[T3] BBbbrrrrrr!

Keith Park topnotch at nycap.rr.com
Wed Jan 8 11:30:16 PST 2014


I don't see how the bearings can spin with the alignment pins in place, The
crates old motor had a center main that was beaten way out in the case, you
could hear it on startup but I drove it that way for a while and it didn't
spin.

With the old Amzoil engine, the bearings were beaten right into the case,
you could take #1 and easily slide it back and forward in the case with the
engine all together, I drove it that way for 10K mi in all kinds of weather,
thru a cold Buffalo winter and it never got loose to spin... ALL 4 of those
bearings were loose in the case for thousands of miles...

Jim is right about getting a good align bore (most places cant)and extremely
tight clearances, you really need to torque the case up with the bearings in
it and make sure the bearings are the right fit, and aren't holding the case
halves apart either to make sure its right but if this is a bit off you will
have low oil pressure and if it gets bad enough a knock on startup for a
second or 2 before the oil pressure comes up.

Keith


Top Notch Restorations
topnotch at nycap.rr.com 
http://www.a383ina68.addr.com/radiorest/main.htm
71 Squareback "Hothe"
65 Notchback "El Baja Rojo"
65 Squareback "Eggcrate"
87 golf "Winterat"
93 RX7 "Redstur"


-----Original Message-----
From: type3-vwtype3.org-bounces at lists.vwtype3.org
[mailto:type3-vwtype3.org-bounces at lists.vwtype3.org] On Behalf Of Jim Adney
Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 1:12 PM
To: type3 at vwtype3.org
Subject: Re: [T3] BBbbrrrrrr!

On 7 Jan 2014 at 21:04, Dennis Stiefel wrote:

> No knocking she just shut down after about 60 seconds of running trying to
> back it out of my little shed. It acted like it was bogging down just
before
> it quit. When I tried to start it would just barely turn even when I put
the
> jump box on it.  I'm just going to leave it alone till we start have more
> normal weather for around here this time of the year at the end of the
week.

I suspect you're right about this being serious, but it's still worth 
trying again when it's warmer.

This brings 3 things to mind:

1) The OE #2 main bearings came with steel inserts if the cars were 
destined for "temperate" climates. If you have experience with both 
styles, they are easy to tell apart just by feeling the weight. 
Otherwise a magnet will detect the steel. The steel inserts 
apparently kept the bearing from shrinking down on the crank when 
cold weather caused the case to shrink and increased the "squish" on 
that bearing. I don't fully understand this, or why it was not 
necessary for the full circle bearings. I hear that replacment 
bearing sets no longer come with the steel inserts. If that was your 
problem, then the cold may be responsible, but 9 F doesn't seem all 
that cold, at least to me.

2) It's very important that the case be cut to the exact correct 
diameter to give just the right amount of squeeze to the main 
bearings. Too tight or too loose are both bad. You opted for a local 
guy with a (probably) worn align boring bar, which would cut 
oversize. A journal seat that's .001" too large won't have enough 
grip on the bearing to hold it and keep it from turning.

3) If a bearing spun on you now, I doubt if you should blame it on 
the cold weather. It would have happened eventually. At least this 
way it happened at home, and not halfway to the Invasion.

-- 
*******************************
Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
*******************************

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