probably going to be dropping the engine out of the van soon (to getter better access to the rusty exhaust studs for one thing) and am wondering if we're going to have the room to do this in the garage, so; does anyone know what sort of clearance the engine needs, between rear valance/bumper and floor, so it'll slide out?

Also, since I'm trying to arm myself with information:

What's best to lower the engine on to & slide it out on?

We've got Mr Bentley to guide us but are there any gotchas/hints and tips to be aware of?

And we need to get some decent wheel chocks, are the Halfords 5.99 plastic ones any good?

Appreciate any pointers or words of experience!
Many thanks,
Tom.

Naughty Person - You have committed the cardinal sin of not saying what engine you have

Assuming it is a WBX

I didn't measure the height when I did mine ( THREE TIMES ) but I used ramps that where about 1 foot high under the rear wheels, that lifts the back up quite a lot, so not sure if it will fit under most garage roofs.

Take off as many of the ancillaries as you can before you start, Alternator, Carb & Manifold, Oil breather tower, Dizzy.

Take great care of the Plastic thermostat housing when removing it, or if leaving in place, when removing the engine, as they are hard to come by these days.

Watch out for the oil filler pipe getting caught up in the bodywork when removing / re-fitting the engine.

I dropped mine onto a small pallet to help protect it and to make moving it around easier.

Support the G/Box with an Axel stand or similar.
Loosen the G/Box mountings so as not to stretch it when lowering the engine.

Don't forget to disconnect the battery first.

Check the starter motor bush in the case while it is in bits.

Use lots of heat & PlusGas ( NOT WD40 !! ) on the exhaust studs / bolts / nuts.
Buy & use some new nuts & bolts.
If you have the model that uses an Allen headed bolt on the exhaust pipe that is near the L/H metal water pipe, they are a SOD to get off if corroded, if it rounds off in the socket you will have a devil of a job, so use a well fitting key and clean up the socket and be careful !

Heat Heat Heat - but don't melt the Alloy !!!

Oh, and when putting it back - you will likely need TONS of patience getting the G/Box spigot shaft to line up.
A smooth surface under the trolley jack helps, as does microscopic attention to the width of the gap between the motor case and the bell housing, making sure the gap is exactly the same all the way round and getting the motor exactly squared up with the bell housing. Don't force it, it will just fall into place when it is correct, and DEFFO don't pull the 2 together with the long bolts, EVER!

ghost123uk wrote: Naughty Person - You have committed the cardinal sin of not saying what engine you have

Assuming it is a WBX

Sorry, completely slipped my mind! Yep, it's a WBX 2.1, either an SS or an MV (not sure, so will check that when it's out).

ghost123uk wrote: I didn't measure the height when I did mine ( THREE TIMES ) but I used ramps that where about 1 foot high under the rear wheels, that lifts the back up quite a lot, so not sure if it will fit under most garage roofs.

Excellent, we've got some ramps but you're right, I don't think it will fit in the garage. Especially if, once the weight of engine's out of the way, the suspension lifts a bit - I think we'd be resting on the rafters or very very close!

ghost123uk wrote: Take off as many of the ancillaries as you can before you start.....don't pull the 2 together with the long bolts, EVER!

Thankyou very much for all the info, I'll add it all to the list . No doubt I'll have more questions soon...

Tom.

Take off as many of the ancillaries as you can before you start, Alternator, Carb & Manifold, Oil breather tower, Dizzy

I don't see the need for that.. it all drops down with the engine

I remove four bell housing bolts
disconnect air duct
disconnect throttle cable
disconnect the two water pipes
disconnect three wires and a king lead
put a jack under the gearbox
attach hoist
Remove the four engine carrier bolts
loosen gearbox mount bolt
disconect gearbox link
then drop the engine on a skate board using a hoist

VW designed these engines to be easily removed

kevtherev wrote:

Take off as many of the ancillaries as you can before you start, Alternator, Carb & Manifold, Oil breather tower, Dizzy

I don't see the need for that.. it all drops down with the engine

Yes, fair comment, but I thought (as in my case) it makes the engine less tall and therefore you don't need as much height to get it out (as that was an issue if trying to do it in a domestic garage)

Just watch that precious and very plastic thermostat housing both in and out.

and when you're putting it back in do everything mentioned then get someone to turn the crank with a socket to line the spline up and it'll drop together