Shop talk.

[rockdog2877]

Ok I have started a full tare down of the engine. I always read that you send it to the shop to be align bored, cleaned, balanced ect. Do you guys have someone you recomend? I was checking maybe we need to have a list of local shops/ parts people as a reference for every one. 

[6T5 square]

toughest part is the word local

[rockdog2877]

Ok, east coast? The closest I have seen is some guys in MD, but I was thinking that I was missing something closer, or what others have done.

[braidmeister]

You'll want to get the line bore checked to see if it in fact needs it. In terms of cleaning, you can't have it tanked like a cast iron block. You'll either need to have it steam cleaned or, pressure wash it with a good detergent, getting into all the nooks & crannies. This goes for all Aluminum (Type4) and Magnesium (Type1 & Type3) cases. Hagner in Collingswood I *think* cleans AL & Mag parts.

You should have a good look at the crank yourself, checking for nicks and gouges. Minor scratches can be polished out, while deeper grooves etc will require cutting of the crank. It boils down to how much cash you want to spend. Realistically, if you inspect the bearings and there is no indication of a spun rod or main bearing & the crank journals look good, you can just clean it up, install fresh bearings and continue with the rebuild.

Personally, I would not use anyone local. Send it out to CA if you need the crank machined or case machined. I can recommend a great guy for Chevy, Ford, Pontiac, Buick etc, but don't know anyone local that does good VW work (and neither does a few of my VW racer buddies...they all send them out to CA)

-Brady

[6T5 square]

Thats what I would have suggested- Rimco in California does highly recommended work in the VW community.

And as the Braids said- unless your building a big race motor, you can do most of the work yourself. The two motors I ahve totally overhauled were done in my garage. I did take the two case halves to a self serve car wash to powerwash them (then blew compressed air through the oil passages) On the 36hp motor, I asked my buddy Jack to look it over but I also took the crank to a local shop to check it for tolerences and a good look over, but this was because the PO had thrown a rod in it.

You CAN do it.

[njgt-1]

Rimco in California does highly recommended work in the VW community.

John is 100%  right on that one. Rimco does tons of work and even on some very high profile race cars.

Everything I've read suggest that a T-4 case most likely won't need an align bore. The T-1 style engine has a high magnesium content and its a much softer alloy than the aluminum used in a T-4.The journals in a T-1 get "pounded out of round" much easier than the T-4.  You should have it checked anyway.

[rockdog2877]

 "You should have it checked anyway."

ok good advice, but where?

[6T5 square]

what exactly are you doing to the motor? Were you having issues with the motor running? Did you notice any issues when you tore it down? If you answered nothing special, no and no in that order, then I dont think it's necessary to have the case "looked at". It's not to say that it wouldnt hurt but if I didnt see or know of any issues, I'd clean it, blow it out, get new bearings and finish the build.
The only reason I did mine was , as I said, the guy threw a rod so I had broken parts inside the block and the inside of the case was scored by shrapnel.

[braidmeister]

If you answered nothing special, no and no in that order, then I dont think it's necessary to have the case "looked at".

Ed Zachary.

This is why we suggested that you take a look at the bearings and crank journals to make sure that:

A) You didn't spin a rod or main bearing

B) The crank isn't scored

Did the motor have a knock to it before you tore it down?

If everything looks good, clean everything well and rebuild with the correct size bearings. Mic the main & rod journals to be sure you get the correct bearings, even if you are sure it was never rebuilt before.

-Brady

[rockdog2877]

Really this is a case of me "over Samba-ing". I was doing a deeper seach over the different cams. ( If I read another thread debating Hydro's VS' Solids I will cry.)
And almost every thread I have looked though, it is recommended to "shop it" when you tear down the engine, for numerous reasons.
I would love to do it all myself, but from what I can tell only a machinist can really do certain things.

I am picking up a micrometer, and will be able to see where I am at in that department.

I have to switch out the hydro cam for the solid. I was hoping to have them balanced while it was all out.

[njgt-1]

ok good advice, but where?

Don't have a solid answer as to "who" but the
procedure is simple, Torque the case halves together sans bearings, crank & cam
and have someone ( machine shop ? ) check the bearing saddles with a bore gauge or a set of "snap" gauges. The width and height should be close to the same and if the width is out then you have a pounded out saddle. There are other hints to this condition such as "fret" marks on a saddle and possible low oil pressure before tearing it down.

Jack should jump in on this one, I know hes seen tons of cases with problems and can give you more ideas as to what to look for.

[6T5 square]

he's too busy tending to bug bites, lack of and drying everything out. AAAhhh! the joys of camping!

[njgt-1]

he's too busy tending to bug bites, lack of and drying everything out. AAAhhh! the joys of camping!

LAUGH@ LAUGH@ :icon_thumright: LAUGH@ LAUGH@ :icon_thumleft: LAUGH@ LAUGH@

[slowtwitch]

Type 4 cases seldom need align bore, but and depending on what case you have, they do suffer from collapsed main saddles. to see if you have that problem and If you can find some carbon paper, place a piece at the center main bearing location. Torque the case down. If you can remove the carbon paper, the case is toast and you don't have to send it out for an align bore. The cases that suffered the most from this are the 2 liter cases, such as GE. GA coded cases.

The earlier "W"  and "EA" cases, which came in the 1700 size, actually have more beef around the mains and don't suffer from this syndrome.

[rockdog2877]

Thanks for the info pete.
I am asking more of a general question, like if it needed ( enter example here)
where would be the place? I know heads would be out west. But some things could be local? ?no? (helicoil, comes to mind for an example)