Vintage VW Parts - 5 Reasons Why I Love the Vintage VW Boxer Engines

Vintage VW parts are still relatively easy to get, and the process for overhauling an engine, is easily managed, even by a novice. 5 reasons why I love the Vintage VW Boxer Engine are:

1. 4 bolts removes the engine from the car-one wrench 17 mm. Disconnect the throttle cable -1 bolt 10 MM. remove, and plug the fuel line - 1 screw driver. Disconnect heat exchanger dampers two cables - 10 MM wrench. Disconnect the wiring harness -2 wrenches, 8mm and 13 mm. Simply put a floor jack under the engine grab the tail pipes and pull toward the rear of the car.

2. Two people can lift the engine, and carry it to the work bench for repairs. The Vintage VW engine, fully assembled for installation weighs about the same is a good size out board motor for a boat. It's compact design make it convenient to move around, easy to access on a work bench, or on a lift.

3. It dis-assembles in an hour, to an hour, and a half. Disassembly begins with the Blower housing, and intake manifold followed by: the tinware. Tinware consists of the air deflectors that surround the cylinders, and heads, designed to deflect the air stream, to the rear of the vehicle.

The next step is to get the acetylene torch, and heat-treat the heat exchanger nuts so they can be removed without shearing the exhaust port stud inserts. Heat is preferable to penetrating oil, because it is efficient and quick. We know that exhaust system bolts rust, and that heat, or impact are the two most effective forces for freeing stuck, rusty, bolts, and nuts, quickly.

After the heat exchangers, and the muffler are removed, disassemble the clutch pressure plate, friction disk, and the belt pulley assembly. The fuel pump, and the distributer can also be removed. It is helpful to note the position of the distributor rotor, and mark the distributor housing where the rotor is pointing. This small tip will avoid installing the distributor 180 degrees of its proper location during re-assembly.

The cylinder heads are next. There are eight nuts with washers to be removed that hold the respective cylinder heads to the cylinder assemblies. The cylinder assemblies are sometimes referred to, in the vernacular, as jugs. To remove the cylinder assemblies there are a couple options. If the intention is to replace the cylinder assemblies with new, the cylinder sleeve can be just slid off the piston and discarded. If full replacement is the plan, the next step is to remove the piston wrist pin retainer springs, press out the wrist pins remove the piston and discard all of the components of the cylinder assemblies. If the plan is to reuse the cylinder assemblies, the process is a bit slower and should be accomplished with more care. When reusing, and reconditioning cylinder sleeves, compression rings, and pistons, it is important to keep the original assembly components together and matched until final disassembly, quality checking, cleaning and re-assembly. Slide the piston sleeve off, just enough to expose the wrist pin retainer springs. Remove the retainers and the wrist pin and the piston assembly will come off the engine intact. Place the assembly on the work bench, top side down to await reconditioning.

Once the pistons are removed, the oil pump, and oil screen are removed in preparation for splitting the crankcase assembly. Often referred to as the case, the crankcase assembly comes apart in two pieces.

The case is an aluminum alloy, so there are reasons to careful with this part of the disassembly. The case bolts are substantial, relative to the other bolts encountered in the vintage VW engine. The case is held together with several large studs, nuts, and washers, that surround, and support the torque of the crankshaft during operation. Numerous smaller studs, and nuts are strategically placed around the seam where the two halves of the case meet to seal the case. It is important to notice that the case halves are connected together without a gasket. That means the connecting surfaces are machined alike, so no oil or crankcase pressure escapes during operation. Do not pry the machined surfaces with a tool, like a screwdriver that might score the surface. If the surface is scored the engine will seep oil.

Finally after the case is separated the Crank shaft, and the Cam shaft will remain on one of the case halves, easily accessible for removal. It is important to note that there are two marks on the crank shaft gear, and the cam shaft gear that match as the gears are rotated. Make sure the marks are realigned when installing them during re-assembly. Remove both the piston rods, crank shaft, and cam shaft for cleaning, bearing replacement, and preparation for re-assembly. Note there is a metal cap at the end of the cam shaft that seals the oil galley when the case is assembled. Specific attention should note the proper installation of the end cap. One of the most common installation mistakes is to place the cap into the case backwards.

4. The Vintage VW air-cooled engine can be overhauled and reinstalled in a day

5. From a 40 Horse engine to the 1600 CC it pushed the beetle, Karmann Ghia, and the Micro Bus. The Mighty mini was not fast but it was consistent. However you consider this engine or buy Vintage VW parts for it, you will agree it is a little giant.

To learn more about buying Vintage VW Parts visit us today at http://www.Buy-Vintage-VW-Parts.com.

William Price is the owner of http://www.Buy-Vintage-VW-Parts.com where you can get up to date information, compare prices, shop multiple vendors and research additional ways to rebuild or simply maintain your older VW in tip top shape.

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